Coaches Corner: 11/23/25

Happy Sunday, Coach.

Welcome back to FCL’s Coaches Corner. Where we dig into coaching lessons, share resources, and work to grow together. Every other Sunday, we distill ideas we’ve learned from great coaches across all sports, hoping to give you a few tools and thoughts you can bring back to your team.

Let’s dive in.

(Missed the last Coaches Corner? Catch up here.)

Matt Dunn & Deemer Class

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Read more in the link.

Today’s Menu Includes:

• 💼 Job Board: Aspen High School Head Coach Position

• 🔦 Coach Spotlight: Mike Elko - Texas A&M Football

• 🧠 Some Outside Inspiration: Atomic Habits - James Clear

• 🤓 A Trip to the Principles Office: Pick Play (Part 1) - Roles and Communication

• 🔥 A Webinar Freebie: Mark Glicini - So What, Now What?

💼 Job Board: Aspen High School, CO

Shared through our FCL Premium Community Job Board, one of the perks for members is we help promote their openings to our full Coaches Corner network.

• Position: Varsity Girls Lacrosse Head Coach

• Location: Aspen, Colorado

• Season: February 23 to May 15, 2026

• Ideal Availability: Start Immediately

• Preferred Experience: 2+ years coaching at the high school level and college playing experience

Aspen High School is a public school located in the Aspen School District, and is the only high school in the district. The program is seeking a head coach who will be responsible for planning, directing and leading an education based athletic program that seeks to develop athletes of empathy and integrity.

🔗 Apply here: https://aspen.schoolspring.com/?jobid=5445100

🔦 Coach Spotlight
Mike Elko - Texas A&M Football Head Coach

This quote captures one of the most underrated responsibilities of a coach or a leader: emotional regulation for the entire team.

When athletes become frantic, overwhelmed, or sped up, the leader must become the counterbalance. A calm presence communicates, “We’re okay. We can handle this.” It grounds the team.

Conversely, when the teams energy dips or their edge fades, the leader becomes the spark. Intensity, urgency, and focus are not just taught, they’re modeled.

Great leadership isn’t about mirroring the moment, it’s about shaping it.

🧠 Outside Inspiration
Atomic Habits - James Clear

Atomic Habits by James Clear is a book about how small choices shape long-term outcomes. Clear explains how tiny adjustments in daily routines stack up over time and lead to meaningful progress.

He breaks down why habits form, how to shift them, and what makes good routines stick. It’s a straightforward look at how consistent, simple actions can move someone closer to the life they want.

🤓 The Principles Office
Pick Play (Part 1) - Roles & Communication

In recent years, the two-man game has become a staple of offenses at every level. We think of pick play as a subset of the two-man game that includes mirrors, backside exchanges, off-ball seals, fly-bys, slips, swing picks, etc.

Today, we are going to focus on pick play, but the concepts we will discuss translate into the broader category of the two-man game.

Anytime we talk defense, it is important to stay grounded in what our main objective is. As a defense, we want to limit high-quality shots and regain possession of the ball. 

Understanding Your Role

There are two possible roles you can have in a pick scenario. Each player has different responsibilities and it is crucial that both players completely understand their role. In reality, the other players on the field can also be involved in the coverage, but let’s keep it simple and focus on the on-ball player and the player guarding the picker.

On-Ball Player

The on-ball player’s first priority is to cover the ball. As with any scenario when your man has the ball, your job is to deny access to dangerous locations. Never forget that. Your assumption is that you will stay with your man and prevent them from scoring unless told otherwise. Playing the ball first helps with our pick play defense. Dropping to play the pick too early allows the picking team to manipulate their pick.

The second responsibility of the on-ball player is listen. Defenders must be alert and ready to react to the command given by the defender guarding the picker.

Trusting that your teammates will do their job here is a major part of defending picks.

Off-Ball Player

The man guarding the picker’s job is to navigate the on-ball player through the pick or support the ball if needed.

We are going to dive into the details of this communication below, but a three part framework serves the purpose for the details to be communicated:

1. Name - use the on-ball defender’s name

2. Direction - tell them the direction of the pick (left/right)

3. Decision - tell them the decision as to how you will play the pick (over/under/chip/jump/switch etc)

To put this in more general terms, their responsibility is to establish a line of communication, read the scenario and communicate a decision in a timely fashion to get both players on the same page.

Pick Play Communication - Deep Dive

Any of us as coaches know that pick play communication is much more than just what to say. Sure “Name, Direction, Decision” is a nice simple framework to get across the important information, but this isn’t a multiple choice test. Pick play communication is all about getting the job done, not just saying the right thing.

How and when you say things really matter, and I want to dive into some nuanced tactics on how we can better coach our players through pick play communication.

