Field Session: The Offense's Operating System
Dodges that chain, slides read by origin, feeds that survive pressure, shots on the run, and a ride that steals possessions back.
Duration10 minEquipmentstick, ball, wall, cage or target
Fast wall ball both hands (quick-sticks, splits mid-cradle, behind-the-back for joy), then six catch-and-release shots at the target, three each side, overhand, corners called. The battery assumes the daily wall habit; it checks sharpness, not existence.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "The wall made your hands. Now aim them."
Block 1: Dodge Chains · 18 minutes
Duration9 minEquipmentstick, ball, cones + passive defender
Chained dodging: the initial split at your commitment, then on your recovery call ("BACK!") the RE-DODGE: a second plant beating your recovery angle (roll-back topside, or the hesitation re-split underneath). Eight chains each side at three-quarter speed, ball protected throughout. At this level first moves get saved by recovering defenders; the second move is where separation actually happens.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "His recovery is your second door. Dodge, read, dodge again."
Duration9 minEquipmentstick, ball, 2 cones as the alley
Full-speed versions down a coned alley: pace lull into the split, burst topside or underneath, and the finishing decision at the alley's end: turn the corner to the shot, or the roll-back feed to a trailing target on your "SLIDE!" call. Six chains. Speed with a plan is the position; speed without one is a turnover with good intentions.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "Fast is only useful pointed at a decision. Chain it to one."
Block 2: Slide Geometry and Pressure Feeding · 18 minutes
Duration9 minEquipmentstick, ball, 3 targets around an imagined crease
The graduate slide read: you slide at the dodging kid from called origins ("CREASE slide!" from the middle target's spot, "ADJACENT!" from the wing's), and the answer maps to the origin: crease slide opens the crease target (feed inside), adjacent slide opens the wing skip (the far target). Ten dodge-and-feed reps, origin varied, answer named mid-play. Slides are subtractions; the feed goes where the defense just left.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "Don't just see him coming; see where he came FROM. That spot is your assist."
Duration9 minEquipmentstick, ball, targets, a raised-stick obstacle
Pressure feeding: you (or a propped second stick) crowd the feeding lane with a raised stick; the kid drives, relocates the release point (over the top, around with a step, or the fake-then-feed), and delivers overhand-family feeds that arrive stick-side high through traffic. Ten feeds. The fake-feed (selling one lane, throwing another) enters the toolkit here, celebrated appropriately as legal crime.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "The lane is never given; it's manufactured. Fake it open, then thread it."
Block 3: Shooting on the Run · 14 minutes
Duration7 minEquipmentstick, ball, cage or target
The position's signature: shooting at full stride off the dodge, overhand, hips turning THROUGH the release, ball placed low-far or high-near by call. Ten shots each side off self-toss or your feeds. The standard that separates: shots on the run that stay overhand and placed, versus the sidearm sprayers this age produces by default.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "Run through the shot, stay over the top, pick a corner. Sprayers get benched."
Time-and-Room vs On-the-Run
Duration7 minEquipmentstick, ball, target
The two shot modes, chosen by your late call: "TIME!" (you sag: settle the feet, full mechanics, heavy placed shot) or "RUN!" (you close: the stride-through release NOW). Eight reps mixed. Shot selection is a read like everything else; drilling the switch beats drilling either mode alone.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "He picks your shot with his feet. Heavy when given time, gone when not."
Duration8 minEquipmentstick, ball, 2 cones
Attack's defense, drilled for real: on your "TURNOVER!" call mid-drill, the kid converts instantly to riding: a curved sprint that shows the ball-carrying parent one sideline (cover shadow on the middle), closing under control, stick on the imagined gloves at legal-position distance (no contact in the yard; angles and effort are the training). Six rides. Coaches at this level bench one-way attackers; the instant-convert habit is the audition.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "Lose it, hunt it, same second. The ride is attack's defense and your reputation."
Duration7 minEquipmenteverything
A closing narrated possession: X drive with a chained dodge, a slide-origin read and feed, an off-ball reset, a run-and-rise finish, and the immediate ride on the imaginary clear. Two full chains, everything audible. End on a placed goal and the honest log (dodges that chained, feeds on target, shot placement, rides converted), raced weekly. Attack is decisions at density; the log is where density becomes visible.
Coaching Cue
Cue: "One possession, five jobs. Run the whole shift, then write it down."
What to watch today: sidearm creep and silent reads. The two decay modes of this age are shots drifting sidearm (spray city) and reads happening without being named (which means half of them are guesses). Hold the overhand standard and the say-your-read standard through every block. An attacker who chains dodges, names slides, feeds through hands, and converts to the ride is a varsity roster line waiting to be printed.