Face off

[jjlax]

Face off tips??

[Delmonte]

i tried out some today agaisnt hitchin A, which worked well, but does depend on the man your up agaisnt.

i clamp the stick then lift the bottom of the shaft up so it pinches the ball, lean into player and then rotate the stick so the ball is thrown in the air over the player facing you , so you can catch in the air above them without them knowing it was there.

[import5]

thats called the plunger.
The face off technique i teach is plain and simple, the clamp. Once you have mastered it to a great speed you can get complete control of the ball in many situations. Stay low to the ground, have your right foot facing the head of your stick and your left leg loose and facing down field. Keep your hands loose with you hand by the head tighter.
By using the clamp you have control of the ball, you can push it forward, pull it back to yourself, push down the line for your wingman, plus other options. Its all about practice, timing and speed. watch your opponant and see how he stands, gets down etc. To be a good face off player you should have several techniques but try to make them all from the same position, decieve your opponant. You dont have to cheat to be succesful!

[Mr.Stanford]

but it can help if you mess up

[cjlax]

I took a quick lesson last week from Ricky Wilson (SGS u19s) with regards to faces. This guy is great for his age and has some pretty good tricks. One thing he showed me was to anticipate what the other guy is going to do.
The move you pull depends on how the other guy goes down on the ball. It's all a matter of thinking fast and knowing what you're going to do next. Too many people are too quick to rush into it and just see what happens. The main reason this guy can do what he does is because he uses his head!

So my advice would be to learn a few moves, claw, swipe etc and put them to good use. I'm sure Ricky will be happy to help anyone who wants it.

[UKLaxfan]

http://www.lacrossedraws.com/face.htm has some useful info plus two samples of the video.

Quick Clamp:
http://www.lacrossedraws.com/mov/quickclamp.htm

Plunger:
http://www.lacrossedraws.com/mov/plunger.htm

[import5]

again make sure every technique is from the same position, it gives you the advantage.
Before every training session spend 10-15 minutes working on your stance and speed. Line 10 balls up along the line (giving you enough distance to move) and work along the line doing the same move, its called reitition and you should do alot of it.

[Delmonte]

any other middies, go through many heads , doing face offs, just looked at my razor and a lovely crack on the side wall due to clamping then pinching. cant afford a new one.

[UKLaxfan]

I used to go through one a season easily, and always had two sticks with me, so if one broke (head or stringing) I had a spare to use straight away.

if it is breaking at throat of stick, it may be because you are lifting left hand and bending stick on the clamp.

If you keep both hands close to ground and punch left hand you can still get strong clamp without distorting the stick.

Alternatively, try using rake or jump more often, speed is the key. You will do most damage to a stick fighting at face off for 50-50 ball, if you get faster you can get ball out quickly so won't damage stick.

Good Stance, balanced, low centre of gravity & no weight on hands
Fast Hands, clamp & move the ball in one motion.

Chop Drill:
Paul Cantabene (MLL) used drill at Maryland where you do chops over the ball. Get in face off stance with ball then see how many times you can lift head of stick over ball (front and back) without touching it in 30 seconds, rest and repeat. Keep doing this as part of warm up.

Clamp & Step:
Then move on to Clamp & Step and return to Set Stance, until at end of warm up you are doing full face-off, clamp & step, followed by raking clamped ball to 45 degrees behind you between your legs so you have best position to pick up loose ball.

[Dave@Reading]

hey guys

I face for swansea and have a question.
If a face man clamps the ball how long is he allowed to keep it clamped for? Is their a time limit? Just had a situation today where the opposition face man had clamped and i had his release channel blocked with my foot and he just held it until i eventually managed to move him off the ball.

Thanks for any help

Dave

[lead_head11]

From where i was standing today it looked like both players were clamping the ball quite a lot for long periods of time. Thou our guy (UWIC) did manage to sit on the ball a few times which i'm sure is illegal!!

[playlax36]

Fellas: the rules (Rule 34 Facing At The Centre section 34.4) state that "when the referee sounds his whistle to start play, each player may attempt to direct the course of the ball by movement of his crosse in any manner he desires." The critical interpretation of this rule is the word movement and it is generally applied that the face off should be a continuous MOVEMENT. In other words if you clamp and hold the ball then you are committing a Technical Foul "Witholding the ball from play" and the possession will be awarded to the opposition. At a face off this means your opponent will effectively start with a "free clear" from the centre. Because no possession has been awareded at the time the Technical Foul is called there is no send off.

[playlax36]

When you "block his release channel with your foot" just be careful that you don't get called for "kicking through" which is also a Technical Foul and will result in possession being awarded to your opponent.

[playlax36]

P.S. For a really comprehensive review of face off technique and drills see the last issue of Inside Lacrosse - a four page spread by Paul Cantabene, the MLL leading face-off guy for the last three seasons.

[UKLaxfan]

If a face man clamps the ball how long is he allowed to keep it clamped for? Is their a time limit? Just had a situation today where the opposition face man had clamped and i had his release channel blocked with my foot and he just held it until i eventually managed to move him off the ball.

RULE 58 WITH-HOLDING THE BALL FROM PLAY
58.1 A player shall not with-hold the ball from play in any manner.
A player shall not lie on a loose ball on the ground.
A player shall not trap a loose ball on the ground with his stick longer than is necessary for him to control the ball and pick it up in one continuous motion.

RULE 34 FACING AT THE CENTRE
34.4 When the referee sounds his whistle to start play, each player may attempt to direct the course of the ball by movement of his crosse in any manner he desires.
Kicking or stepping on an opponent's crosse is illegal.
A player may not "kick through" his own crosse in order to move the crosse of his opponent.

There is no time limit as such, it is up to the referee to decide whether the clamp is being contested and so is still in process of being controlled or if the ball is already controlled and so is being withheld from play.

[Dave@Reading]

Thanks guys that has cleared it up a bit. Yeh lead_head it was a bit of both
i was just unsure what was supposed to happen as the refs were inexperianced.

Good game, really enjoyed it after i stopped my team btching quite so much. Looking forward to the re-run at the flags.


[quote]Kicking or stepping on an opponent's crosse is illegal.
A player may not "kick through" his own crosse in order to move the crosse of his opponent.

Yeh i wasnt sure about this. I didnt stand on his stick or kick mine through just managed to step through and block him from releasing the ball the direction he wanted. Does that sound legal?

Dave

[playlax36]

"block him from releasing the ball the direction he wanted. "

That's legal: so long as you don't step on or kick his stick you've made the problem his i.e. how does he keep moving and move the ball. If he can't then it's withholding and possession is awarded to you.

[eww]

hey i face for blues u16 and i only been playing for a year i was just wondering if there are any drills that will help me clamp faster??