OffenseAdvanced

Motion Offense Reads Drill

A motion offense relies on players reading each other's cuts and picks continuously rather than running a fixed, scripted play — an advanced team concept worth dedicated walkthrough time.

Age RangeAges 14+
Duration15–18 minutes
Group Size6 players
SportLacrosse

Equipment Needed

  • Sticks
  • Balls
  • Pinnies

Make the offense easy to read

A set of pinnies makes it easy to distinguish offense from defense during a busy motion-offense read.

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Setup

  • Set up six offensive players in a motion offense shape (often a 2-2-2 or similar spread).
  • Walk through the concept without defense first, then add a live defensive unit.
Motion Offense Reads Drill123456Continuous cutting and picks; fill space a teammate just left

Instructions

  1. Players pass and cut continuously, always filling the space a teammate just vacated.
  2. Off-ball players set picks for cutters as natural opportunities arise, rather than on a fixed count.
  3. The ball carrier reads the defense and looks to feed a cutter or attacking teammate as gaps open.
  4. Continue the motion for an extended possession, resetting spacing after any stoppage.
Coaching Points
  • This offense is about principles (keep moving, fill space, use picks) rather than a memorized script — coach the concepts, not just the positions.
  • Spacing has to be maintained constantly; a motion offense collapses quickly if players drift too close together.
  • Patience matters — forcing a low-percentage look early in the possession wastes the advantage continuous ball and player movement creates.
  • Walk through the shape and movement patterns slowly before adding a live, full-speed defense.

Variation

Add specific counters for how the defense should react (switch, slide, deny) to make it a fully live tactical session, or restrict to a smaller group (4 players) to simplify the reads.