Shock???!!! You run a zone D. people would be "shocked" if you could run with the better teams, not just slow them down.
Wait, what coach has 11 & 12 year olds playing a zone???? That's ridiculous. There is a time and a place for a zone defense, and it's not in youth lacrosse. I'm a defensive coach for my district's varsity team and a former collegiate pole. A zone defense should be used to supplement your regular defense when you encounter matchup issues. You should never run a zone at the youth level. It teaches the boys nothing and doesn't prepare them for the game at an advanced level. Generally, zone defenses are employed by coaches that don't understand the game. It's very easy to employ; however, it should only be used AFTER boys have learned the full intracies of a man defense. And no 11, 12, 13 or 14 year old has yet. Honestly, if your coach has never played the game, your team is going to have a hard time transitioning to the next level. You'll more likely find that the team will plateau and no matter how much you practice your team won't improve.
Agreed. Youth is about learning how to play the game correctly. Playing a zone at this age is playing to win instead of learning the game. That'll get old really quickly as teams/coaching gets better and their zone is exposed. Then they switch to man and get smoked because the kids can't play. Generally a youth team plays a zone because its lacks athletes at the position or the coach figures its the easiest thing to teach.
