Kyle Harrison Faceoff Techniques

Being a great faceoff man requires much more than just strength and stamina. Although those few seconds often look to be all about raw aggression, the sport's top faceoff specialists spend many hours practicing specific techniques that focus just as much on skill and dexterity with the stick as they do on muscle.

In this great video Denver Outlaws midfielder Kyle Harrison shares two of his favourite techniques for faceoff success. Kyle was a three-time All American whilst at Johns Hopkins University and led the Blue Jays to the 2005 NCAA championship (they didn’t lose a home game whilst he was at the school!).

Kyle mentions in the video that he doesn’t take faces as often as he used to (MLL teams tend to have ‘Face Off – Get Off’ (FOGO) men whose job it is to take all the faces), but his skills are legendary, with a faceoff winning percentage which is the best in JHU history.

Kyle demonstrates a couple of techniques which are particularly useful if you are facing against a physically bigger player. The ‘jam’ and the ‘laser’ both require lightning fast reflexes, but get it just right and the ball will be free and in play very quickly.

 

Video courtesy of InsideLacrosse TV

More info :

Kyle's bio on the Johns Hopkins University site

Official site of the Denver Outlaws