Classroom: Dana Dobbie's Draw Breakers
This player tips article appears in the December issue of Lacrosse Magazine, a US Lacrosse publication available exclusively to its members. Join today to start your monthly subscription to LM.
by Matt DaSilva | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff
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Before she lines up for the draw, Dana Dobbie pinches the strings along her sidewall, punches in her pocket and presents the backside of her stick to the official. © John Strohsacker/LaxPhotos.com |
Dana Dobbie is not sure she wants to do this.
"I think we can do it, or at least talk about it," she says,
"leaving out minor details."
"It," in this case, concerns the ritual that Dobbie rode to an
NCAA-record 334 career draw controls at Ohio and Maryland. A
supporting nod from Jen Adams, her former coach with the Terps and
now her boss at Loyola, assures Dobbie.
"Who cares if they know? Just stop us," Adams says of copycats
that might employ Dobbie's draw against the Greyhounds this year.
"I'll give you my scouting report. Just stop us."
That confidence bodes well for Loyola, just as it did for Maryland
when Dobbie, a Guelph, Ontario, native, prowled the center
circle.
"It's just a lot of tricks," Dobbie says, "using what your
opponent's giving you to your advantage."
Want to be your team's "it" factor next spring? Take these eight
tips for draw controls to the bank.
1. Treat it like a foul shot.
"First thing, I like to compare the preparation to a foul shot,"
Dobbie says. "Go in already knowing you're going to get the ball
before you even take it. It's more of a mental thing than
anything."
2. Give her an offer she can't refuse.
Says Dobbie: "When you set up, punch your pocket in, lay your
strings out along your sidewall, and turn your stick facedown, so
that when the referee comes in, she's going to place the ball in
your stick before both sticks match up.
Right away, you already have control of the ball, because the
referee has already set the ball in your stick. If you give it to
them, they'll use it. If you don't, they'll just put the ball in
between your sticks. But if you give them a pocket, it's easier
them to put it in your stick, and then put both of your sticks
together."
3. Push, don't pull.
This could be a matter of preference, but Dobbie always draws from
the pushing position, facing the offensive end of the field. The
other option, pulling with your back to the offensive end, makes it
more difficult to draw to yourself.
4. Get up close and personal.
Have all your strength and all your weight as close to the ball as
possible. Set your strong foot as close to the ball as you can and
underneath your stick head, with your head overlooking the plane.
"From here," Dobbie says, "I can feel the ball. I can feel whether
I have control of it. If I'm far away, all I can feel is my stick,
as opposed to where the ball is in my stick."
5. Position your feet on an angle.
Set up with your strong foot in front and your other foot behind,
about shoulder width apart, to maintain balance. Then angle your
feet away from your opponent. "When I get this ball in the air,"
Dobbie explains, "my back has already boxed out the person I'm
going against. I don't have to turn to box her out."
Do this right, and the only way your opponent can get at your
stick is over your back. "I draw fouls over the back a lot," Dobbie
says, "at least once a game."
6. Watch the umpire for a "tell."
"This is one thing a lot of my opponents don't do," Dobbie says.
"They don't watch the umpire as she's walking away. A lot of times
the umpire will maybe take five steps before she blows the whistle,
or she puts her hand on her hip. There's always something an umpire
does before she blows the whistle."
So don't look at the ball; look at the umpire. Catch onto her
"tell," and you can anticipate the whistle.
7. No "tell?" No problem. Watch his or her
cheeks.
Another common-sense reason to keep your eye on the umpire -- his
or her cheeks will puff up prior to whistling the start of play.
"As soon as I see them grab that air in their mouth, I'm ready to
adjust, as opposed to hearing [the whistle] and then going," Dobbie
says. "It's really all about reaction."
8. Buckle under pressure.
You read that right. Whereas some specialists might try to win the
draw off power, and therefore apply pressure to the stick, Dobbie
likes to give a little, and react to the ball instead. "As soon as
I put pressure on my opponent, I'm pushing the ball into her stick,
which most people do," she says. "Instead, I allow them to put the
pressure on my stick and put the ball in my stick. Then I'm just
reacting straight up, as opposed to pushing the ball at them, using
their force to draw the ball upward."
