The Denver Outlaws were missing something in their offense in the first two weeks of the season. Despite boasting four Tewaaraton Award winners and countless other playmakers and finishers, the Outlaws had maybe the clunkiest offense in the PLL.
Heading into the third game of the season and staring down a winless start, Denver had to go back to basics. At practice in Philadelphia, head coach Tim Soudan wanted the team to run a simple drill where players could only hold the ball for three seconds or less. It’s a simple idea executed at all levels of lacrosse.
Assistant coach Jacques Monte had the name for the drill: Hippo.
The drill has nothing to do with large, semi-aquatic mammals, but instead harkens from legendary Hobart head coach Dave Urick. The concept is as simple as it gets: Players run the offense while getting the ball out of their sticks in three seconds or less. Instead of a focus on shooting or dodging, it frees players to just move the ball.
“It’s one play after another, just moving the ball as quickly as you can,” Soudan said.
With the Hippo drill getting the sticks loose and the Outlaws running through their offensive sets without shooting, Denver focused in on basics and ball movement. And then everything loosened up.
“It was the best our offense has looked in that practice,” attackman Pat Kavanagh said. “And then we just kept the momentum going into this week. We’re starting to find our identity.”
In the two games since the Outlaws introduced the Hippo drill, Denver is playing freer and faster. The Outlaws averaged 182.5 passes per game in the first two games of the year. Since implementing the Hippo drill, Denver is averaging 243.5 passes – a 60-pass increase.
That’s led to more valuable passes, as well, with Denver racking up 11 assists in its last two games. Kavanagh, at the center of the Outlaws’ improved ball movement, is on the cusp of being one of the league’s top playmakers.
“It’s so much more effective to get better shots,” Soudan said.
Kavanagh is sixth in the league in assist opportunities (19), yet only has four assists on the year. But the second-year star from Notre Dame is breaking out, with a career-high three assists against the Utah Archers last weekend.
The improved ball movement is creating more opportunities for more people. All four of Kavanagh, Logan Wisnauskas, Jared Bernhardt and Brennan O’Neill had at least 30 touches and four shots. The supporting cast stayed involved, as well, with six shots for Graham Bundy Jr. and three for Dalton Young.
The next step for Denver is continuing to shoot at a higher percentage – Kavanagh and O’Neill both missed ten shots against the Archers – and finding more chances for shooters like Wisnauskas. But the freedom and speed of ball movement from Hippo is pushing the Outlaws closer to the offensive ceiling befitting the talent on hand.
