Duke Fade and Follow

Coach’s variation from POWLAX

The play, beat by beat

Put the middie with a short stick on him up top. He posts up, goes one way, then rolls back, often three times, to keep the top defender honest.
The men beside him fade or follow by where he goes: the side he goes to fades, the side behind him follows. That keeps a 3 v 2 on either side. The crease mirrors.
Often no slide comes: step into the gap and shoot. If their crease defender slides and a low defender drops in to the crease, the low man he left is open on the doorstep.
Any pass to a man guarded by a pole: pick for him right away, to force a switch that puts a short stick on an attackman. Their counter is a double as the carrier turns his head on a roll; call it if your man leaves.
This is POWLAX's reading of Duke's offense, a coach's variation. Duke beat Johns Hopkins 19-6 in the 2017 NCAA first round.

Only one source describes it: one coach’s or one program’s own take. We found no second source to check it against. Coach’s variation from POWLAX.

4 beats

Settled offense · 3-1-2 · also called 2-1-3

Coach’s variation from POWLAX

Put the middie with a short stick on him up top. He posts up, goes one way, then rolls back, often three times, to keep the top defender honest.
The men beside him fade or follow by where he goes: the side he goes to fades, the side behind him follows. That keeps a 3 v 2 on either side. The crease mirrors.
Often no slide comes: step into the gap and shoot. If their crease defender slides and a low defender drops in to the crease, the low man he left is open on the doorstep.
Any pass to a man guarded by a pole: pick for him right away, to force a switch that puts a short stick on an attackman. Their counter is a double as the carrier turns his head on a roll; call it if your man leaves.
This is POWLAX's reading of Duke's offense, a coach's variation. Duke beat Johns Hopkins 19-6 in the 2017 NCAA first round.

Only one source describes it: one coach’s or one program’s own take. We found no second source to check it against. Coach’s variation from POWLAX.