Next week, I will follow up with a story on the first year team that I was coaching in Brooklyn this Spring… but this series can’t end with Mary and me!

So I’m putting the call out there to new programs from across the country, and around the world, to submit stories about their first year (or their first years) out on the field.

I don’t expect every story to be a story of pure success, and it is almost never about the wins and losses. I’m looking for real stories, not just Disney movie type tales, and I want to help you share it all with the world.

What went right? What went wrong? What did you learn?

If you played on, coached, reffed, or watched a first year team in 2013, I want to hear about it. Check out Mary’s post from yesterday, and use it to get started. Check out my post next week, and give it another shot. You just might surprise yourself.

Please submit your First Season Stories to LAS via out Tipline!

You can see the original Hot Pot post here, but the gist is that now that I’ve seen, coached, and played so much lacrosse that I’m starting to think of the game differently. I believe that getting away from drills, and just playing the game, will benefit players more. I believe that less structure creates better players, and potentially better teams. And I pretty much left it at that.

Here is Brian Silcott’s response:

I have to ask which teams you are referring to that “just play the game” and don’t drill specific skills, techniques and situations. I believe you need to use both to become a great player or a great team. There are things that are best learned through well designed drills that mimic game situations, and more importantly, game speed. They allow you to give athletes lots of reps in these critical skills and situations in a short period of time and correct mistakes immediately after they are made.

Even if players have mastered the basics like catching, throwing, shooting etc (all of which are things best mastered through high reps) there are still lots for more intricate and team based skills and situations that need to be drilled.

However, playing the game is equally important. We all have seen the guys who are great at drills but for some reason just cant transfer it into game situations. Getting the flow of full field play both as an individual and as a team is vital to success.

Let’s look at fast breaks. I think this is a good example of something that needs to be drilled through high repetition but also needs to become part of your natural game flow. The fast break is essentially a quick set play within the flow of the game. Teaching your players how to line up, what their looks are and getting them both comfortable with those positions and precise in the execution of their responsibilities is best and most efficiently achieved by doing it lots of times in a short period of time.

However it is also important that players learn to anticipate the break, communicate what is happening get to their spots and execute the break in an “unplanned” situation, this is what happens by “just playing the game”.

I believe there are a few critical elements to effective drills and their execution in practice:

1.  Make them game like.  Don’t drill things that don’t really ever happen in games.  There are lots of ways to get repetition on stick skills in practice, line drills may be the worst I have seen.

2.  Push players to play at full speed all the time.  Obviously new skills need to be moved through at a slower pace first but the goal is to get to game speed as quickly as possible.  This makes the drill more effective, more fun and hopefully reduces the need for additional conditioning.

3.  Use three 10 minute drills rather than one 30 minute drill.  

4.  Be creative.  Find drills that are best for you teams style of play and what you want them to do on the field.  All drills were made up by someone if you have something you need to drill and don’t know a good one, ask other coaches or sit down and figure out something out yourself.

5.  Always give the kids a chance to “just play the game”.  While drills are great for mastering specific elements in the game, this is not football.  In the end you need to get comfortable in the full field flow both as individuals and as a unit.  Not to mention scrimmaging is lots of fun.

Ok, now that you have read Brian’s entire comment, you can see why I posted it! It’s filled with TONS of great information, questions, and tips for success. It’s possibly the most intelligent comment on their entire internet. It’s freaking genius!

I can readily admit that Brian is right, especially at the higher levels, that drilling is still a useful tool that every team uses at some level. I clearly went a little overboard in my argument, but I was trying to make a point, and head in a new direction. Thankfully, Brian brings me back down to Earth. It’s an especially good thing that he did, because in the process Brian also provided a balanced approach to coaching, and now the people out there have something they can use in the real world, with concrete examples.

But just for the fun of it, and the mental exercise, I’ll go through Brian’s questions and arguments and provide an alternate view. Hey, if my crazy ramblings two weeks ago elicited a response like the above from Mr. Silcott, maybe this week’s post will help release his magnum opus on lacrosse philosophy. We can always hope!

