Unless you believe Steve Alten’s fictitious book, The Trench, the Carcharodon Megalodon, or giant dinosaur-era great white shark, is extinct. To make up for that devastating assumption (we don’t really know, do we?), we’re hitting you up with the biggest Lacrosse Drop EVER! Strap into your fighting your chair, it’s going to be an epic battle.
Speaking of Epic!
It is still early in December, but Buffalo has been getting whacked with snow already. Got to love it when that cold Canadian air meets up with warmer, wet air coming off the lakes. Lake effect snow. This is what Hobart (in upstate NY near the Finger Lakes) is like 7 months a year. Thanks to PJ Rybczynski for the great picture!
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Motorcycle Grip Face-offs
Matt Schomburg, who you will hear more and more from on LAS, extolls the virtues of a motorcycle grip when taking face offs. This guy knows what he is talking about. He’s played for Australia, Adelphi (where he was an AA and Natl Champ), The LI Lizards and more great club teams than you can shake a stick at. He’s now a rep for STX and Nike and he runs Fogolax, which specializes in, you guessed it: Face-offs!
[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=z4_ap07lrs0?version=3″ splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z4_ap07lrs0/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”VID00083.MP4″]___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Definition: Biting on a Stick Fake
If there were a video dictionary where short clips accompanied definable terms, Stick Fake would have this video right under it. I think the defender may have gotten mild whiplash from that.
[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=IJ0E4AEO-Wc?fs=1″ splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IJ0E4AEO-Wc/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”funny lacrosse fake out”]______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Thailand Lacrosse Empire Gloves
The Thailand Lacrosse blog has been producing mockups of the new Empire Glove by Maverik. I like where they’re going and I think they have it all figured out with one small change to the piping coloration. One thing is for sure though, Thailand is going to be looking good no matter what they do. Here is my proposed glove:
If they wanted to order new Maybach gloves, I’d love to see them rock these red monsters I came up with on the Maverik Customizer. I could literally spend hours doing this.
If Thailand ever went with Brine, I’d love to see them in these Shakedown gloves. I tend to stay away from the King III‘s… that print is just far too much for me. Not a fan. I am however, a HUGE fan of the Brine Customizer.
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More Maverik Customizer
You obviously just spent at least 30 minutes on the Maverik Customizer. Did you notice anything about the trial logos they have preloaded? No? Look closer. LAS making an appearance. So sweet. Thanks to Zane Anderson for the original find!
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Lax.com Videos Can’t be Embedded! Weak!
I have definitely used less and less Lax.com videos now that you can’t embed them in posts anymore, but this one is worth the trip over to the online retail giant. Great HS scrimmage highlights from Long Island. Shoreham-Wading River vs West Islip and both squads are doing work. West Islip goalie is legit. Sees the ball very well. The quality of the HS lax makes an area a hotbed. And LI is definitely a hotbed.
Shoreham-Wading River/West Islip Lacrosse Highlights on Lax.com
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Another GREAT Picture of the Week Candidate
Joey Moseanko sent over this gem of a pic from a couple years back. Willamette is playing Montana in a PNCLL match up and I am pretty sure this is called the Air Rusty Gate.
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Quick How-To Videos for Middies Playing Defense
We’ve got a quick defensive video that features a Monroe Community College player, Nick Trach, showing how to push a man down the side alley and away from the goal. One thing I noticed is that once you put a stick in a lot of the players’ hands, they tended to push less and slap more, sometimes giving up better shots. Remember kids, play defense with your feet and body, not your spoon!
[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=4BVCdmdYaHY?fs=1″ splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/4BVCdmdYaHY/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”Nick Trach Mcc Lacrosse”]______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quick Video: GOAL!
If at first you don’t succeed, you dodge and dodge again.
[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=kyYJ3fdojzI?fs=1″]__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quick Video 2: 4th Grade GOAL!
Love it when 4th graders score on 5th and 6th graders. Take that Middle School. But where is the goalie? Someone step in and play! Be a really, really, young man!
[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=-Zw3Wrgw0AU?fs=1″ splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/-Zw3Wrgw0AU/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”Sweet moves!”]_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Goalie Know-How is KEY to Winning
This is some great instructional video from the US Lacrosse Convention archives. Effectively training good goalies is often one of the most unique and challenging aspects of being a coach. Often there is one coach for only 3 players and not just anyone can step in and hit the nail on the head. I did a lot of work with goalies while I was at Wesleyan but was fortunate enough to learn from Lukas Cash (a former Wesleyan goalie with whom I played for 2 years while in college) who founded Revolution Lacrosse, a very successful women’s HS select team. If you want to get better at coaching or keeping, or just want to know what good goalies and thinking and doing, then check this video out.
[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=Gb3Od1QC4xY?fs=1″ splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Gb3Od1QC4xY/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”USL Convention Archive: Chris Collins with Mark Manos”]_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Video of Helmets? Yup.
ILacrosse has a nice quick video with some shots of relatively new Cascade helmet designs. It’s something worth watching and then thinking, I can do better. Get creative out there, people! I do like the Rochester Rattlers helmet though. Super spicy.
[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=maUA0bTeh20?fs=1″]_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sweet Shorts, Bro
These shorts were spotted up at the Space Needle Shootout. Super sweet lax. They are being worn by a team out of Maryland called the Rockfish. Nice touch. Thanks for the pic, Barbarosa!
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Old School Gear!
These are just awesome. Brown? Really? How can I get one? Look for more photos of them up on SweetSweetLax later this week! Thanks Payu!
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GREAT High School Recruiting Highlights
Matty Shields plays at Mercer Island in Washington state. His brother plays up at Onondaga CC and I met these two lax rats back in Australia in 2001 when they were just little lax groms. You knew they were going to be legit players because they were ALWAYS talking and playing lacrosse. ALWAYS. Check out these highlights and tell me Matty can’t ball. Thought so. Thanks to Sean Wheeler for the link!
[fvplayer src=”https://youtube.com/watch?v=qbl0TZ0t9bs?fs=1″ splash=”https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qbl0TZ0t9bs/hqdefault.jpg” caption=”Matthew Shields Lacrosse Highlights – High Quality”]