5 Summer Tips for Attackmen

Pat Spencer is an all-world attackman. Do you want to be the second coming of him?

Are you an attackman? Are you wondering how to attract attention from college coaches this summer? Wonder no more! For I have created the ultimate list to get coaches lining up at your door. Execute on these five tips and I guarantee that coaches will come away impressed. You will stand out amongst your peers. They’ll look like Eli Manning, while you look like Patrick Mahomes. You ready? Good! Just keep on reading and be enlightened.

Ability to Draw Slides

To be an elite attackman, you must be able to beat your man in 1v1 situations. Doing so forces another defenseman to slide to you. With two men playing you, a teammate is guaranteed to be open. Passing the ball to open teammates is a recipe for success. Drawing slides and dumping the ball to open teammates (for goals) is an easy way to force college coaches to notice you.

Lots of attackmen can score goals. You will stand out by scoring goals and dishing out assists. A player that forces double coverage and still contributes to the offense is a guy every coach wants.

Be an Assist Monster

This is mentioned in drawing slides, but players that rack up assists are highly coveted. Sure, assists aren’t as sexy as goals, but they do get and keep you on the field. If the goal scorer is Han Solo, the assister is Chewbacca. The two need each other (unless you’re Disney and like making bad Star Wars movies).

You don’t have to draw slides to assist. You can stand at X with your man tied up and find someone open on crease. You can be on the wing, notice a cutter, and hit him in stride for a lay-up. Look at Pat Spencer. Spencer is an elite goal scorer, his ability to find the open man makes him special. In the 2019 Towson game, he had three guys hounding him and still found the open man. He had 11 points in his final collegiate game against Penn State (6 assists). Spencer is an all-around-player because he can shoot and pass. Be like Spencer. Every coach wants the next version of him.

Dodge and Score From Multiple Areas

Don’t be a one trick pony. Be willing to dodge from multiple places. If you can only dodge and score from X, you don’t stand out. Hundreds of high school attackmen can score from X. The ones that go to Hopkins and Maryland score from numerous of spots.

Therefore, you must practice dodging and shooting from every area. Practice from both wings, X, and up top. An attackman that can score from up top is attractive because he can alternate with midfielders. He is not limited in the roles he can play.

Get Ball Out of Stick Fast

Be decisive! Be quick! The best offensive players swiftly move the ball. You should know where you are going with the ball by the time you catch a pass. Don’t be the guy that catches the ball, twirls his stick around five times, walks ten yards to the left to only turn around and pass the ball back.

College coaches want players who move the ball fast. At Denver, Bill Tierney will bench you if you don’t pass the ball quick enough. Study the Denver offense to get an idea on how fast you should be moving the ball. A guy that doesn’t waste movement and is decisive with his passes will impress scouts.

If you struggle with passing the ball quickly, add quick sticks to your wallball routine. You shouldn’t be going so fast the ball flies out of your stick in an awkward direction. The passes should be controlled. An NFL quarterback generally has 2-3 seconds to pass the ball. This is a good guideline for how long you should hold the ball. Sometimes you should hold the ball longer, if there isn’t a good look, but a good rule of thumb is this: the faster you move the ball around, the better.

Effort on Rides

College coaches notice. They see the attackmen in summer tournaments that slack off when it comes to riding. Don’t be like Jabba the Hutt and sit there, fly like Boba Fett to the ball.

Know this: when your offense loses the ball, your job is not done until the opposition clears the ball past midfield. Until then, it is your job to get the ball back. Even with good effort and positioning, the opposition will generally clear the ball successfully; however, in every game, the clearing team makes a couple mistakes. Players that capitalize on these mistakes make the difference in close games.

Don’t be the guy that watches a D pole drop the ball, casually scoop it back up, and lackadaisically throw it up field. No! When he drops the ball, he should already be boxed out and watching you scoop up the ball. Attackmen that force turnovers on rides win close games. Good coaches know this and will beg you to commit to their school.

Conclusion

Do you think these tips will help? Did I miss anything important? Do you disagree with my list? Let me know by connecting with me on Twitter or Instagram. You can also subscribe to the website to comment directly onto this article.

Lastly, I would like to apologize for the severe lack of content this month. May was the final month of my full-time job and my health has not been the greatest. These things combined left me swamped. I felt the articles I drafted were not up to the standard the lacrosse community deserves. Fortunately, I am finished with work and can dedicate myself full-time to Logical Lacrosse this summer. I have loads of new content planned for release in the upcoming days, starting with this article. Thank you all for your support and, as always, I hope you enjoyed the post!