Philosophy
- Play hard. Develop your lax IQ.
- Leave everything on the field.
- Be aggressive.
- Don't worry about making a mistake.
- Make a PLAY.
- Stop thinking. Go out and play.
- Play with controlled rage.
Offense
If you have a shot, shoot it. Bounce it in front of the crease, the toughest save a goalie has to make. When we score, go straight into the ride. Celebrate later.
Defense
Man to man, never zone. Pressure the ball the moment it hits an attackman's stick. Move your feet, check the hands, and make every pass tough.
Transition
When a pole picks up a ground ball, he has the green light. Run to the middle of the field, not the sideline. A middie stays home.
Indoor IQ
There's no out of bounds and no faceoff after a goal. The game never stops, so the team that thinks fastest wins the loose balls and the clears.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."Wayne Gretzky, and every Tiny Terps practice
Offense
Three sets: 2, 3 and Motion. Every set ends the same way, with a shot. Press Play to watch the ball move, or tap a step to jump to it.
- If you have a shot, shoot it. Shoot a lot.
- Bounce shots in front of the crease. They're the hardest save in the game.
- Off-ball players never stand still: cut, pop, fill, or set a pick.
- 2 LEFT / 2 RIGHT: 2-man game. M1 picks for A1, who curls around him. The picker reads his defender and rolls, pops or slips. On 2 Left, A1 is a lefty: Finley, Brooks or William.
- 3 LOW (NAME): the named middie dodges first, then the 3 cut. Option 1: shoot. Option 2: if a slide comes, pass to the open man. Lefties dodge left.
- 3 HIGH (NAME): the named attackman dodges first, then the 3 cut. Option 1: shoot. Option 2: if a slide comes, pass to the open man. Lefties dodge left.
- MOTION: pass, pass, dodge, twice. After the second pass, the passer sets a pick for the ball. Everyone is always moving.
- Score, then go right into the ride. No celebrating.
Rides
There's no faceoff after a goal. Their goalie clears on the whistle, and they have 10 seconds to get the ball over midfield. That's why we go right into the ride.
- LOCK: everybody locks on their man. Make the goalie walk it up and throw a tough pass.
- CHASE: the goal scorer pressures the goalie, attack doubles the first pass, middies drop back to the midfield line on the riding side.
- The goalie only gets 4 seconds in the crease. Pressure makes him rush.
Defense
Aggressive man-to-man. No zone. Our long poles pressure out on the attack the moment the ball hits their stick.
- Throw checks on the attackman's hands with the pole. Keep your feet moving.
- If he gets close to the goal, L him out: beat him to the spot, push him up and away, then throw the check.
- When he's about to throw, get a stick on his hands. Make every pass tough.
- CHECK! on every pass: every defender checks his man's stick, ball or no ball. It's legal.
- BLACK when we need the ball back: everyone pressures out hard, even off the ball. When the attackman carries close to X, the goalie doubles.
Transition
We force a turnover, a pole picks up the ground ball, and he goes.
- Poles who get the ground ball have the green light to push it to the goal. If no one slides to you, shoot it.
- If a pole goes over, a middie stays back. The league requires 3 back.
- Run to the middle of the field, NOT the sideline. The middle gives you options.
- When the ball is on our defensive end, attack waits 5 yards above goal line extended to leave room for the break.
- Go for the fast break. If it isn't there, the pole stays on and plays offense, setting picks and cutting to the goal, until we call YELLOW.
- YELLOW: hold the ball while we sub. Don't go to the goal.
Clears
After a save, we have 10 seconds to get it over midfield, and the goalie has 4 seconds in the crease.
- Both long poles banana cut, a wide U: start above goal line extended, dip below it toward the sideline, then come back up above it. Stay wide.
- The middie away from the sub box breaks upfield over midfield for the fast break. Once he crosses midfield, he goes down toward A2, then pops back up to the top middle.
- If their attackman jumps the goalie, the goalie passes to D1, D1 brings it over midfield, and M2 runs toward the center and waits at the midfield line. If no one covers D1, he has the green light to go to the goal and shoot.
- The other middie creeps toward the box as an outlet.
- Attack is already down, above goal line extended. RED: if the goalie is in trouble, the attackman on the far side from the box runs back over midfield as an outlet. His defender follows but can't cross the midfield line. Once A1 has the ball, M2 goes over and runs even with him.
- Nothing open, with their attack locked on our D? The goalie walks it up close to midfield with the poles even with him, then GILMAN: throw it long toward the corner and make it a 50/50 ground ball. M2 goes over once it's thrown and stays high while M1 and A2 fight for it. It's always a safe play.
EMO & Man Down
Extra man offense when they have a penalty, and man down defense when we do.
- TERP (EMO, 4v3): start in a square and work the ball around once. When it gets to M1 up top on the right, start the wheel.
- The wheel: the carrier goes to the next spot up top, that player cuts through the crease to the bottom, and the bottom player fills the top, while A2 pops in and out. Pass back and repeat until someone is open.
- MAN DOWN: 2 poles and 1 short stick in a triangle. The top pole goes to the side where the ball starts up top, left or right.
