A LITTLE POKE CAN GO A LONG WAY
Poke checks are easy to teach and effective when used right.
As a defender you want the guy carrying the ball to be out of rhythm or somehow annoyed by the way you are playing him. You don’t want him to feel comfortable or worse, confident. Things like controlled and timely poke checks help make the defensive package better. You do not have to gifted to poke, but you do need to be focused.
SHUFFLE, SHUFFLE, POKE
No lunging or lounging are aloud when poking. The top hand remains quiet, like using a pool cue stick. With the poke check in lacrosse the bottom hand throws a hard jab to the other guy’s hand, the glove cuff if possible. Good footwork and balance are key elements for pecking, poking, and putting a little sting on the hand of your opponent.
They talk about being a triple threat as a lacrosse player. It usually refers to offense and scoring, but truthfully if a player is athletic and smart he can be a triple threat defending the ball as well.
This generation of player gets the whole ‘poke’ concept, right? Well, effective poke checks make it so that you as a player can be a good defensive player in any defensive system as long as you always have good position and never let the stick head travel more than 6″ or so, and by the way this holds true for almost any kind of check you might want to land.
