Fresh grazing an important tip from "matt"

Fresh Grazing Submitted by Matt from Chapel Hill, NC
First off, I love your site. I recently installed a new Brine Fresh Mesh into my Evo Pro. After weeks of trying to break it in, nothing worked. The plastic pocket kept shrinking back to its normal size even after pounding it. Then I did the pen-ball trick to hold it in place (putting a pen between the sidewall and lacrosse ball) and grabbed a lighter. VERY CAREFULLY I GRAZED the mesh from the back with the lighter. I took out the ball and the pocket stayed in place. The heat from the lighter reforms the mesh and stretches it a litte. It is INCREDIBLY important not to hold the lighter on the plastic mesh for too long or it WILL MELT and you will be out $20 for the mesh kit.
~a tip from e-lacrosse.com

~~~~~~Dye Jobs~~~~~~

This editorial is about dye jobs. It is pretty simple to do a dye job. All you need is clothing dye (the same stuff thay use for tye dye shirts). Then you follow the clothing dye instructions that tell you how much to put in for a buckets worth. Now you have to know if you want to dye the whole thing or parts. For the whole thing just submerge it in the dye. But make sure there are no strings/mesh still on it. If you want sections you simply put a stick through the head to it hangs off the stick into the dye in the bucket. Then make sure for both jobs that you leave it for an hour or whatever the directions say. Longer the time the richer the color. If you want it with the crazy lines then you put lines of rubber cement on it. You put it in with the rubber cement on it and then take it out and take the rubber cement off.

Extra Extra read all about how harrow almost broke the NCAA rules!

Harrow has been known to do many crazy things with thier lacrosse sticks. For example: they made the i-beam which supposedly bends. They created the solo wich is an all in one girls shaft. Now they did something crazier than everything else. They have created a monster, they made the HOWITZER!!!!!! This is a crazy shaft idea. It has an exploded core but is the size of a normal shaft at either ends, it just meets standards. Harrow figured why not make a fatter shaft for better grip. I think it was wise. If it was large the whole way through then it would be terrible. The HOWITZER is a great shaft for attack and midfield. It has a built in end cap. It's exploded core just dodges NCAA rules.

equipment from the olden days

Our first piece is the old cascade bucket helmet. It was a helmet that people wore not because they liked it but because it was all they had. Also it had adjustable strings in the back of it. That makes it useable for any head size. People can use it for the rest of thier lives if they wanted to.
The next thing is the old stx excalibur. Today many people seek out that head because it is a multi-positional head. It bends for facing off. It is very accurate for attack. You can use it for defense and you will get some great performance. Unfortunately not for goalies, trust me you would have a hard time playing goalie with an excalibur.
IF YOU CAN LEAVE COMMENTS ABOUT ANY OLD PEICE OF EQUIPMENT AND IT WILL BE PUBLISHED.

HARROW SOLO WEOMENS STICK

I just got the lowdown on the new harrow weomen's stick called the solo. It looks pretty interesting to me. It says thay it flexes more than a normal harrow because it is all joined. It also states that it is completely made out of graphite, head and all. Now if the head is made out of graphite that means it isn't as strong as normal lacrosse heads. If you read my "Harro Good the bad and the ugly" story you will know what I mean. I would love to hear your reviews on this head especially the girls.

NEW ARTICLE- pro pinching

READ UNDERLINED PART FIRST
Pro pinching a lacrosse head sounds hard but it really isn't. There are a few ways that people do it and they all work the same. The first way is the boiling one. First you need a pot that can fit your head(lacrosse) in it. Then you need to start the boiling water. You also need a baseball and a string or rope. You need a baseball because it is larger than a lacrosse ball and it can fit in the head. When the water is finally boiling then you can either do one of two things. You can either place the head on to of the pot so it gets soft from the steam. Or you can place it in the boiling water. Be sure that you read these choices first. For the steam part, you need to hold it with heatproof tongs (metal) over the steam. Make sure it is pretty close to the water. Then if you chose to put it in the boiling water, put it in the water. Please make sure that you have oven mits on.Then after 20-30 seconds bring it out of the water with tongs put the baseball in where you want it pinched. Then squeeze hard around the area with the baseball. Soon you should have a wonderfully pinched head.

If you don't have a net this is what to do...

