The System: How to Run the Box

This is my nightmare.

I don’t know how to start this article other than to say that this is a VERY basic and VERY specific aspect to coaching boy’s/men’s lacrosse. That’s going to mean a few of you will tap out here and that’s okay, I understand. But if you’re a parent and you’re either thinking about coaching or looking a little deeper about how the game is played - stick around. 

Today we are talking about the substitution box. It’s an area of the game that is paid little to no mind to by most people not playing, coaching, or reffing the game at the moment the game is being played. Think of it like an exquisite sandcastle being made in the distance by a pair of angelic cherubs. Hah! Just kidding - the sub box is actually more like a logjam of Karens waiting for carts at Target, but there is only one manager on duty and her name is also Karen so the entire ecosystem of Target descends into madness. 

Here is the thing: running the box is not difficult. By itself, it is a task that is singularly accomplished by one individual that oversees the proper exchange of personnel from the bench to the field in various situations. However, a coach rarely has time or capacity to just focus on one thing at a time. Even at the highest levels of the game, where there are coaches dedicated to running the box as their primary duty, mistakes happen because focus gets pulled and players don’t obey the rules of the box. They think they are beyond the box. They are not. That line separating the player from the action of playing is the difference from a cut to the far pipe for a goal and a thirty-second penalty. If you’re running the box you’re responsible to impart that knowledge to your charges. 

I have found, in my 12 years of coaching at the collegiate level, that the best way to do that is to make sure that the players adhere to a certain set of rules. I hated running the box and I [mostly] hated it because it took me away from coaching during the game. If I was running the box, I had to get it right. Just like it’s important to keep a clean house and live a balanced life, I needed to have a perfect deployment on every shift. Did I succeed in that goal? Absolutely not. At least, not all the time. However, I know it works and I know it was important enough for me to develop. Someone should get some sort of benefit out of me being screamed at until I crawled into the trunk of my car, ate a pint of green tea ice cream, and softly wept after games because we got a box penalty. Might as well be you.

RULE 1: NEVER Jump the Box

This is the first thing that comes up when this topic is initially breached and there is a reason for that: it’s the most important aspect of the job. No one wants to get on the field more than a lacrosse player. I know this isn’t okay to do now - because no one wants to see their kid getting tugged or grabbed by a coach - but I would physically hold guys by the jersey until their turn came up. Did it result in a couple of kids getting pulled back and falling down? Yes. Did it also result in me being dragged onto the field by a much larger individual? Also, yes. But this is why we don’t jump the box. The best way to prevent jumping the box is...

RULE 2:  Everyone Gets a Number

The number assignment is just an easier way to organize your lines for differing purposes. For example, when you’re transitioning to offense, you want to have your best offensive midfielder as your “One”. The “One” is a numerical designation for the player that is the first to go onto the field on a change. “Two” is the second player and “Three” is the third. I often went to “Four” just because I coached teams where dudes were flat out not ready to go for whatever reason  - one time a defender was waiting to go in but still had his sweatpants and jacket on and I took one look at him and moved another pole into his spot. Life in the box is tough, be cool, but not so cool that you’re overtaken by the mob. It’s sort of like jail, except you can only shank the players with whispered daggers and furious body language. Constantly ask your players “Who is my one? Who is my two?” if they don’t respond, you bump them down. Communication starts and ends with you. 

When transitioning to the defensive side of the ball, I recommend lining up your LSM just behind you so they are always ready to blast onto the field even if it means running you over. Look, if you run the box you’re gonna get hit a few times. If a possum can take it from a truck, you can take a bump from a second-string SSDM. Just get up and act like nothing happened. (Or you’ll never hear the end of it.)  

For specialty situations like man-up and man-down, you need to make sure you know who is on what unit before the game starts. If you don’t know who is supposed to go where you will get eaten alive by the players and the other coach(es). Memorize numbers if you you’re bad with names. You need to know who is going where - even out of timeouts when you’re not calling the play.  And never forget to count players as they walk out - just in case. In fact, never stop counting players from both teams. It might even get your team a man-up.

RULE 3: No One Steps on the Field Until they Hear “Go!” 

This is a tough one, and it certainly seems like overkill. As I was typing it I went “Oh...that’s a bit harsh.” Listen. It’s not. The “GO!” call is essential for maintaining control over your charges. Again, you’re not running the box to make friends and it’s not a democracy - you’re the emperor and they are your subjects. They go to war when you tell them to go to war. Obeying the “GO!” call is not hard; it’s downright Pavlovian. If you have a kid that doesn’t understand that just bench him until he does. Which leads me to rule No. 4.

RULE 4: NEVER. JUMP. THE. BOX.

Having trouble getting this message across? Try this: “If you jump the box you sit.” Still not getting the message? Try “If you do that again I will throw your stick into the woods.” This is especially effective if there aren’t any woods to speak of and you make crazy coach eyes then laugh. If we have learned anything from Matt Gaudet and the PLL it is how unsettling an insane out-of-context laugh is when executed properly. I’ve thrown many things to make my point. Waterbottles, helmets, ball bags, freshmen - one time I flipped the bench over and it rolled down a hill so I got a penalty for it. Don’t do any of that. Be firm, but reasonable - if you’re going to coach lacrosse your mind should be the most terrifying thing next to your pleated khakis. 

That’s it. All you need is to be is prepared. But remember: never ever run the box unless you have to. It could destroy your life.