- I have to ask which teams you are referring to that “just play the game” and don’t drill specific skills, techniques and situations. Ok, I don’t know of any teams that JUST play the game except the high school team I coach. I don’t believe we’re at the point where drills would help us yet. We need to get a more natural feel for the game first, so all we do is scrimmage and play trash can lacrosse. I don’t think any college team would be willing to even try this method, so I have no examples to point to. Brian 1, Connor 0.

- Even if players have mastered the basics like catching, throwing, shooting etc (all of which are things best mastered through high reps) there are still lots for more intricate and team based skills and situations that need to be drilled. For me, all of these skills listed above are things players should be drilling and working on themselves, outside of practice. Same goes for conditioning. I like to put it on the players’ shoulders, maybe that’s just the NESCAC in me. Brian 1, Connor 0, NESCAC 1.

- However, playing the game is equally important. We all have seen the guys who are great at drills but for some reason just cant transfer it into game situations. Getting the flow of full field play both as an individual and as a team is vital to success. I think it’s fair to give myself a point here. Brian 1, Connor 1, NESCAC 1.

- Let’s look at fast breaks. I think this is a good example of something that needs to be drilled through high repetition but also needs to become part of your natural game flow. The fast break is essentially a quick set play within the flow of the game. Teaching your players how to line up, what their looks are and getting them both comfortable with those positions and precise in the execution of their responsibilities is best and most efficiently achieved by doing it lots of times in a short period of time. 

I love that Brian picked fast breaks because this is the exact type of example where I believe that drilling hurts teams. How many true 4 on 3 fast breaks do you get in a game? 1, 2, maybe 3 or 4 if it’s an up and down affair? How many slow breaks do you get in a game? 12? 20? How many 4 on 4 breaks do you get in a game? 5 on 5s? The point I’m making here is that drilling narrows the focus on transition to a set play, whereas my belief on transition is that it is constant.

Subbing a guy off? That is transition. Is a guy locked off by the other team? Transition. Did the other team just switch from man to zone? Transition! It’s ALL transition play, and “fast break” situations can materialize in a million different ways. 3 on 2s, 2 on 1s, and other variants come up ALL THE TIME, and by playing the game, kids see the situations as they come up, and begin to recognize them only as another part of the pace of play, and another opportunity to score.

I trust my players to do what they do all the time much more than I trust their ability to form a pattern, run a play and score off a traditional fast break, all after recognizing that it’s happening, or by me yelling. I’ll take some non-traditional fast break screw ups, because I know I’ll also get a couple fast break goals where other teams would have pulled it out.

I literally can’t provide a scoreline on this, as I’m way too biased. We’ll keep it all tied up at 1.

- However it is also important that players learn to anticipate the break, communicate what is happening, get to their spots, and execute the break in an “unplanned” situation, this is what happens by “just playing the game”. Oh, so Brian does take all that I said above into account. I guess he wins this one too. Brian 2, Connor 1, NESCAC 1.

- 1.  Make them game like.  Don’t drill things that don’t really ever happen in games.  There are lots of ways to get repetition on stick skills in practice, line drills may be the worst I have seen. Agreed. Brian 3, Connor 1, NESCAC 1.

- 2.  Push players to play at full speed all the time.  Obviously new skills need to be moved through at a slower pace first but the goal is to get to game speed as quickly as possible.  This makes the drill more effective, more fun and hopefully reduces the need for additional conditioning. Agreed. Brian 4, Connor 1, NESCAC 1.

- 3.  Use three 10 minute drills rather than one 30 minute drill.  We’ll split this one. I consider trash can lacrosse a drill, at least to a certain extent, and we do that for 45 minutes sometimes. Can we call this one a draw? I’m going to. I can’t take another lost point. Brian 4.5, Connor 1.5, NESCAC 1.

- 4.  Be creative.  Find drills that are best for you teams style of play and what you want them to do on the field.  All drills were made up by someone if you have something you need to drill and don’t know a good one, ask other coaches or sit down and figure out something out yourself. Agreed and I love it. Make drills, if you will do them, like games. Creativity is good too. Brian 5.5, Connor 1.5, NESCAC 1.