Reframe Your Job

As mentioned above, your job as the off-ball player in the pick play scenario is to help your teammate navigate the pick so that we do not give the offense an advantage by mis-playing it. Your job IS NOT just to say the right words. Your job is to be effective in achieving our objective. Let’s talk through some ways to be an effective communicator.

Establish an Early Line of Communication

This means we have to establish the line of communication with the on-ball defender as early as humanly possible.

Establishing that early line of communication is the whole key. You don’t wait for the picker to actually set their feet. You don’t wait for contact. You don’t wait until the on-ball defender is already in the blender. This is a huge mistake many players make.

You open it at the very first you chance you get.

In fact, a really simple hack is to tell the on-ball defender that they are all alone or to be ready for pick:

• “Tim - you’re still alone, play the ball” or

• “Tim - get ready for a pick right”

We need to say this well before the picker is in position, but this does a few things:

1. It primes the on-ball defender to keep listening for updates

2. It builds trust that they are alone and they will be notified if that changes

Now, the players are operating on the same page before the chaos. We’ve now warmed up the line of communication so we’re ready to operate.

Switch From Reacting to Orchestrating

I believe one reason many players freeze up is they don’t know what to say. They feel too strong of a need to get the call right. However, the truth is if the call is late, or hesitant, it doesn’t matter whether it was the “right” one. The offense already won the rep.

The shift we want is from reading the play to orchestrating the play. That is we want to go from a passive commentator to active conductor of the scenario.

We can build off of our earlier communication since we’ve already established a line:

• “Tim - pick on your left - keep playing the ball - over over over!”

The off-ball player needs to have conviction and understand being on the same page is more important than getting it right. This means the off-ball player must make the call with enough time for the on-ball defender to adjust and make the play… CALL IT EARLY, AND REPEAT IT CONSISTENTLY. Stop waiting to make the call.

Getting the Read Right

That being said, there are still optimal ways we want to play picks in certain areas. We will dive into this more in the future, but an important piece is to know where you are on the field and what the match-up is. This allows us to have an idea of what we want to do well before the decision point.

Is this pick tight to the cage, or is it wider in a less dangerous location? This often dictates how we should navigate the pick.

Understand the matchups. Is this a big/little, pole to pole, short to short pick? Is this a matchup we would like to keep or one that we are ok with switching?

By reading the situation before the pick is set, you gain insight into what the best decision is.

If you get it wrong… Switch.

Switch on contact or if the dodger gets an advantage. As a general rule no matter where you are on the field, if there is contact made with the picker, switch the matchup. If the on-ball player gets “stacked” and ends up chasing the ball carrier we can switch too.

Make a judgment call. Are we a step behind before the pick, if so switch. Are we matching feet well AND the on-ball player knows where the pick is, if so stay. Are we by the heart, if so switch or double.

Stick to your gut, trust yourself, trust your teammates. Commit to your decision.

Bonus Tip: Train Your Voice

I love the way Jon Gruden talks about a snap count. It’s an absolute art — even more, it’s a skill. Your voice is something that can, and should, be trained.

Your voice should cut through the air. Once again, our communication serves a purpose. It is not just to say the right words. The way we speak — our cadence, tone, volume and inflection — all matter. Your teammates should feel the urgency of what you are demanding.

Here is a great example of Jon Gruden talking about this very topic:

Wrapping It Up

We all know how prevalent pick play is in lacrosse today. It is one thing to know what to do, it’s an entirely different thing to be effective in accomplishing it.

I think we need to reframe what the off-ball player’s job is in pick play for many players. Some will just get it naturally, but others really hit a wall with communication. They fear getting it wrong or stepping out of their shell.

Train the voice. Train the conviction. Understand that it’s less about having the perfect answer and more about staying on the same page.

Until Next Time

Thanks for taking a trip down the hallway. If you are looking for a deeper dive, we have posted numerous videos on our Instagram, Twitter and YouTube channels on this topic.

Stay tuned for more content all spring and email us at [email protected] with any questions and let us know your thoughts.

🚨 Webinar Freebie 🚨

This week’s freebie is from our webinar with Mark Glicini, a current PLL player and Mental Performance Coach. Mark delivered a webinar on developing your mindset for meaningful growth. It is an action provoking webinar where you are sure to leave with specific things you can do. One segment we loved addressed the common pitfall of “Why Me,” and discusses another way to perceive your situation.

The FCL Circle community is the best resource on the market for any men’s or women’s coaching staff to continue developing through new drills and strategies. It includes over 30 college coach webinars, 100+ drills for offense, defense and full team compete.

• 🎥 WEBINAR FREEBIE: So What, Now What?

• 🔦 COMMUNITY TOUR: Watch Community Tour Here.

🎙️ FCL PODCAST & COACH COMMUNITY

Want to keep sharpening your coaching toolbox?

🎧 Podcast – Check out our free podcast on Spotify, YouTube and Apple podcast. Who’s ready for season 2?

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