Last week, we highlighted four defensive skills to keep at the front of your mind. This week, we are flipping the field and highlighting four essential offensive skills.

These are high-impact adjustments you can make to elevate your game right now, without requiring long-term athletic development like building raw strength or speed.

This seems simple, but it is something that we see a lot of players struggle with. To put it bluntly: Dodge to score.

Dodge to score

The biggest key here is learning how to create leverage as a ball carrier and play through contact.

You must dodge at the cage with the genuine intent to shoot if you win your matchup. Defenders easily sniff out "dummy dodges," so posture and intent matter.

Contact is also a great way to draw even more attention from the defense.

Here are some tips for initiating contact:

Capitalize on the leverage you created

Once you create leverage, you have to capitalize on it. Most of the time, this just means doing the simple thing: throw it forward.

As a dodger, your job is to draw attention and flip the field by hitting singles.

Throw the ball through X. Hit the forward outlet. Let the ball do the work, and trust your teammates to get it where it needs to be.

This forces defenders to recover, rotate, and turn their heads, which opens up massive opportunities off-ball.

Valuing possessions is important.

When you don't have the ball, you need to work incredibly hard to be a clean forward or backward outlet. This might mean climbing to space, executing a mirror action, or just maintaining your offensive shape.

One of the most crucial elements of a great offense is ball speed, or how quickly the ball moves around the perimeter. However, a huge chunk of that speed is actually generated by your feet and being in the right spot early.

As a dodger, if you run yourself into trouble, you must be willing to work equally as hard to get out of it. Dodging cannot be an all-or-nothing gambit where you either score or turn it over.

Take the extra step to free your hands before making a pass to ensure possession is retained.

Deception is how you overcome not being the fastest, quickest, or strongest player on the field.

Adding deception to your game will drastically raise your production. While there are levels to it both with and without the ball, the end goal is always the same: Can I make the defense think I'm doing one thing, while I actually do another?

Here are a few ways to add deception to your game this summer:

Setting great picks is an undervalued skill at the high school level. It isn't flashy, but the impact is massive.

Pick play is entirely selfless. Ask yourself: How many picks can I set that directly lead to a goal? How can I get a teammate open? On the flip side, what goes around comes around, and your teammates will set them for you after seeing how hard you work for them.

After a couple of successful, hard picks, you can start adding the deception we talked about above (like slipping the pick), which is exactly how you'll generate wide-open looks for yourself.

Keep these keys in mind when setting picks:

Great offenses need six players working together to chip away at a defense. An advantage might not be generated on the first dodge or the first pick, but each time you force a defense to slide or communicate, you chip away at their foundation.

The longer an offensive possession goes, the more likely the defense is to make a mistake. That is the true aim of an offense.

With effort and intent, all of these skills can be developed this summer. They are tools that will serve you well no matter what level of lacrosse you play. Focus on them now, stack them together, and watch your game elevate.

Coach Class and Coach Dunn

Forwarded this email? You can subscribe here to stay in the loop 👍.

Over the last decade as a college coach, one of the most common questions I've received from recruits, parents, and coaches is: "What do college coaches actually look for in a recruit?"

On a recent First Class Lacrosse Podcast, Scott Stuber shared an interesting perspective from the film industry. When casting a movie, producers aren’t simply looking for the best actor available - they’re looking for the right fit for specific roles and their vision.

Lacrosse recruiting is very similar. Coaches aren’t always looking for the best player available - they’re looking for the right fit for their roster. While every program values different things, there are several traits that consistently stand out during the summer recruiting process

Kyle Hayes

Read Kyle’s full blog: Summer Recruiting: What College Coaches Are Looking For

Year 7 of our Fall Training kicks off in September!

Locations include:

All registrations posted on the link below.

From next-level attackers from New York, to game changing midfielders from Ohio, to momentum-swinging goalies from Massachusetts, these are some of the best prospects in the class of 2028 that will take the field at Best in Class this summer.

Watch the full video below!

✅ Want to see more lacrosse drills, tips and breakdowns? Check out our YouTube page!

For coaches who want to level up, the FCL Coach Community is the best resource on the market for men’s and women’s coaching staffs looking to continue developing.

It includes over 40 college coach webinars, 150+ drills for offense, defense, and full-team compete, as well as sessions focused on schemes and strategies.

Every two weeks, we release a newsletter specifically tailored to coaches.

To check out previous newsletters or to subscribe, you can visit the Full Coaches Corner Archive Here.