- 5.  Always give the kids a chance to “just play the game”.  While drills are great for mastering specific elements in the game, this is not football.  In the end you need to get comfortable in the full field flow both as individuals and as a unit. Not to mention scrimmaging is lots of fun. I’ll give myself a point for this one as it is the driving force behind my thesis, but that’s not enough to close the gap. Brian 5.5, Connor 2.5, NESCAC 1.

Honestly, that wasn’t too bad! Sure, Brian outargued me in the realm of reality, but I think we both offered up some interesting thoughts on coaching the game, and hopefully the back and forth will help you become a better instructor and coach. Want to argue any of these points further? Defend the NESCAC? Drop us a comment below and we’ll see where it takes us!

I’ll let Jeff speak for himself through the upcoming content he has planned, but his trip to Jamaica to Grow The Game was a brand new experience for him, and when you start to hear more details, you’ll begin to see just how deep this new connection goes.

For me, it was a return to the Czech Republic, which I fell in love with last year. The box lacrosse in Radotin is obviously top notch, and the tournament scene is as good as it gets, but the village, and the people of Radotin, have so much more to offer than just excellent boxla. It is truly a little slice of heaven on Earth. Forget the resorts, big cities, and museums, I’ll take that beautiful little town any day!

All this brings me to the entire point of this week’s Hot Pot: Travel does you good.

Meeting new people, and trying to make your way around a country where you don’t truly know the language, or culture, can be difficult, especially when you venture outside of tourist heavy areas. Differences in food availability, sleeping accommodations, cultural customs, toilet paper, and a host of other issues can all seem daunting. The inclination to keep to yourself or your group of friends in an attempt to maintain “normalcy” is strong.

But that would be missing the entire point!

The more I travel around the country and world, the more I believe that delving into the local scene to be crucial for a truly beneficial experience. Being the same old you, just in a different place, is fine and dandy because you’ll see a lot, but being a better you? A more open-minded you? A more interesting and interested you? Well, travel gives you that opportunity, and I highly recommend that you take it.

When I’m thrown into a new environment, and all of my old crutches and aids are gone, I am forced to adapt, and to think on my feet. I have to open my senses to the rest of the world, and that’s just so I can figure out how to order a coffee at the airport. When I speak with someone who speaks English as a third or even fourth language, communication skills like eye contact become more crucial. An understanding and friendly face certainly helps. Truly listening to what the other person is saying is a must…

Of course when I think about all of the above, I realize I should be doing all of those things all the time, and with everyone, but also that I don’t, because at home, I am comfortable, and life is relatively easy.

My big takeaway from this trip is that I had a lot of fun, lived well, and did good, all in a very different environment. Since I am now home, and comfortable, I should be able to do even better here. I can be better with people. I can be better in life. Travel showed me that, and I can’t wait to make every day a travel day.

I’ve played in, and still believe in, complex team systems, like zone defenses. I don’t knock them, especially at higher levels. I’ve also seen kids develop and focus their skills in specialized areas, and seen these kids become some of the best FoGos, shooters, d-mids, etc in the country. I can’t knock their success, or the methods they have used to get where they are.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t still believe there is still something better out there… for everyone.

However, when it comes to preparing players for complex systems, better competition, and potentially specialized roles, I don’t know that drilling and specialized training are always the best way to get there.

Instead, I am beginning to believe that nothing prepares players better for in-game success than a focus on just playing the game. Sliding, feeding, dodging, winning face offs… all of that can be drilled and practiced. No question about it! But all of the above can also be learned by simply playing the game, and it is now my belief that this latter method reinforces good habits overall, and helps players understand small pieces of the game within the larger framework.

Here is an example of two teams, and how they prepare. Which do you think will see better results?

Team A

Team A starts practice with a warm up lap, stretching, and then line drills. Everything is done together and is regimented. Then the team breaks into one on ones, structured fast breaks, some six on six, and finishes with man up vs man down, and some sprints.

Team B

Team B begins practice with 5 minutes of partner passing in two lines, then moves to a more chaotic throw around, where players pass in groups of three of four, trying to avoid each other as they move around the playing surface. From there, the team does one shooting drill, where longsticks also participate, and then the team plays a game for an hour and calls it a day. The coach works on man up, man down, fast breaks, etc as they come up in the pace of play.

