Team USA’s Joe Fletcher, one of the best defensemen in the world, seldom talks like it. He doesn’t look like it, either, his frail frame and hunchback stance often noted by his teammates and foes alike.

“A part of the hunched back is me doing my best to get my hips to the floor and staying low to the ground,” Fletcher said, citing his basketball background. “Finding that low center of gravity is the best way for me to move efficiently while defending someone, backpedaling and changing direction.”

Fletcher’s father moved similarly.

“It was either something I grew up copying or just the way my body has been programmed to work,” he said. “What I look like is something that I never really worry about.”

Fletcher credited his high school and college coaches and defensive coordinators — Mike Messere and Bob Deegan of West Genesee (N.Y.), and Charley Toomey and Matt Dwan of Loyola, respectively — for instead instilling in him an obsession for fundamentals. Look good, feel good, play good? Only the last part matters.

5 Fundamentals of Defense

1 Drop your hips to the floor.

“I’ve heard people use the analogy of a linebacker in football,” Fletcher said. “I personally used my experience playing defense in basketball to remind myself to keep a low center.”

2 Do not be double weighted.

“Coach Deegan would use the phrase '70-30' to remind us about keeping this athletic posture,” Fletcher said.

3 Hands away from body, stick out in front.

4 Focus on the attacker’s hips.

5 Keep your stick on his bottom hand.

“Do not chase the head of the stick,” Fletcher urged. “This makes you susceptible to lunging forward or getting out of position.”