In our area, the high school lacrosse season begins this week. Last week was equipment pickup and fitness testing—a tease for the work that was started in the offseason and goes full time through early June, if we can make the season last that long. So how do we, as parents, make sure that our kids are ready for the long season ahead?
We bring you more from the high school scene in Upstate New York, this time with a look further west to the Rochester region, known as Section V.
Our boys at HeadWrapz have a wicked, ranging sense of humor. They’re always coming up with entertaining decal concepts for the lacrosse helmets of the world.
The SUNYAC conference ramps up play in the coming weeks despite the cold, nasty weather across New York State. One of the school’s dealing with more snow than most could possibly imagine is SUNY Oswego, a school located about 40 minutes from Syracuse right on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.
If you’re like me, you practice lacrosse in the house. Despite being told not to, you continue to practice new things, not knowing whether or not it will work out for you. Sometimes things go great, you pull off something cool and you move on to the next one. Other times, well, you end up breaking something.
To prevent this from happening, the Cradlebaby was invented.
According to the creators, Cradlebaby is “a lacrosse practice ball designed to help kids of all ages and skills improve their lacrosse game. Specifically, to improve their cradling, dodges, fakes and shots by allowing them to practice indoors or out, all the time. The Cradlebaby training ball is a regulation lax ball tethered to a player’s stick so that they can play with it without breaking windows, lamps, etc.”
The Cradlebaby attaches to the head of the lacrosse stick, while being permanently attached to the ball. This makes the ball feel just like a normal lacrosse ball when practicing, but adds the security of knowing you won’t lose the ball somewhere or break anything.
Whether you’re practicing indoors or outdoors, this is a sweet little practice tool. For more information on the Cradlebaby, or to pick one up today for only $15.00, head over to http://www.laxcb.com.
Check out the video below of the Cradlebaby in action. Drop us a line in the comments and let us know your thoughts as well!
One of Easton’s more popular products as of late has been the Easton Stealth Core lacrosse head. Released in 2012, the Stealth Core head is one of the higher end lacrosse heads released by Easton.
The Easton Stealth Core head comes packed with some powerful technology and great features. First, it features Easton’s patented Reflex technology. This is going to help provide increased velocity on your shots, and you can’t argue with that. You’re also going to see that the Stealth Core head has the same adjustability and in-game tuning ability as the Stealth HS head – without the adjustable pinch.
Easton’s Stealth Core head meets universal specifications, or in other words, it is legal for use at all levels of play.
The Stealth Core lacrosse head is available in both strung and unstrung options. The factory strung option from Easton will take some breaking in, but it’s not a bad way to go if you don’t want to string your own head. The weight on the new Stealth Core lacrosse head is only 5.3 oz or 151g when you buy it unstrung.
You have two color options when picking up the Stealth Core head, black and white. Both colors feature some nice yellow accents, but the yellow pops a lot more on the black head.
For this, and more Easton lacrosse products, check out ComLax.com. Use the coupon code ABLACROSSE when checking out and you can save an extra 10% on your order!
Check out the Easton Stealth Core lacrosse head below and let us know your thoughts. Have you used this head? Did you like it? Leave us a comment!
One of the top pieces of lacrosse equipment offered from Reebok this year is the Reebok Black V1X lacrosse shaft. Available in three different shaft lengths, this is a top of the line piece of equipment you may want to get your hands on if you’re searching for a new shaft.
The Reebok Black V1X lacrosse shaft was specifically designed and engineered by the folks at Reebok for the elite lacrosse player. It offers a tremendous combination of weight, durability and feel. According to Reebok, the V1X shaft is also the most balanced shaft on the market, giving you the best strength to weight ratio.
Additionally, the new Reebok Black V1X shaft is 2.5% lighter and 17.8% stronger than the top selling shafts currently available. This data was comprised using the three point bend test and drop test.
The Reebok Black V1X lacrosse shaft is available in three standard lengths. First is the 30″ length, optimally priced at $134.99. You can also pick up a 40″ shaft, with the price going up to $144.99. If defense is your game, you can grab the 60″ shaft for $184.99.
