Film Study: New York’s pass-down, pick-down actions

In the New York Atlas’ win against the Philadelphia Waterdogs last Sunday, New York made changes in their midfield personnel replacing Reid Bowering with Kyle Jackson as a left-handed option.

New York’s coaching staff asked their midfield unit to set more picks for their attackman during their offensive sets. What was the result of New York’s midfield setting more picks? Their best offensive performance of the season.

“When the ball gets to [Connor] Shelly [Shellenberger], the ball gets to [Jeff] Teat … good things happen for us,” said New York Atlas head coach and general managerMike Pressler. “I thought our middies did a really good job picking for Jeff today.”

New York’s use of the pass-down, pick-down motion to help free up space for their players allowing New York to take timely, high percentage shots throughout the game leading to a 17-point performance out of the group

Similar to basketball’s give-and-go, the pass-down, pick-down is a simple concept but can be shaped in a multitude of ways depending on the personnel used in an offensive possession.

The New York Atlas scored in several different manners in their win over the Philadelphia Waterdogs off of pass-down, pick-downs set by their offensive midfielders.

With the versatility that New York’s offense brings with their personnel helps the team initiate pass-down, pick-downs in various manners. The spacing and chemistry that the team’s offensive unit creates help maintain a balanced pace throughout the course of a game.

This first clip is the textbook execution of a settled pass-down, pick-down. Atlas midfielder Reid Bowering comes out of the box and immediately sends the ball down the lefty wing to fellow Canadian Jeff Teat.

The pick creates space for the player receiving the ball; here, it allows Teat to gain a better angle when he brings the ball upfield. The pick that Bowering sets creates a miscommunication between both defenders as they hesitate to jump on the pick, allowing Teat to have ample room to get his hands free and take the shot, leading to an Atlas goal.

Both Bowering and Teat are offensive players that use their creativity to their advantage. While they may not directly beat a matchup from an initial dodge, they stay patient and let opportunities come to them.

The second look that Atlas used during the pass-down, pick-down comes from the righty wing.

Midfielder Matt Traynor brings the ball down to attackman Connor Shellenberger and executes the same motion from the Bowering-Teat play. Instead of coming up the hash and shooting or forcing the middle to feed the ball back to Traynor, Shellenberger takes a few extra steps and notices that midfielder Bryan Costabile has time and room for a shot from the top of the two-point arc.

Philadelphia’s defense is sludged in, assuming that Shellenberger is looking for an open man on the crease, but he makes the easy pass that allows Costabile to take a two-point shot with little pressure from his defender.

In this clip, we see Traynor begin his dodge, and Philadelphia’s defense presumes it will be another pass-down, pick-down look.

With Teat knowing that Philadelphia is ready to jump a pick on the same play, he shallow cuts around the crease, completely losing his defender and allowing Traynor to find him on the opposite side for an easy opportunity and a quick finish.

New York involved other instances of pick play to help generate offense through the game beyond just the pass-down, pick-down.

While not a pass-down, pick-down, New York performs a big-little motion behind the cage. The big-little is a pick involving two defenders: one short-stick and one long-pole. The big little puts defenses in a tough spot as most defenses try not to switch their matchups as much as possible.

In this set, New York midfielder Hugh Kelleher sets a pick for Shellenberger to come up the right side and makes Philadelphia switch a short stick onto him.

Philadelphia’s defense turns into complete chaos on the backside when Xander Dickson sets a slip for Bowering on crease, allowing Shellenberger to have enough room to find Bowering open above the net.

While setting picks can be viewed as a mundane task for an off-ball player, it creates better opportunities that generally aren’t seen until after the play is over. New York’s midfield group executed their game plan allowing for more space for players who had the ball in their stick to make good decisions either on a shot or assist opportunity.

New York recorded their best offensive performance this season in their win. Expect to see more of this action moving forward.

“Using that physicality in the pick game is something we need to continue emphasizing,” said Pressler. “Offensively, it’s about freeing up switches, picking guys off, and just being more aggressive overall in the pick game. That’s where we can really capitalize.”