- On a pass across: the bottom defender slides up, the other bottom defender slides across, and the top defender slides down. Sticks in the passing lanes.
What coaches will yell
Learn these so you can react without thinking. When you hear one, do it right away.
- One more
- Make the extra pass. The defense slid or rotated. One more pass finds the open man for a better shot.
- Slide!
- The ball carrier beat his man. The nearest defender leaves his man and attacks the ball, and everyone else rotates to cover.
- Check!
- The ball is in the air. Every defender checks his man's stick, even off the ball. It's legal, and defenders might not see the pass coming.
- Clear!
- We have the ball on our defensive end. Get it over midfield within 10 seconds.
- Get upfield
- Run. Get past midfield so the ball has somewhere to go.
- Yellow
- Hold the ball while we sub. Don't go to the goal. Used when a pole is on offense after a transition: he runs back to defense and the middie who stayed back comes up on offense.
- Move it forward
- Throw the ball forward, toward the goal you're attacking. Don't pass sideways or backward.
- 2 Left / 2 Right (2-man)
- 2-man game on that side. On 2 Left, the attackman with the ball is Finley, Brooks or William, our lefties. The attackman on that side has the ball low, and that side's middie sets a pick. The other middie down-picks for the other attackman.
- Roll · Pop · Slip
- In a 2, the middie setting the pick reads his defender and picks one. Roll: cut to the goal after the pick. Pop: pop up high for a step-down. Slip: fake the pick and cut right away.
- 3 Low (NAME)
- "3 Low (NAME)." The named player has the ball up top and dodges, with the other three low across the front of the goal. When he dodges, the other three cut. Any player's name can be called.
- 3 High (NAME)
- "3 High (NAME)." The named player is at X behind the goal and dodges, with the other three up top. When he dodges, the other three cut. Any player's name can be called.
- Motion
- Free movement and off-ball movement. Everybody is always moving, never standing still. Pass, pass, dodge. The player who throws the second pass sets a pick for the ball. If it isn't there, pass, pass, dodge again.
- Terp
- Extra man offense (4v3). Square set, work it around once, then run the wheel: carry to the next spot, cut through the crease, fill the top, pass back, while A2 pops in and out. Repeat until someone is open.
- Lock
- Ride after a goal. Everyone locks on their man so the goalie has no one to throw to.
- Chase
- Ride after a goal. The scorer chases the goalie, attack doubles the first pass, and middies drop back to the midfield line on the riding side.
- Black
- Pressure defense. Defense and middies pressure their men even without the ball. The goalie may double.
- L him out
- The attackman is getting close. Beat him to the spot, push him up and away from the goal, then throw the check.
- Red
- Attack outlet on a clear. The far-side attackman runs back over midfield to get the ball from the goalie. His defender can't follow him over the midfield line.
- Gilman
- The goalie throws it long toward the corner to make it a 50/50 ground ball for our attack.
League rules
The league plays NFHS boys youth rules, with the indoor changes below. Each card says why the rule matters for how we play.
Players on the field
Six field players (2 attack, 2 middies, 2 defense) plus a goalie. A team can have at most two long poles on the field at once.
Offsides
Four players on the offensive side (one can be the goalie) and three back on defense: 2 defense + the goalie.
For usIf a pole carries it over, a middie has to stay back.
Clearing count
A team has 10 seconds to get the ball over midfield on a clear. The goalie gets 4 seconds in the crease. Breaking either rule gives the other team a free clear at midfield.
For usThis is what makes LOCK work. If the goalie can't find a pass, he runs out of time.
Run n' Gun
There's no faceoff after a goal. The goalie clears on the official's whistle.
For usScore and go right into the ride. Don't celebrate.
Two-point shot
A goal counts for 2 if the shooter has one foot behind the midfield line when he shoots.
No out of bounds
Everything is live except the box area where the teams and the score table are.
For usNever stop on a loose ball. Play to the whistle.
The walls
No boarding, and no intentionally pushing a player into the padded walls. Play position defense and stick work.
Game clock
Two 20-minute halves with a running clock, a 1-minute halftime and no timeouts. Penalties are stop-clock and are served at the penalty box.
For usNo timeouts means the calls on this page are how we talk during a game.
Substitutions
All substitutions are on the fly.
Ties: Braveheart
A tie at the end of regulation goes to a 1-minute sudden-death Braveheart: one goalie and one player per team, and one of them has to stay on the defensive side. If it's still tied, the game ends in a tie. In the playoffs, Braveheart periods continue until someone scores, with a new player each period.
Conduct
Offensive language or unnecessary roughness means ejection. Fighting means suspension for the rest of the season.
Playoffs
Seeds go by record, then head-to-head, then fewest goals allowed, then most goals scored. In the championship game, the clock stops if it's within 2 goals in the last 2 minutes.
Source: indoorlax.net/rules-1. Check there for any updates.
Roster
Message Board
Questions, rides, reminders, shout-outs. Anyone can read. To post or reply, enter the team passcode from Coach Rod.
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