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The ‘Y’ Drill, Coach Bates, Princeton
(Go to the interview section and hear Coach Bates describe this drill in the preview for Free Members)
In our recent interview with Coach Bates from Princeton, he offered a great way to maximize fundamentals as well as open play out of a 4V4 set. This drill again meets our criteria. It is a snapshot of a game situation, engages eight players at a time, quick to a shot, and fun.
Similar to the 4V4 sets from Coach Seaman, this is a 4V4 drill from a set with two players up top, a player in the crease, and a player behind. Thus the “Y”.
It is amazing how many of the college coaches we talk to about practices, work on 4V4 in some variation. The reason is simple, it allows the players room to see the field and their options better and gives them space to work offensively. In addition, even though we might only have four players on offense we can still emulate offensive sets and strategies with just the four offensive players, making the drill more game-like.
Defensively, in a six man set or 6V6, when a player slides, two or three might also slide, but one or two may just sag in to possibly help. In running a 4V4 set, all defensive players must react or slide, or be prepared to slide in every drill and every situation.
In Coach Bates’ version, we want the player to drive hard and necessitate a slide.