For years, I wanted to push players and teams I was involved with into Team A’s Model. I thought structure bred success, and that everything could be planned for in advance. However, I am less sure of that than I have ever been before.

I’m not saying line drills are useless. I’m also not saying man down work isn’t important. Or that sprints can’t be good for a team. All of those things can be really good.

What I am saying is that a team can work all of those things into just playing the game, AND get an added benefit.

Want to work man down a lot this week? Call penalties when the kids play. Call a lot of them. Call penalties that weren’t even there. Now you’re also teaching your kids to roll with the punches and bad calls that are sure to come your way. Want to focus on fast breaks? I can guarantee some will develop during the play of practice. That’s a perfect time to coach kids up in real situations. Take advantage. Want to work on feeding off the dodge? Make a rule that assisted goals count for twice as much. Losing team is on post practice ball hunt and trash pick up duties. See how fast the players start passing the ball then.

Sprints and conditioning are worked into the play. Trust me, if your kids are playing games of lacrosse five days a week, they’ll be in great shape to… play lacrosse. Exactly. Stick skills get tuned up right away with partner passing, but skill development outside of practice is a requirement. An addiction to wall ball makes all the difference. Preach that point, especially when kids are frustrated. “Wall ball makes it better”. Say it with me.

The new college rules have pushed the game back to its roots of an up and down sport at that level. The men’s post collegiate scene has long been that way. And now we’re seeing it again at the high school level, and at much younger levels.

The teams with kids who can just PLAY THE GAME are some of the best out there right now, and that trend is not going to change. It’s not about component pieces anymore, save for a couple guys here and there. It is about a true team collection of overall lacrosse players and athletes. So how do you develop players that can simply play? Let them play.

Which Approach Do YOU Think Works Better?

I can think back to a number of my own “firsts”, and when I look at these events through the lens of the team, I can start to see some dramatic differences.

When I think back to the first ever game I played in high school, I remember we had a team filled with athletes, and that many of us were all friends off the field. However, we weren’t exactly a team either, and the trust and camaraderie just wasn’t there. I can only speak for myself here, but I can admit that I have MANY shortcomings, and in high school, these were all much more pronounced.

It is no surprise that after our first game, I didn’t feel too great about myself… And I can’t even remember if we won or lost, although I’m pretty sure we got killed. The point is that I remember the feeling, and now I know why I felt that way. I wish I had known that back then.

I kept up this divisive and selfish attitude throughout high school, especially on the athletic field. I was so worried about playing, and keeping my starting spot on the team, that I forgot to be a good teammate. In the end, it only made me worse as a player.

Fast forward to my freshman year in college and I hadn’t grown much. We lost my first college game, and I was apoplectic after game. I was going to transfer. I didn’t like the guys on the team. They didn’t care. I wanted better. But the truth was, I was just reacting to the loss the same way I did when I was a freshman in high school. I blamed others. I got angry.

The whole time, I should have been focusing on myself.

If I wanted teammates to be better to me (whatever that meant), then I needed to better to them. In high school, instead of dodging on the kid I knew I could beat in practice and coasting, I should have been lining myself up against the best defender we had. Instead of wearing smaller arm pads and complaining when someone hit me, I should have worn bigger arm pads, and toughened up a bit.

These seem like simple lessons, but for me they took time. Thankfully, in college, Coach Raba set me right, and got me thinking in a new way: What could I control? What could I improve? If I focused on that, everything would get better. In the end, Coach was completely right.

Now some may say that high school aged kids should not be expected to come to the above realization… But in my JV’s team first game yesterday, I saw it in action. My players played together, they supported each other, they bonded and took care of what they could take care of.

When attackmen lost the ball, they fought hard to get it back instead of complaining that no one was open. When a midfielder was tired, an attackman sprinted back on D for him without being told to so. When we set a moving pick, there was no complaining, just running to get back in the hole. When our goalie made a save, our team cheered him on loudly, sometimes as they broke out for outlet passes. Our defenders love to hit, but the refs called the game tight, so they dialed it back and played more body position.

The list of positive “taking care of team by taking care of self” moments I saw was staggering. The boys pulled in the same direction, with the same goal, and worried only about what they could control. They did not dog each other at all, and stood unified against their opponent, while playing with class.