If you are bored one day, just sitting around the house and you want to play lacrosse. But you don't have a net. If you don't have a net this is what to do. There are many ways to create a net like setting. A snow bank is a good one. Here you can whip balls at it and you wont break anything important. Also It is safe. Another place is a wall. This is good because the balls bounce right back to you. So... you not only practice shooting you also practice catching. Another good one is an old couch in your basement that you can throw balls at. Heck I do it all the time with the couch in my basement (don't tell my mom). Also you can make a goal by using a trash can, or some type of large container. A trash can works good for practiceing groung shots. Old laundry baskets, and office containers are good too. Once again I use those those too (just don't tell my mom). But you want to make sure to put some sort of pad in it so you don't break the container. The less breakidge the less angry moms.

famous lacrosse players & coaches I know personally

Peter Inge, Boston Cannons, Best middie in the world- I know him from- when he made me do 20 push ups at lax camp for a free Boston Cannons hat. He has really cool sunglasses. He broke his hand.

Mike Batista, Boston Cannons, Really good player-I know him from- when he accedentally hit me in the back at camp, so I did it back and we laughed.

Brian Silcott, Boston Cannons, Great Middie- I know him from- When he first took a shot at the net and I was going to play goalie at camp. So he shot and I saved it. He was like "Holy crap".

Chris Hetler, Boston Cannons, Backup goalie-I know him from- he was a coach at my camp and I got to go in his car. He drove really fast, it was so cool.

Coach Anderson, Harvard lacrosse, Head coach-I know him from-When he was a coach at harvard camp. He gave me a free shaft! -THANK YOU COACH ANDERSON (if you ever happen to read my blog)

Josh's Favorite equipment-

BRINE:

• f15(shaft)
• f22(shaft)
• f55(shaft)
• nitrous(head)
• cyber(head)
• Blaze(Head:for beginners)

Worrior

• Alloy 2000(shaft)
• duelgrip(shaft)
• Kavelar(shaft)
• RPM(glove)
• superfreak(glove)
• Finalizer(head)
• Abyss(head)
• Revolution(head)
• Evolution(head)
• Lazer(head)

STX

• Alloy 2000(shaft)
• AXE(shaft)
• Gladiator(pads+gloves)
• Hype(head)
• bionic(head)
• Fuse(head)
• profile(head)

Debeer

• Wizard(head)
• 803(shaft)

Training Time!!! Stick tequniques.

Well, well, well, here we are getting ready for the season coming up. I have some tips. For your stick there are a few things that you can do. They sell a special worrior training shaf that weighs about 3 pounds. It is a great shaft for training and for playing. The girls will be all over you once you use the (only for strong people) worrior training handle. It come s at a store price of about 30.00. Buy internet goes as low as 15.00. If you dont want that they also sell a weight stick. It is a product made by the tight butt company. I know it sounds weierd but they are both good products. The tight butt is a butt that screws in to the back of your shaft. It costs around 10.00. The training weight stick also comes with it. You insert the stick into the shaft. Screw on the tight butt, and wala. You've go yourself a training stick. Also the training weight shifts so it gives you better throwing leveridge. Another way to do this kind of thing is to pour sand into the shaft. It will increase the weight and it can shift. So you can go product or sand. If you are one of those people who like to come up with new ideas, then I have something for you. Don't try water in the shaft. They will come out with it some day but it dosen't work. I have tried it.

Lacrosse tape strategies cont...

Now if you followed my previous tape instructions, now I can teach you some special tequniques.

Solid ring:
This one is easy to do. I reccomend useing a good amount of tape for this. You can use any tape for this. So first you must find a spot or a pattern that you want (EG: 1 ring 3 rings ect.). All you do is simply wrap the tape around the section many times until you get a ring a centemeter thick. This will give you really good grip.

Duel ring:
This is a trickster. Here you need only 2 layers of tape wrapped around the shaft to start. I reccomend regular hockey tape for this one. So after you wrapped it around twice, you get a thin layer of tape. Here is the tricky part, now you must sort of roll up both sides of the tape ring. Use your thumbs to push it up. So in the end you have what appears to be one peice of tape with 2 ends rolled up. This is a great one to do because it lasts forever. And it is really grippy for any position.

Chinese staircase:
Thisone takes some practice. You will need either electrical tape or hockey tape for this. First you take a long about a foot and a half peice of tape. Then you twist it around so it eventually looks like a string. Then you take that string and wrap it in a spiral going down. Then take two peices of tape and tape down the ends. You will have what appears like a spiral staircase going up your stick (wherever the section was where you put it). Then you wrap tape going in a spiral going dowm the opposite way as the origional spiral does. Eventually you will end up with a good grip that is good for any position.

VOX POPULI (voice of the people in latin)

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Shuai
1:05 PM

Pocket making

First choose which style of pocket you want: low,med,high.

