All-time winningest coach in men's lacrosse history (over 450 wins);
11x National Championship Coach (D-III); including five championships in six years (2003-08);
3x Division III National Coach of the Year (2012, 1991, 2008);
distinguished member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame (2013); has coached 9 national players of the year
Oftentimes in lacrosse, an important extra man offensive possession could be the difference between a win and a loss in a close game.
A Hall-of-Fame coach with 10 national championships, Jim Berkman has become renowned for a high-scoring system, including one of the best extra man offenses in the country annually. Using a combination of `chalk talk' and on-field demonstrations, Coach Berkman provides detailed X's and O's, as well as his own unique tips and methods of building from skeleton play into live play against a defense. All of this to teach you how he develops his outstanding extra man unit.
Develop Multiple Strategies for Extra Man Offense
Coach Berkman explains the philosophy of the man-up offense and how to prepare so your team will be successful. He introduces diagrammed plays to make sure the viewer is ready for his progression of drills used to demonstrate man-up play. You'll review terms like Gap, Skip Lanes, Carry, Step In, Step Off, Regular Seal, Fake Seal and Picks to make sure players are clear on what is being discussed, in addition to seeing them demonstrated throughout the video.
Using a 1-4-1 formation as the basis for an extra man attack, Coach Berkman demonstrates how ball-movement, utilizing hitches, fakes, getting the ball inside and forcing the defense to rotate can create numerous open looks to the goal during extra man play. Coach Berkman emphasizes reading space provided to generate `dunks' as opposed to `three-pointers' so that his teams do not rely on low-percentage outside shots as the basis of their extra man attack. You'll learn how to train players to see and attack the gaps in the defense. The importance of preparing your team to know the differences between man down formations and their weaknesses is also covered.
Skeleton Formations and Patterns
Coach Berkman emphasizes the use of skeleton formations to teach every offensive player his team's extra man plays, so that every player on his roster is prepared. Four primary extra man situations are presented in detail:
- Extra Man Free-lance formations.
- Extra Man set plays.
- Extra Man set plays into formations.
- Base 1-4-1 into formations.
Special Extra Man Situations
Coach Berkman emphasizes the need to practice special extra man situations that a team can face in any game, but does not always prepare for. He also notes that he practices extra man offense while timed in order to practice in a game-like atmosphere. An emphasis is placed on the need to prepare for any special situation that an extra man unit could face:
- Attacking the goal from the end-line while in extra man.
- A quick-hit extra man offense when the penalty is about to expire.
- Defensive shut-offs - both individual players being shut-off, and a rotation of the shut-off.
- Extra Man Offense when two men up.
- Extra Man Offense 5 v 4.
- Playing half-field and full-field while in extra man.
- End of game situations while in extra man.
Coach Berkman provides everything your team will need to implement an advanced extra man offense. You will learn not only the basics to advance your extra man unit, but the specific X's and O's of an extra man system and strategies to compete against special situations presented by defenses. Learn to advance your extra man game by using the playbook of one of the best offensive minds in men's lacrosse history!
44 minutes. 2016.