As someone who could never muster the maturity to do this in high school himself, I was extremely proud of our players. It proved, at least to me, that maturity knows no age, and that you too can help to make your team great, no matter how old you are. All you have to do is focus on you, and keep working.

While I was clearly in the worst shape out of anyone on the turf, it was great to be back out there, just training and practicing, and trying to get better.

Mitch Belisle started the night off with a dynamic stretch. For me, this was a workout in and of itself. Then we moved on to the speed ladder, and my footwork definitely improved by the end, but it was far from solid. We then got in to stick work, and with only five guys, the line drills we did were fast paced, and exhausting. I almost made it to the end of that, before my awful conditioning caught up with me full force.

I relegated myself to managing the clock for the final session, which entailed a TON of wind sprints, and had almost regained my breath 15 minutes later, when Mitch, JJ Gilbane, Joe Moore, and Tyler Fiorito were finishing up their runs.

There were moments where I was straight up embarrassed at the shape I was in. I used to be able to do stuff like this for hours on end. Ten years away from the gym will do that to you. But at the end of the night, I really did feel good about myself. I challenged my current level of fitness, and pushed myself to work harder. I had fun.

That was the easy part.

The hard part will be getting in 2 or 3 more workouts before NEXT week’s training session. The hard part will be doing it on my own. The hard part is the SECOND step.

I’m sore. I can think of a thousand reasons not to work out again until next week. I can blame work, or life, or the cold wind that has been sticking around NYC lately. I could argue that my training goals aren’t the same as these MLL guys’ goals. But that won’t do me any good whatsoever.

The only thing that will help me is taking the second step, no matter how poorly conditioned I am, or how hard it is. It’s put up or shut up time for this blogger.

The hard thing about attitude, is that while there are a lot of right answers, there are also a lot of wrong ones, and the right answer is not always the same in every single case.

Generally speaking, a good attitude helps other people, as much as it helps you. A good attitude is open, hard-working, and honest, and a good attitude listens, and pays attention. It is much more than just following orders, and being a good soldier. A good attitude is about going the extra mile, simply because you can.

Here are some examples of a good attitude. How do these fit in to your game?

Throw the ball over a teammates head during warm ups? Go get the ball yourself, even though your teammate is closer to it. That’s a teammate with a good attitude. Get knocked over during a game, and pop right back up, looking for the ball? That’s a player with a good attitude.

Frustrated with your players because they are dropping passes in line drills? Change up the drill, refocus your guys, and take some of the pressure off. Let the players perform and improve. That’s a coach with a good attitude. Feel like a game is getting called against your team? Focus on what YOU can control. That’s also a coach with a good attitude.

Get yelled at during a game, but you kept in mind that both teams just want to win? Then you warn the coaches or players who get too passionate before a situation erupts? Knowing it’s not personal? Being the bigger person? Explaining penalties to confused looking players? That’s a ref with a good attitude.

Losing the game by a big score, and cheering your team on whenever they win a small battle like a ground ball or a face off? That’s a fan with a good attitude. Crushing the other team but cheering when they score a goal? That’s also a fan with a good attitude.

The situations go on and on, and attitude plays a major part in every single one of them. At the end of the day, all you really need to do is ask yourself one question: Am I working to make this game/event/practice BETTER, or WORSE, for EVERYONE? If your answer is better, you probably have a good attitude already.

Ok, so that ad is clearly not a new ad by any means, but is it not still the best commercial you’ve seen this year?

No gimmicks, very few product shots, and a consistent methodology for filming. It’s a masterpiece of simplicity, and I truly wish more ads of today followed this approach.

But then again, Nike has a history of great lacrosse commercials.

I’ve come to realize it’s not the weather, as the MGLT can be inconsistent there, and I’ve experienced cold, hot, dry, wet, and everything in between. It’s not the competition either, as the MGLT offers good, fun lacrosse, but not always of a world class caliber. I was starting to think that the MGLT is so great because of the location, but then I realized that many cities have beautiful parks and a festive night life, so maybe it’s not that either.

So what is it about the Mardi Gras Lacrosse Tournament that makes it so special?

