Offensive Plays - Part 2

b) The Screen


Depending on the type of defensive play your opponents will decide on, the screen can be an effective tool to have in your arsenal. It can be used, either as the main aid to get shots on goal, or even as a diversion to attract the attention of defending players. Your attack is set up in the traditional way and the ball is passed around. If you cannot pass the ball to the centre and there are no clear shots on goal, then the ball is passed to the central attacker on the outside. When they receive the ball they rise out of the water to fake a shot, pass the ball to the right and swim across to their left to block out the defender.

It cannot be stressed enough how important the passing and staying high in the water is during these plays. The attacking player on the right needs to know the position of every team mate and here precise passing is crucial.

Another type of attacking screen is done on the left side of the post and this time involves attackers on the left side. This time it is player on the far left who swims towards the person defending the team mate to his right and blocks them off using their back. The attacking player to the left of the central player swims to his left and at the same time that the far left player lunges forward towards the goal. Here, if done correctly, both attackers should be in front of goal with only one defender in between them. The ball has to move quickly from right to centre who can then pass it to the free player. The good thing about this type of move is that if the defender tries to touch your hand from behind it is a penalty so they are useless to help out.