Draw Control (DC)

What counts as a draw control

The draw starts play at the beginning of each half and after every goal in girls lacrosse. Two players stand at the center circle with the ball pressed between the backs of their sticks, and on the whistle each tries to push it up and out to herself or a teammate. The draw is won by the team that gains possession, and SquadProfile credits the result to the player who took the draw, win or lose.

That credit is a convention worth knowing. Some stat sheets credit the draw control to whichever player ends up with the ball, which is often a player on the circle rather than the one who took the draw. SquadProfile keeps the two apart: the draw result goes to the taker, and the possession goes to whoever comes up with the ball as a ground ball.

How SquadProfile records it

Tap the player who took the draw, then tap Draw, then Won or Lost. Then record the ground ball for the player who came up with the ball, which is a separate tap and often a different player. The app keeps draws won, lost, and the percentage for each player and the team.

Common mistakes

• Crediting the draw to the player who caught it on the circle. The draw belongs to the taker; the catch is her ground ball.
• Skipping lost draws. The percentage needs both sides.
• Recording a draw control and no ground ball. Every won draw produces one ground ball for somebody.

Where it shows up

Draw controls are the DC column on girls season leaderboards and on each game's public box score. Draw percentage appears on the team's season stat table for the team's staff and in the app's season stats.

Related stats

• Ground ball: the possession after every draw.
• Faceoff: the boys lacrosse equivalent.