Thanks.
Started having a little more success last night, leaving front man stationary but sliding the back erratically until I could anticipate his shot. I think folks tendancy is to try and shoot long since they work so hard to perfect the corner and the short shot is a "no talent" shot so the percentages probably lie within trying to anticipate and then block long.
Against a good pull you don't want either man stationary. It's a lot easier to read just a single moving man than two.
What you want to do is to run a motion defense that spends the majority of its time sitting in the holes he likes to hit (for most new shooters, that's long and straight). So if he loves the long and straight, keep your men moving smoothly but randomly, spending much more time in the long and straight holes than the splits. Normally use the near 2-bar man on the straight and the goalie on the long (this is called a "standard" defense).
Additionally, if he is a spray shooter you should consider a reverse defense (2-bar on the long, goalie on the straight) to cut off the angle on the long, but you need to be careful with the split then. If you use the far 2-bar on the long, it's just a regular reverse defense; if you use the near 2-bar man on the long it's called a deadbar defense.
Unless he can hit deadbar well, switching into a deadbar defense occasionally is a good way to bait the straight. If he can, then stick with a regular reverse.
Even if he's a square shooter, going into a reverse for a second or two now and then is a good way to throw off his reads.
Also, if you're getting lit up then CHANGE. Change from standard to reverse. Or change your timing--go slower and smoother, or go crazy Cartwright shuffle, or go into a "wait on long and race back", or whatever. But don't stick with something that's just not working.
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