One of the worst things that can happen to you and to your team is to get an illegal stick call. It is one of the easiest penalties to avoid and is also one of the most painful. I know my coach back in college hated them. During practice we would have random stick checks, like in any game, and heaven help you if your stick didn’t pass the tests. If anyone’s stick were illegal we would all run. And he would make us run a lot.
Fortunate enough, however, we never face an illegal stick call in any of our games. I guess my coach had some good reasoning with for all those sprints.
Now I know that things happen. Weather can mess up your stick, turning your beauty of a pocket into a monstrous whale are even a used stick just breaking in some more are the wrong time.
We here at Universal Lacrosse have put together some nice quick tips to keep your stick legal so you won’t get that devastating penalty.
First, you want to dry your stick after any rainy game or practice. Second, DRY YOUR STICK AFTER EVERY GAME OR PRACTICE. A wet pocket is one of the most common causes of an illegal stick. When you get home take you stick out of your bag and stuff your pocket with old newspaper or even paper towels. The paper will absorb the water and help your pocket retain its’ shape. There are also some mesh options that can help you out with this problem. Try out some East Coast Mesh. It has a wax coating that makes it completely water proof so you won’t have to worry about your pocket bagging out on you at all!
If you’re caught in a rainy game and your stick is already starting to bag out on you, try tightening the bottom string of your head. This will pull the mesh closer to the head making you pocket a little shallower.
If your stick is illegal in the sense of not letting go of the ball one of the easiest things to fix it is to remove one of the shooters that you have strung up. This will help you throw smoother as well as not holding on to the ball in a bad way.
If you know your way around stringing a pocket and you have some time, restringing your head all together might be your solution.
This could be a little more time consuming but it could pay off in the long run. If you stick has too much hold try stringing it in a way that your channel isn’t as tight. A tight channel can be beneficial but if it’s too tight then it can be a complete nightmare.
An illegal stick is something you always want to avoid when playing Lacrosse. Hopefully with these few quick tips, you have the knowledge to keep your stick in playing fashion and to keep you on the field.
IT’S ALL U
If you’re caught in a rainy game and your stick is already starting to bag out on you, try tightening the bottom string of your head. This will pull the mesh closer to the head making you pocket a little shallower.
If your stick is illegal in the sense of not letting go of the ball one of the easiest things to fix it is to remove one of the shooters that you have strung up. This will help you throw smoother as well as not holding on to the ball in a bad way.
If you know your way around stringing a pocket and you have some time, restringing your head all together might be your solution.
This could be a little more time consuming but it could pay off in the long run. If you stick has too much hold try stringing it in a way that your channel isn’t as tight. A tight channel can be beneficial but if it’s too tight then it can be a complete nightmare.
An illegal stick is something you always want to avoid when playing Lacrosse. Hopefully with these few quick tips, you have the knowledge to keep your stick in playing fashion and to keep you on the field.
IT’S ALL U