If you chose low then follow these instructions. This is the simplest pocket to make. All that yo have to do is losen the very bottom strings on the head. place the lovest sting one set of diamonds lower. Weave it through and tie it up. If you want a bigger pocket repeat the step until you get good resluts. Perticularly for this type of pocket I recomend 3 horizontal shooting strings starting 2 inches above the pocket.

If you chose medium. This pocket is tricky to make. You have to losten the side stings in the middle a bit so you can get the pocket. This will take about 3 sections. Also set the bottom string one set of diamonds lower so you can make it deep. Then press with a ball in the mid section of the head. Then you can do whatever type of shooting strings that you want for this.

If you chose high this is the most tricky pocket to make. You actually want to have the pocket tight for this one. So if the pocket was loose tighten it up by setting it one set of diamonds tighter on the bottom string. Then expand the side strings so you only get it loose near the top.It will take about three spaces for that. Then press with a ball in that high area where you want the pocket. Then put to horizontal shooting strings right above it. it will give it some good whip.

Lacrosse sticks can be useful wherever you go

It all started when we were walking down the street. I was with my friends and we were talking. I had my lacrosse stick with me because I am a lacrosse geek. So then a snowball come flying from behind us and hits my friend. So then he threw one back at the 6th grade gang but they were too far away. So I was thinking, what if I used my lacrosse stick as a weapon. I picked up snow in it and hurled the snow at the 6th grade gang and it nailed this chubby kid in the head. So we were fighting. Then (the chubby kid who was bigger than me and I am a 7th grader) came up to me and had an ice ball. He was about do throw it when I side checked him and he accedentally threw it at this woman's windshield. It broke on the windshield and the woman yelled at the fat kid. So that concludes my story about how lacrosse sticks can be useful wherever you go.

For Goalies (special editorial)

I really felt that I had to write this as information to all you goalies out there. You see you guys are the most important aspects of the team. I was a goalie once and I know how it feels. You know if you are thinking about becoming a goalie here are a few things to consider. First wear as much padding as possible. I say this because you be left with some nasty bruises first time. Number 2, it does not matter wich stick that you use. When you go to that first practice you are ready. You step in the goal and whip, some attackman scores o you. Then they say "your a terrible goalie". We all go through this and we just wanna take that big stick and chop them up but we resist. I reccomend just saying "it's my first time being a goalie so lay off" or something like that. Since I am Drlax here are a list of things to say when put down:

• "Hey man just quit it"
• "Lay off it's my first time"
• "Like you could do better"
• "Some day i'll whop your ***"
• "I am trying the best I can"

Really most people do not know what it is like to be goalie. It is very stressful. In that case, dont worry if you ley up a goal and a kid says you suck. Really someday they will try stopping a ball and think "wow now I know how it feels to ley up a goal". Really the average goalie is expected to only save 22% of all shots taken on him. So don't feel bad. Really anybody can be goalie just some people are better than others. Also don't quit goalie it is a great position. If you do I PROMISE out of my lacrosse obsessed brain that they will come crawling back to you. Like next week when you quit and they need a goalie to play in the jamboree or something. Eventually there will come a time when a goalie is needed, and they will cheer you on for picking up that goalie stick.

The infamous rocket pocket!

Here is where I tell you about the rockit pocket. You see most people see the rocket pocket and say "oh the rocket pocket sucks" to themselves. Really it is because thier jealous. I own a rockit pocket and heck it does it's job. It is a good pocket to have if you are any level in lacrosse. I think it is good because the pocket is reinforced by good lacing, and always shoots in an accurate direction. You can shoot at any angle and it willl still be perfectly accurate. Unlike regular mesh where the ball can shift position. Some people will say it sucks, but ask them if they have ever tried it. They will probably say "uh no but my friends friends dad's friend's son has and he think it sucks". Really there are people who have tried it and don't like it but really it's opinionated. Some people like me really enjoy it. Now if you really want one but you don't know if you should think about it. If possible go to a lacrosse store and try one out. (these things don't come cheep). If you have tried one out and decide to order one off rockitpocket.com then choose wisely. I recommend getting a head that you know is light, because the rocket pocket weighs a bit. I made a mistake buy buying a bionic with a rocket pocket and it weighed alot. But I still like it. The good thing about rockitpocket.com is that you can buy both a head nd rockit pocket at the same time. So if you need a new head and a rockit pocket this is the place for you. If you just bought a new head and want it strung with a rocket pocket then send it in so it can be strung with one. OH OH OH OH OH did I mention the dying that they doo. Trust me RP's dying jobs are the best of the best. You can go through a whole online catelog of dye jobs that you can get with any colors. So in all you can get a new head, get it dyed, get it strung and you can buy shafts there too. So you should be ready to play when your stick come fully assembled. (by mail)

Important tips for beginners!!!!!!

