Vol 3_No 1 Guts.indd - Rubber Magazine

By Richard Egan
Several members of the Arizona
Sting took part in the 2007
World Indoor Lacrosse Championships
held in Halifax, Nova Scotia
back in May. Team Canada
defeated the Iroquois National
team, 15-14, in a hotly contested
championship game to win the
gold medal.
Dan Dawson, Arizona’s leading
scorer last season, was joined
on Team Canada by Sting teammates
Scott Self, Peter Lough
and Bruce Murray. Sting coach-
GM Bob Hamley served as an
Assistant Coach for the Canadian
team.
“That was a great week of
lacrosse,” said Hamley. “We met
players from all over the world, and
I enjoyed seeing their passion fro
indoor lacrosse.”
32
Sting players help Canada to championship
Grimes Not Gone For Good
Sting defenseman Mike Grimes
COACHES CORNER:
If we could boil down
the essence of lacrosse,
it would center
on the act of keeping
the offensive player in
front of you, constantly
checking your opponent
with poke/slap and lifts
and altering the shot by
reducing his angle to the
goal.
Sounds easy, right?
Problem is playing effective
defense is probably
the most diffi cult aspect
of lacrosse to master.
The main reason for
this is opposing players
are always working
to break defensive
positioning with picks,
Lacrosse
became a member of the NLL’s newest
team earlier this summer - for
three days. The yet-to-be-named
Boston franchise selected Grimes in
Dan Dawson led the Sting in scoring last season.
the expansion draft on July 31, as
they were allowed to take one player
from each of the league’s 13 returning
clubs. Three days later, however,
he was traded back to Arizona
in exchange for forwards Andrew
Lazore and Mark Tinning.
changing speed, dodging
and a variety
of excellent set
plays.
To counteract
the
offense, there
are a number
of ways to play
defense in
lacrosse: zone,
slide, early
slide, late
slide or simply man-toman.
Zone defenses with
slides are one of the
main strategies used in
fi eld and box lacrosse.
Simply put, the players
have set areas they are
responsible to protect.
As the ball
moves to a
particular
zone the defense
slides to
double-team
the threat.
Man-toman,
the
defender must
be aggressive
with pokes
and other checks, yet
leave room between
themselves and their opponent
when outside the
shooting lane.
Once inside the lane
however, the defender
must move in tight with
“Mike is one of the best young defenders
in our league,” said Hamley
upon re-acquiring Grimes.
The Peterborough, Ontario, native
had one goal, three assists,
38 loose balls, and 13 penalty
minutes in 11 games last year in
his rookie season.
Best of the Best
Inside Lacrosse Magazine
issued the results of its annual
NLL Players Survey following
the 2007 season, with two Sting
players earning honorable mention
status in the Best Player and
Best Captain categories.
As voted on by the players,
Dawson was named the league’s
fourth best overall player behind
2007 MVP John Grant, all-time
leading scorer John Tavares and
loose ball king Jim Veltman.
Lough fi nished third in voting
for the “Captain’s Award,” behind
Veltman and Calgary’s Tracey
Kelusky. ❂
Don’t underestimate solid defense
Casey
legal crosschecks, hard
pushes and strong stick
checks. If the opponent
gets a shot off, make
sure your stick is in the
air, preferably altering
the shot and creating
a turnover. Also, it’s
especially important to
be aware of rebounds
to reduce the amount of
second opportunities.
Overall, it may not
be the glory job, but
very few teams win
without a solid, hardworking
defense. ❂
Reach Bill Casey at bcasey@
glendalelacrosseleague.com