It’s the people. The men and women of the New Orleans Lacrosse Club (they put on the event) are, quite simply, an incredible bunch. They do an impossible amount of work each year to set the tourney up, and have overcome huge obstacles in the past (like Hurricanes), even moving the tourney to Metarie, by the airport, for a couple of years, when City Park was unavailable.

They run a tight ship, and get lots of people involved, and the people who organize the event are never afraid to get their hands dirty, or hear out an inspired idea for improvement. When teams have schedule conflicts, or need players, the NOLC makes it happen. Need a cab? Find someone in yellow and they will help you out. Forget your jacket? They’ll give you one of their extras from their car. They’re kind of like the Vanilla Ice of lacrosse tournaments: If there was a problem, Yo, they’ll solve it.

After this epiphany, I began to think about the other tournaments that I truly love experiencing, and I realized that the exact same scenario plays out in those places as well.

Take the Aleš Hrebesky Memorial for example… 2013 will the be the 20th year of the tournament, and this one is run by LCC Radotin in much the same manner. The people involved in that club go above and beyond, and always try to make the tourney successful for everyone.

A true beauty of a set up!

Sure, the playing surface in Radotin is amazing, and the atmosphere at the club during the tourney is electric. Prague is nearby, and it’s an amazing city, but if there is one reason as to why the AHM is the best tournament in Europe it is, again, only because of the people involved.

I’m not pointing any negative fingers at any other tournaments out there, but I am pointing a big foam finger at New Orleans and Prague, and saluting the people behind both of them. Amazing tournaments happen because of amazing people. Take note.

For more info on the 20th anniversary Aleš Hrebesky Memorial, see below:

Jubilee 20th box-lacrosse Aleš Hřebeský Memorial will be held in Radotín on April 24th–27th and it will be truly exceptional event. The organizers responded to big interest from the teams and decided to increase the number of participants from the traditional 16 to an expanded 24. The teams from 13 countries will meet in Radotín.

The number of teams brings higher demands for the orginisation. A second arena is necessary and 14 games will be played in nearby Černošice (about 6 km from Radotín). Also accommodation capacity in Radotín reached its limits and transportation needs will test the organizers. Anyway we believe that the organizers from LCC Radotín will manage it all and the tournament well known for its great spirit will be enjoyable both for players and spectators again… for more, head on over to Aleš Hrebesky Memorial website!

Matt Witko losing a rare face off to me last year, because I CONSTANTLY cheat.

The tournament usually takes place right before Mardi Gras, and it’s always interesting to see the city gearing up for what is probably its biggest event of the year. People are still working, and living their “normal” lives, but you can tell something is off, and that the locals are ready to let loose a bit.

This year, because of Super Bowl timing and a lack of hotel rooms corresponding to that weekend, the Mardi Gras Tourney was moved to the first week of March, as opposed to near the end of February.

Without these guys, there might not be lax in NOLA!

I’ll once again be playing for the New Orleans Lacrosse Club, but this time the NOLC has split itself in two, and now we have the Jesterescents (for the under 30 crowd), and the Jesteriatrics (for the 30 and over crowd). Obviously, I am playing for the latter team.

We’ll play the Salt Shakerz (2012 MGLT Champs), the Maple Danglers (Derek Blasutti and his Canadian crew are back!), and some team from Texas (or Florida I can’t remember) and the winner of each five team group will make the Finals on Sunday. Personally, I’m kind of hoping the two NOLC teams play each other on Sunday, but there is a lot of lacrosse to be played before that can happen.

Shakerz take NOLA!

If you’re in or around New Orleans this weekend, come on over to City Park and check out the Mardi Gras Lacrosse Tournament. I’ll be there, so stop by, take in some lacrosse, say hello, and enjoy what is always a wonderful time.

And can somebody get me a one of those baby blue and red Rummel HS lacrosse jackets? Way too cool for school. I’ll snap photos. Promise.

Sure, I know we’re going to play box lacrosse, and I know that there will be at least 1,000 in attendance. I know who we’re playing, and I know who I am playing with. I know Neal Powless, of the Stingers, is a great guy, and I can even now say that I know box lacrosse pretty well… but none of that really keys me in to what this experience will be like once it really begins.