If you’re looking to pick up the 30″ shaft, you can scoop one up now at ComLax.com. Use the coupon code ABLACROSSE on your order and you can save an additional 10% on select products.
All lengths of the Reebok Black V1X shaft can be found online or at your local lacrosse retailer.
What do you think of the Reebok Black V1X lacrosse shaft? Leave us your thoughts in the comments!
Last Saturday night, in an unusual series of events, Colorado Mammoth goalie Matt Roik was ejected from the game with 6:29 remaining after a glove check.
Minnesota Swarm coach Joe Sullivan called for the check when he noticed something unusual on Roik’s glove. The timing was convenient, with the Mammoth leading the contest by five goals.
The officials on the floor examined Roik’s glove, then discussed the situation with each other. After a bit of a delay, the officials issues a two minute penalty to Roik, along with a game misconduct.
Roik was definitely aggravated by the events which has transpired. The ruling from the officials cited NLL Rule 35, seen below, which discusses the prohibition of adding any bulk to a goalie’s equipment.
Padding may not be added to or on the outside of the glove unless prior approval by the league.
Of course the biggest question mark of the statement is where it mentions prior approval by the league. Roik received permission from the league for his modified glove, but that was back in 2010 as a member of the Washington Stealth. According to the NLL, Roik should have received additional approval prior to each season in order to use the glove without issue.
The league was on the hot seat after this ejection, especially due to the timing. According to a statement released by the NLL, ”it should be noted that by league Rule 88.4, the inspection should have taken place immediately following the conclusion of the quarter, and not during the quarter.” Because of this, Roik was wrongly ejected from the game.
Roik was additionally served a $250 fine for the incident, however, he has the right to appeal.
Share your thoughts with us about this ejection. Do you think Roik should have been booted from the game or is he right to continue to use his padded glove?
Easton recently released their latest entry level complete lacrosse stick, the Easton Eon lacrosse stick. With the beginner in mind, the Easton Eon lacrosse stick was designed to be fully functional for any player first picking up a stick, or just getting into the sport.
The shaft on the Easton Eon lacrosse stick is manufactured with high performance 6061 alloy, and delivers very visually appealing graphics inspired by the Stealth series. The Eon stick comes standard with a universal specification head, which has been optimized for players who are new to the game. Additionally, the head is pre-strung, and the pocket is broken in and ready to play. Coming in at only 397 grams, this stick is also going to be very light weight.
The Easton Eon lacrosse stick is going to come standard in two different flavors. First is the black and white version. This style contains black, white and grey graphics on the shaft, and includes a black head with white strings. For the other color scheme, you’ll have the same black and grey graphics, but the shaft will use yellow as an accent instead of white. The yellow really pops and this shaft and looks great. Along with the black head on this version, it will be strung in white with some additional yellow to complete the look.
Easton’s Eon lacrosse stick has already been released and can be purchased from your favorite lacrosse retailer today. The cost is only $49.99, making it a great price for an entry level stick.
What are your thoughts on the Easton Eon lacrosse stick? If you’re a beginner, will you be picking up one of these sticks? Leave us a note in the comments!
The New Jersey Lacrosse Hall of Fame will be inducting a former Rutgers star in its 2013 class. Richard Prakopcyk, who attended Rutgers and excelled in Varsity lacrosse during the late 1970’s, will officially be inducted on Sunday, January 27th. The ceremony will take place at Mercer Oaks Country Club in Princeton Junction, N.J.
Prakopcyk began his lacrosse career at Hunterdon Central High School and then moved on to Rutgers University. He had quite a career at Rutgers, playing on the squad from 1975 – 1978. In his final year of play, Prakopcyk was captain of the team, and was awarded the Robert Collett Award. This award was given to the Rutgers lacrosse player who displays the best mental and physical spirit throughout the course of the season.
Since graduating from Rutgers, Prakopcyk has gone on to become a coach and mentor for youth lacrosse programs. He has coached the Youth Warriors out of Bethlehem, N.J. since 1999 and assisted North Hunterdon High School lacrosse teams with their offseason programs. He began assisting Hunterdon in 2003.
Congratulations to Richard Prakopcyk for this high honor!
