As part of England Lacrosse’s new monthly guest column, The Fly winner, World Championship bronze medallist and multiple European Championship gold medallist with the England senior women’s team, Torz Anderson, talks us through her thoughts about the new sixes format.
Since first playing lacrosse in games lessons at school when I was 11, I’ve witnessed first-hand the metamorphoses the sport has undergone and continues to undergo. From running around our playing field with no pitch boundaries, to shrinking from 12 to 10 players, embracing self-start and free movement and more recently experiencing a six-a-side format with shot clock and more, the sport has been on a journey, which in recent months has become more exciting than ever.
With all sights set on the 2028 Olympics and the hope of inclusion at the LA games looming, there has been widespread debate around the new kid on the block: sixes.
But how does this new format compare to the traditional one we all know and love?
For those of you who saw The Fly in 2021, you’ll have experienced this new, innovative, creative, and fast format in all its glory. The games are shorter, more physical and quicker paced, with no time to set up lengthy set plays, stall the ball or dwell on mistakes, all things which can feature heavily in the traditional 10-a-side game. There are also greater physical demands on the athletes, with coaches largely taking an approach that every player needs to be able to attack and defend instead of having specialists; meaning endurance, speed and agility are key all over the pitch.
As an attacker in the 10-a-side game, featuring predominantly behind the goal, playing both ways was a welcome change for me and allowed me to develop a slightly different style – the meticulous feeds, calling plays and chasing shots, became big drives and shots from out front, experiencing the lung burn of midfield duties and learning zone defence principles in the blink of an eye.
Despite these pretty dramatic changes in player roles, I do believe that playing sixes will help develop any women’s 10-a-side player’s game. Learning to play both ways is crucial; straight defenders finding themselves over the once dreaded attacking restrainer are now empowered and confident to attack with purpose as they’ve been there and done it before; attackers riding hard can be more bold and aggressive in their defensive style as they aren’t as out of practice, and goalkeepers will more frequently consider the split second save-and-clear over the top to initiate a fast break.
Playing competitively in an environment where creativity is encouraged and time pressure is real, allows for those ‘make or break’ moments in the game that can change momentum in an instant. With no time for ‘in the moment’ reflection in sixes, we learn as we play and adapt to our own boundaries of the risk-reward dynamic. With 50% possession almost guaranteed, due to the possession clock, having time to experiment, be creative and make mistakes allows for a much faster learning process and one so rich in opportunity when there is time to reflect, strategise and implement back into the more controlled and tactical 10-a-side format.
Although there is widespread debate across the globe on the new format of the game, and concern for losing the spark and love of our traditional game, I would strongly encourage every lacrosse player, fan, spectator or official to get involved with sixes, be that through playing, watching footage, helping at a tournament or simply talking to those who have experienced it first-hand.
For as long as I can remember, the lacrosse community has dreamt of Olympic inclusion and if we truly want our sport to be featured alongside the sporting superpowers of athletics, cycling, and rowing at the Olympics, and give the next generation a chance of becoming professional athletes, we must embrace the sixes format and allow it to open up the future for us; but in doing so, we can take immense amounts of learning, creativity and fun with us back to the 10s game, to further strengthen and improve our global position as number three in the world.
We’re always on the look out for guest columnists from the lacrosse community to speak about a topic they’re passionate about. If you’d like to be featured, please contact j.naylor@englandlacrosse.co.uk.