This air of uncertainty actually makes me more excited than anything else.

I used to go to Summer field tournaments and get this feeling. I got it my first year playing goalie in sixth grade. I felt it my first year of high school varsity. The feeling of uncertainty was highest during my first year of college lacrosse, but it crept back in to my life when I lived in Australia for six months, and played down there. I felt it a little bit on the way to Thailand, and I felt another tinge when I went to Prague.

But I haven’t been as unsure about a scenario, and yet still so excited, to just go play lacrosse, as I am right now. At 32 years old, I’m going to play in a new place, against a new team, in a version of the game I don’t know as well I’d like to think. And it’s giving me a feeling I haven’t felt in a while.

My only recommendation is that YOU find your “game in Syracuse”, and get excited and nervous about the sport all over again. It will be the best thing you can do for your love of the game.

In case you missed last year’s team, or just forgot, here are the criteria for inclusion:

1) The player must use traditional for all, or at least part, of the college season. Scrimmages don’t count.

2) The player must actually play for their team. Ideally, guys will play in at least half of their team’s games, and make an impact, although exceptions can be made.

You have to play, and use traditional… And that’s it. Then you make the team. Or your last name is Stanwick. Then you also make the team.

Bobby Tyler is looking good for 2013! Thanks Ray McCarthy!

Last year, I only found EIGHT guys worth naming, but I think that number will go up this year, and I’m looking for YOUR help. If YOU see a player using a traditional pocket, let us know via the Tipline, and we’ll be sure to put your name up in lights when the All Traditional Team is announced! It’s only fair!

Last year only focused on NCAA D1 players, but this year I’ll open it up to every division of college lacrosse, including NCAA D1, D2, D3, MCLA, NCLL and NJCAA. So if you see a player out there using traditional, snap a photo for us, or find a photo, and send it on over.

The 2013 College Lacrosse All Traditional Team promises to be better than ever!

The standout moment of the show was probably the Super Bowl power failure re-enactment, when the light I was using literally exploded about two feet from my face. That goes down at the 26:45 mark in case you want to skip forward to it, when I’m talking about the MLL 2-point line. I’ll give myself credit for not flinching too badly, or shrieking, and for staying on topic… more or less.

I love LIVE TV!

Check out The Lacrosse Show LIVE next week, on The Lacrosse Network, on Tuesday night at 8pm ET.

In August, I realized how much my gear collection had grown, and I challenged myself (and many of you!) to give away most of our lacrosse equipment to people who needed it. I’m thrilled to say that my portion of the August Challenge was pretty successful, as I am now down to one field helmet and one box helmet, three sticks, one pair of cleats, two pairs of gloves, and some padding. Considering I used to own 8 helmets, I’d say I did pretty well!

Not my collection, but an impressive one!

Of course it didn’t have to end there, and to get prepped for the Spring, I’m reissuing the August Challenge for February, which starts in only a couple of days… so it’s time to get involved! The August Challenge is simple. Let’s run through the steps:

1) You find a piece of lacrosse equipment, which you don’t use, that still functions well. It can be an older stick, or a helmet you have on a bookshelf, or a pair of gloves you have hanging from the wall. It can even be a pair of mesh lacrosse shorts.

2) You take that piece of equipment, and you give it to someone who does not play lacrosse.

3) You help them fall in love with the game.

4) Repeat.

Pretty simple, right?

I don’t expect guys who just started playing to do this, or guys who only have one stick. But if you’ve been playing lacrosse for a couple of years, there is a very good chance that you have some lightly used equipment laying around, and someone out there needs it!

If you’re feeling really generous, you can organize an equipment drive in your town, and then donate that equipment to programs like CityLax (NYC), MetroLacrosse (Boston), Denver CityLax, and a host of other not-for-profit organizations!

Whatever you do this February, try to give away some gear, and Grow the Game. I know that meeting my August Challenge is a big ask, but I guarantee you’ll feel great about yourself if you see it through, and you’ll help improve another person’s life, all while supporting lacrosse. Why WOULDN’T YOU DO THIS?!?!