Hey beginners! don't worry because we were all one once. I have some important tips. First and foremost, lets talk equipment. When shopping for equipment first, you will notice that things can be pricy. For beginnerss, always go for the cheeper stuff, so if you happen to not like the sport then you can give it up no problem. Don't go off and get glatiator gloves, and pads just because they look cool. go for something cheep. Really, you will not regret it if you decide to quit. Then for helmets part. People really cant choose a beginner helmet or expert because they all are in the same cost range. So go with what fits you best. I prefer an old cascade, because they fit. I'm not talking about a bucket helmet because then you will look stupid. Kleets are the same deal as helmets so choose freely. When it comes to sticks, see my "choosing the right stick article" for details. Coose cheap, and choose wisely (beginners).

Harrow lacrosse sticks, the good the bad and the ugly

Harrow lacrosse sticks can be good bad and ugly. I personally dont own one but I have some majo unbelievable stories about them. As you know I have played every position in the lacrosse field. This story comes from when I played defense. It was mid game and we had just got out of halftime break. I had red bull so I was hyper. I ran out on the field and was getting ready. They faced off and the other team's attack had the ball. So this one X attackman threw the ball twords the goat but it hit me in the shoulder. IT KILLED so then I was ticked off at the attack man. He apparently had a harrow, it was blue and yellow. So I decided to go rough on him. He came up off the center with the ball, and with all my strength I hit his stick mid section (where the wierd concave is) and he still had the ball in his stick. He threw the ball into the net and scored. He came up and laughed in my face, but apperantly he didn't notice his stick. It was broken right at midsection and then I laughed in his. He now had two peices of a 150$ harrow stick in his hands. And till the day I think about the look on his face, after he had laughed at me. And his stick is now in two peices.

Choosing the right stick!!!

This is an important part of lacrosse because it is what you use most. When shopping for sticks I reccomend going to a store that sells the stuff. If you do you get the benefit of checking it out before buying. I reccomend Comlax. It is a good place and so is Bagattaway lacrosse. When you use the internet, you might accedentally get something that is messed up. When choosing a stick you want to consider your level of playing and what you want out of a stick. If you are a newbie to lacrosse than go with a pre complete stick (one that is put together already). And it is a good idea to ask the people there. If you are expierenced, then look for what you want. Tip for the stupid: don't buy a goalie stick when you are playing midfield. For attack I recommend a light offset stick. Like a cyber or a finalizer. Also get a light shaft, Debeer makes good shafts. If you are a rich boy get a Harro so you can be good. I personally use a Cyber, with a Debeer 803. If you are a Defenseman go for medium light stick. The Worrior kavelar is good. Use any head for defense, I don't really care.

Quintus Horatius Flaccus's lacrosse stringing, and tape tips

Part I
when you are stringing your lacrosse stick, always use a company you trust. This way the mesh will not fall apart and it will last. I prefer Brine, but thats my oppinion. When you lace a stick first, use the out, across, and through tie. This way you can have a good pocket every time. BUT, make sure that it is even on both sides so you wont get an uneven pocket. So then choose mini, normal, mid, or monster mesh (I have had no expierience with mini mesh yet). People have quirks about how thier stich is strung, and don't worry because we all do. For instance, I never follow the directions, because I always want it a different way than the directions. If you are new to stringing, either ask a friend to help you or read the directions. At the top of the stick is where you get creative. Here you can do anything you want and you wont mess up. Actually I tie it different every time. When you are finally done, it comes to the laces. If you cannot tie laces go cry. But before crying i will ive you some tips.

• weave the first end through EVENLY.
• make sure that it isn't too tight.
• Now this is another creative part, everyone weaves back differently.
• If you cannot do it go ask a friend.
• NEVER FOLLOW DIRECTIONS WHILE DOING SHOOTING STRINGS.

Part II

Here is my favorite part, TAPEING. Here is where I specialize. When you tape people use different tapes, so get creative. People have many quirks with taping too just like I have a quirk with saying "creative", so get creative. I use every tape that there is. EXEPT for scotch tape, just trust me I am saving you from humiliation. I use electrical tape for butts (not a butt butt for you wierdos out there) but for lacrosse butts. Wrap the tape around it many times so you create a solid butt.