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Like free throws in basketball, the 8-meter free position shot can become the story of a girls lacrosse game.
And as the clock runs down, each attempt seems more important and high-stakes than the last.
With the fast-paced, high-scoring nature of the sport, some coaches stop short of saying an efficient 8-meter offense or defense is more important than another facet of the game. But its impact cannot be overstated.
“I would say it’s a huge correlation to wins and losses,” said Maranacook/Winthrop coach Zach Stewart. “The effectiveness of 8-meters and … the effectiveness of stopping 8-meters has to be a big part of your game to be successful.”
Cony coach Gretchen Livingston agrees, “especially given the number of 8-meter free positions that are awarded given shooting space, or three seconds or any other violation within the 8-meter. There’s lots of opportunities to put the ball in the net … and likewise, the ability just to stop them defensively.”
Reaction time, first-step speed, shot placement and overall reps are important during the shot attempt, but also important is getting to the 8-meter hashes in the first place.
One thing that separates a good offensive 8-meter player or team is the ability to adjust to the day’s officiating and draw defenses into a shooting space call. Kennebunk coach Annie Barker, who reached 300 victories last year, has consistently trained her players with 7-on-7 situations for 30 minutes each practice.
“You look for that shooting space and you try to get it,” she said.
On the flip side, strong defensive teams try their best to avoid those situations.
Windham coach Matt Perkins preaches no checking as well as overall discipline when the ball is within 12 meters from the goal. An opponent’s defensive aggression is one thing Perkins looks for during film study. Do they check? Do they trap? What coverage are they in?
“We would make sure that we’re very aware of how they play defense down there, and try to practice some look of how they do their defense,” Perkins said. “We would be aware of their sticks but we’d also (say), ‘Hey, there’s a good chance if we get by them, you may get checked to get a free position.’”
Once a player is fouled and sent to the closest 8-meter hash, some coaches leave it up to that player to decide what to do, while others send in cues from the sideline.
Livingston reminds Cony players that a shot isn’t the only option, nor is a pass to an open shooter with a better angle. Sometimes a close-game, end-of-quarter situation calls for a pass to the X to maintain possession. She hopes players will gain a better idea of when and what to do as the season progresses.
Stewart also has three or four play calls he yells in, unbothered if opponents catch on because he says each play’s execution level is high.
For Kennebunk, sometimes words aren’t even necessary.
“We know that’s a play (in that situation from the far hash) so we’ll kind of make eye contact,” senior attack Camdyn Keenan said after the Rams’ season-opening win against Freeport. “We don’t say it out loud and get the defense to guard us, but we’ll just make eye contact, and then I’ll know to pass it.”
Whenever Keenan does decide to shoot, she says the keys are a quick step off the line and being confident.
Coaches agreed that intangibles like confidence, composure and patience are just as important to the shot power or play call. As an example, Freeport coach Marcia Wood points to the overtime goal by Lana DiRusso that lifted the Falcons over Greely and into the Class B title game, which they won.
“It’s huge,” Wood said. “And you saw that last year with Lana in the regional game. It is nerve- wracking because it is a 1-v-1 situation to start and, again, if that confidence isn’t there, then we tend to sometimes throw the ball away. And it’s kind of like, at that point, it is what it is. You do your best, you put your shot, hopefully on a target, not near the goalie, and hope it works out for you.”
Preparation is key.
“If you can put them in situations as much as you can,” Perkins said, “you’re gonna get them to be able to see the things happen and it won’t seem foreign to them, and they’ll be able to adapt. So I think as much as we can do any situation, it’ll help prepare them mentally and give them a confidence like, ‘Hey, I’ve done this before. I’ve seen this before and I can handle it. I know what to do.’”
Whenever Maranacook/Winthrop practices taking a free position shot, Stewart turns on a speaker and blares “the most obnoxious dance music” he can find with the goal of each player to find a sliver of focus.
“I have a Bose S1 speaker, we put it right out next to (the drill), and it simulates the game,” Stewart said. “Everybody’s screaming all the things, turn that up, then they’re running off a whistle from me, having two defenders go on them … having that pressure in practice is really what helps them in the game.”