When in doubt, follow the advice of the RHCP:

While there is a small group out there that lives and dies by the traditional sword, there is a much larger group of people out there who have never, or at least rarely, used traditional. Some truly don’t like it, while others just don’t understand it.

Hopefully, after reading this post, you’ll know enough to make a decision for yourself. This week’s Hot Pot is all about the Pros and Cons of Traditional:

The Good

- Traditional pockets can, when strung correctly and broken in thoroughly, provide the best feeling, hold, and control a player will ever experience. A beautifully strung pocket will cradle the ball softly, throw consistently, and give the player a feel and connection to the ball only soft mesh can begin to rival.

- Pure shooters love traditional once they get used to it. You don’t see as many using the lace and leather today as you did in the past (I’ll get to why in the “extra” section), but guys like Mike Springer and Jesse Hubbard absolutely swore by the stuff, and I’d have to agree. I can shoot harder, and more accurately, with traditional than I ever could with mesh.

- It allows you to fully customize your pocket. There was a LOT of complaining about the new stick rules, specifically about the loss of “individuality”, but very few people noted how traditional was still an option. You can’t get any more individual than traditional! If the stringer knows what they are doing, they can make a high, mid, or low pocket with ease, and combine varying degrees of whip and hold with all three. The perfect mesh pocket, even with all the technique out there today, does not approach this same level of custom design and function.

The Bad

Traditional is not easy to string. The first time you try a traditional pocket, you will want to cut it out and burn it. That’s how bad it will be. That’s how bad my first effort was, but what’s the fun in being good at something right away? Just like it took you a while to learn all the mesh knots, it will take time to learn traditional. Thankfully, there a number of good resources out there that will show you how to do it. Still, time is an investment.

- Complete Traditional Stringing Photo Tutorial

- Lacrosse Goalie Traditional Tutorial

- Pita Pocket Tutorials: Version 1. Version 2.

The Rain, oh no, the rain. When you first break a traditional out on the field, wetness is thine enemy. The leathers haven’t stretched out fully yet, the pocket isn’t settled, and the cross lace is still pure white. The reality is that a FULLY broken in traditional can actually work in the rain, because the leathers won’t stretch too much more. But a newer traditional in the rain is a recipe for disaster. A mesh back up is a good thing to have for truly rainy/muddy days.

A good trick if you do use traditional in wet conditions is afterwards, you put a ball in the pocket, held down by a butter knife, where you like your pocket to form. The leathers will tighten back up around the ball. If you leave the stick without a ball in it, the leathers will shrink up too much.

My stick broke. Game over? Typically, the saddest day for a traditional enthusiast is when their head breaks, but their pocket was still perfect. So much time, and energy, down the drain… Thankfully, I’ve found a solution to this problem (which I’ll get to a little later).

The All Important Extra!

Ok, there are two things I said I’d get to later in the post, and here they are:

- Why don’t we see as much Traditional today as we did 10 years ago?

My theory is that for a period of years in the early 2000s, plastic heads, on average, broke WAY too often for traditional to remain a viable option. When I was in high school (late 90s), I had two sticks and they lasted me for years. I was awful to these things, but they held up to the abuse and showed few signs of damage.

During my college years, as a player and coach, I saw heads start to break like crazy, and a couple of guys on our team actually went back to heads they used in high school. By 2007 or 2008, the plastic quality picked up, heads broke less, but for traditional, the damage was done. Players were used to buying a couple of heads per year, and mesh was easier to move from stick to stick.

- How do you combat Broken Head Syndrome?

While the quality of the plastic in heads has changed, and improved, sticks still break. It’s part of life. If you love traditional, this is an issue. One older method of tying the leathers to the scoop has been around for years, but it can result in a lip, and if the shooters aren’t perfect, pockets like the one below can throw off the plastic:

So how do you combat that? Get the leathers up higher, and tighter! It’s really quite simple:

Props to my brother, Lee Wilson, for showing me how to do the “tear drop” top string for traditional!

Now that you know how to create a traditional pocket that can be moved from head to head, are you more likely to give it a go? There are certainly some drawbacks, and it takes a lot of time, but the benefits are clear. What reason do you now have NOT to give traditional a try?