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And THAT Is What Grinds My Gears, Tom

Reebok lax two

I love lax.  I really do.  I love playing the game, coaching, running clinics and talking about it with my friends.

I even love hearing what lax dudes think about new products, gear and all of the latest trends in the game.  What don’t I like?  When sponsored athletes are telling me how great their product is in a commercial passed off as an “interview”.  I mean, we know you think the gear is great, that is why you signed with that company (well that, and the money)!

Brodie Merrill, Dan Dawson and Mark Steenhuis (three of my favorite indoor players at their respective positions and all around great Canadians) all have videos up on IL where they are each talking about their new weapon of choice, the new Reebok 10.5K head.  My only problem with this is that all 3 are sponsored Reebok athletes!  Mark Millon also has a video up on IL about the obvious superiority of the Warrior Noz head and other Warrior products and while the video is somewhat interesting, it is still just a commercial trying to sell more product.

While I salute IL for providing their readers with so much content and opinion (and I really do salute them for that.  You should see me right now, I’m standing up & saluting them),  I do not salute the fact that they haven’t attached an independent review to a single product on their website that I have seen.  E-lacrosse.com used to review equipment and while most of their reviews were glowing endorsements, at least they did most of them without the help of the actual product reps!

How great can the gear be if only paid reps get to review it?  We may never know.
How great can the gear be if only paid reps get to review it? We may never know, but it sure looks dope!

The point of this post is NOT to rip on InsideLacrosse, Reebok or Warrior whatsoever.   I used them as examples because to many lax fans out there, they represent the gold standard of lacrosse publications and equipment manufacturers, online or otherwise.  In general, I would just like to see a lot less “hidden” advertising in articles and posts and more honest opinion.  For example, IL has a large staff of ex-lax dudes so they should be able to review equipment as soon as they get their hands on it… I can’t really blame the companies at all… selling gear is kind of their job.

Now if no one else really wants to showcase impartial product reviews, I am more than willing to review gear openly and honestly… the important question is, are the lacrosse companies ready to hear what “real” people think?  From their marketing efforts so far, I have my doubts but this sure is a good chance for them to prove me wrong!

Hint. Hint.  Send me your stuff… I promise I’ll be gentle.

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About the Author:
After helping to start the program at Weston HS in Massachusetts, Connor Wilson went on to play at Wesleyan University. Post-graduation, Wilson stayed on and coached at Wesleyan for 2 years. He also played in Australia and the American Lacrosse League for teams in CT and MA. Currently Wilson plays for the Southampton Lacrosse Club in NYC and enjoys dyeing lacrosse sticks, eating breakfast sandwiches, checking out new lax gear and having a really pretentious bio on LAS.

Contact him at connor@lacrosseallstars.com