May 29, 2008

Mr. Zash, I have a couple of questions regarding the types of lax shots there are? How many are there and how do you do a "crank" shot?

Thank you, and best wishes.

- Chris Lascola

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Dear Chris,

There are many different ways to define a shot. If you're referring only to the stick's origin, there is overhand, underhand, sidearm, three-quarter overhand, three-quarter underhand, etc. If you're referring to the ball's trajectory, there is high-to-high, high-to-low, low-to-low, low-to-high, etc. Then you have trick shots like the behind the back, around the world, through the legs, etc. The number of different shhrots is only limited by our collective imagination.

The "crank shot" is also known as the "room and time shot." In this instance, the shooter catches a feed from a teammate and has the room and time to step in and take an uncontested shot on goal. When I was at Duke, Coach Alberici (then-Duke assistant and current Army head coach Joe Alberici) taught us the "step, hop, step" method. With shoulders perpendicular to the cage, the shooter simultaneously catches the feed and steps in with his front foot towards the target. Then, he drags his back foot towards the front foot and hops onto the back foot. Last, he steps forward again with his front foot towards the target, and releases the shot. This process is designed to keep the shooter's momentum moving towards the goal. Load the shot by getting the stick up and away from the body and off the shoulder.Doing so will provide greater leverage, and as a result, greater velocity. Follow through to get that extra MPH.

Best,
Matt Zash

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"Straight Shooters" is a US Lacrosse-produced advice series that runs every Sunday in the Baltimore Sun and on baltimoresun.com. The series can also be found here on Lacrosse Magazine Online at www.laxmagazine.com.

Matt Zash was a two-time All-American midfielder at Duke, graduating in 2006. He plays professional lacrosse for the MLL's Philadelphia Barrage and the NLL's New York Titans. Zash was a member of the 2003 U.S. under-19 men's world championship team and played for Team USA in the 2007 Indoor World Lacrosse Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He owns and operates the Lax Hut, a chain of lacrosse retail stores.

E-mail your questions to Zash at zash@laxmagazine.com.

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Straight Shooters: Archive
June 24, 2008 - Zash: 'Step, Hop, Step,' Shoot on the Run
June 24, 2008 - Biles: Be Aware When Choosing Eyewear
June 10, 2008 - Zash: Don't Get Stuck on New Stick Regulations
June 10, 2008 - Biles: A Beginner's Guide to Lacrosse
May 29, 2008 - Zash: Hard or Soft Mesh?
May 29, 2008 - Biles: Actions Speak Louder
May 13, 2008 - Zash: Recruiting Tips from a Pro
May 13, 2008 - Biles: Go Ahead, Play Other Sports
April 28, 2008 - Biles: Check Yourself, Then Her Stick
April 22, 2008 - Zash: Treading the 'Other End'
April 11, 2008 - Biles: Dream Big, Work Hard
April 1, 2008 - Zash: Shorten Up, Long Poles