Coaches Corner: Sunday 03/09/25

Welcome back to FCL’s Coaches Corner. As coaches ourselves, we are obsessed with learning and growing in our professions. Every other Sunday, we distill concepts and share the resources we find interesting. It is our goal to share nuggets and insights that we’ve been able to gather over the years from great coaches in all sports. At the end of the day, we all want to have the greatest positive impact possible on our athletes.

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Matt Dunn & Deemer Class

Today’s Menu Includes:

• 🔦 Coach Spotlight: Coach John Danowski of Duke on the nobility of coaching.

• 🧠 Some Outside Inspiration: a podcast challenging CLA & skill acquisition research.

• 🤓 A Trip to the Principles Office: a lesson on attacking the flow of the defense.

• 🔥 A Webinar Freebie: A clip freebie from Coach John Hogan of Georgetown.

Let’s dive in…

Coach Spotlight: A Quote to Ponder 💭

The coaching profession is hard. Most people that devote their lives to coaching have struggled at some point. You may have passed on opportunities for higher-paying jobs, normal hours, or a career without the need to relocate for advancement. On top of that, your job security is often tied to the performance of teenagers or college athletes.

In my experience, the quote from Coach D above is why for many coaches. We believe in the nobility of coaching.

We remember the impact our coaches had on us, and we crave the opportunity to do the same. The restless desire to guide young men and women through their athletic journeys makes the sacrifices worth it.

Because coaching isn’t just about the game. Sports are a microcosm for life. If coaching was really only about throwing a ball in the net more than the other team, it would be hard to justify committing our lives to it.

Instead, get the chance to serve others, hoping that some of them will grow up and do the same, whether on the field or in another aspect of life.

📺 Watch full FCL podcast with Coach Danowski here.

Outside Inspiration: A Podcast on Skill Acquisition 🎯

🤓 The Principles Office: Attacking the Flow

Welcome back to the Principles Office. Today’s session is all about flow—not the hair out of the helmet or the ponytail out of the goggles, but attacking the flow of the defense.

A few weeks back, we wrote about attacking the show. We promised to build on that concept because it's one way to attack defensive flow. That discussion focused primarily on the showing defender. Today, we're shifting the focus to how ball movement influences defensive flow and creates new opportunities to attack.

How Do We Get the Defense Flowing?

When we think about attacking the flow of the defense, we must first get the defense to flow. As more of an offensive mind, I think about defensive terms I’ve heard over the years, such as “folding the page” or “flowing with the ball.”

Once we create movement and rotations, opportunities to attack this flow present themselves. Here are a few key ways to get the defense flowing.

1️⃣ Initiation Dodges

Strong, aggressive initiation dodges have gravity. They attract hedges, they force the defense to sluff in on the backside, and they command respect. If defenses don’t honor these dodges, we must make them pay.

One key to remember is that the dodge doesn’t have to break ankles; but rather, it needs to angle towards the cage, create contact, and get to threatening spots.

2️⃣ Drawing the Slide

Drawing slides creates flow. The defense sends the 1st slide, and the 2nd and 3rd are soon to follow. Forcing the defense to shift and rotate becomes key.

This builds off the first point because it isn’t just about the initiation dodge. Whether it’s a strong initial dodge, or working a re-dodge, keying our offensive players to draw slides and recognize when they draw slides (or hedges) is critical.

Emphasizing “controlling” or “manipulating” the slide becomes a next level skill. Changing speeds, using pump fakes and change of posture, and disguising having a step on your defender, are ways our players can disrupt the timing of slides.

 3️⃣ ”Swing It” Mentality

This mindset is important in establishing good flow. We as coaches need to emphasize and show situations to our players where it makes sense to dodge, dodge longer, or carry longer, versus situations where we want to get the ball in and out of our stick.

The “swing it” mentality helps players visualize flipping fields and transferring the ball. It also helps define the purpose of ball movement versus the general “MOVE IT!” call when offense gets stale.

We don’t want to move it just to move it. Good ball swings create offensive flow, and in turn, defensive flow.

Examples of Concepts to Attack the Flow

This spring, we’ve seen several ways to attack defensive flow—often by going against the grain of the defense. Below, we break down a few of these concepts with clips to illustrate them. Hopefully, you’ll find some ideas to apply to your team.

• “Move it Twice” is a simple but effective concept. No matter the offensive shape, moving the ball twice off a dodge typically shifts it to the backside. This can happen in different ways—throwing up from goal line and then over, or dodging down the side, through X, and back across. The key is flipping the field quickly to create backside dodging and hitch opportunities, allowing us to attack defenders as they recover. While it doesn’t need to happen every time, it’s a great way to promote ball movement—especially when sticks get sticky!

• Ball Reversals are quick redirects that send the ball back to where it came from. Similar to a boomerang pass or a reverse skip, the key is to catch, read, and quickly send it back. This tactic is especially effective against zone defenses and helps identify favorable matchups for dodges up top. Don’t hesitate to reverse the ball—it can catch the defense off guard and open up new attacking angles.

• Reverse Skip Passes happen when the ball is thrown ahead, and the next player skips it back across the defense. Players can use deception—adjusting their posture to look off the pass or simply catching and firing. This movement often creates immediate shot opportunities or short dodges, as defenders flowing down must quickly recover and close out.

• Relay Passes happen when the ball is swung across the field out of a two-man game. This forces the defense to shift its focus to one side before quickly swinging the ball and attacking the backside. Importantly, the pass doesn’t always have to follow a pick—sometimes, a quick swing is enough to create an advantage.

• Boomerang Passes happen when the ball is sent across the field and then immediately returned—often to set up a dodge. This is a great way to trigger an offensive set or add a wrinkle to an existing scheme. Recently, we ran 3v3 and 4v4 drills where every rep started with a boomerang pass, and players picked it up quickly!

• Throw it Forward, Look Inside occurs when the ball is passed forward to “X,” giving the attackman/attacker three options: 1) attack opposite, 2) swing it backside, or 3) look inside for a cutter. This concept works well because the defense is often flowing backside as the ball reaches X, creating inside scoring chances. If nothing is there, quickly swinging the ball again keeps options open and maintains offensive flow.

These concepts help players learn how to attack the flow of the defense. Some act as triggers, like a “boomerang” pass, while others are reads players can make off the first dodge, such as a reverse skip or “throw it forward, look inside.” The key is keeping the defense on their toes and avoiding predictability.

While many of these concepts are designed for man-to-man defenses, they can be just as effective against zones. Sometimes, a simple action or read is all it takes to unlock your offense this spring.

Thanks for taking a trip down the hallway. Stay tuned for more content all spring and email us at [email protected] with any questions and let us know your thoughts.

🚨 Webinar Freebie 🚨

We believe our coaching 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.

As a perk of this newsletter, you get a free clip from one of the webinars. Today’s clip is from Georgetown OC, John Hogan.

• 📺 FREEBIE: John Hogan Film Breakdown on Unscripted Offensive Flow.

• 🔦 COMMUNITY TOUR: Watch Community Tour Here.

 🚨Bonus🚨

Coach Dunn just dropped a new Youtube video, teaching the butt-end hold vs v-hold.