X's and O's By Mike MacKay - Athletic Stance

Mike MacKay - Manager of Coach Education and Development


In working with younger players one of the most important concepts that they need to learn is an athletic stance. This is a balanced position from which the player can move in a powerful and quick manner. Many players struggle to find this position. This may be due to poor strength or flexibility, but it is often because we confuse the players with instructions such as, bend your legs and keep your back straight. Here is a progressive way to help players discover an athletic defensive stance.


Head - the head must be up with the eyes scanning forward. If the head tips forward the player will be off balance in a forward direction.
Back – the back has a slight arch in the lumbar region. The shoulders are back pushing the chest slightly forward.
Elbows – the elbows should be bent and over top of the knees. When we straighten the arms we move our centre of gravity away from the centre.
Hips – the butt is back behind the heels. The hips are inside the knees.
Knees – the knees are flexed and inside the big toe of the feet.
Feet – the ankle is flexed. The weight of the body is on the ball of the foot.
When you look for the side a straight line is formed by the ball of the foot, knee and shoulder.


Pylon squat
Each player starts with two pylons. It works best with the cone type. If not, use empty pop bottles or milk jugs. Have the player assume a defensive stance (have a partner checks from the side). Taking one cone in each hand the player sits down in his/her stance and places the cones out to each side, reaching as far as he/she can without coming out of a good stance. We do not want the player to sway to place the pylons. The knees should not end up outside the feet. The key is to sit down on the leg. This way the player can still push off. Have the player move back and forth without moving the feet and touch the top of the cone 10 times. This is building strength , flexibility and muscle memory.


The next step is to have the players move the pylons out a little further than they can reach. Now we want the player to work on pushing to touch the top of the pylon. Return to a balanced position in the middle before moving to the next pylon on the other side.

Add two more pylons behind the original two. Now the players work on a quick hip turn and a push to touch the pylons. Again, return to a balanced position each time before going to touch the next cone.

These age good drills to do as part of a movement prep in warm up, especially if you are going to be doing defense that day.
We are building strength and flexibility in the core, legs ankles and hips. It is very important to watch for players losing the good athletic position. If they lose their good form they will not receive the training effect you desire.


Load in a guided offensive player
Have the player tart in the good stance. It is important that the defender moves off the line of the pylons to cut off the angles.

Load in a ball

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