Stop. Hammer Time.

STX Hammer U

Looking for a new shaft can be difficult because there are so many good ones out there to choose from, but when it comes to choosing what head to use, in my opinion there is only one top of the line defensive head. The STX Hammer U. This is what head I've used on my stick the past 3 years and I plan to keep using this head until they put something better out, because right now this is the head to have for close defense. I won't bore you with all the details, but my favorite thing about this head is how stiff it is. The guy in the video below shows how other heads can be easy to bend back and forth but the Hammer is near impossible to bend when you get it. The benefit to this is that it makes your slap checks, poke checks, and trail checks (and yes there are more) all harder so you have a better chance of getting the ball out, and who doesn't like causing the offensive player a little more pain? I could go on forever about how much I love this head but if you really want to learn more about it, watch the video below, he gives a great review on the head.

Narrowing down my options

Since my old stick broke, I've began to look at what new shafts I want to get. Sadly, Pennsylvania doesn't have an abundance of lacrosse stores, so I have been doing most of my research online. I found a list with a great number of defensive shafts, and for each one they had a video and a list of pros and cons. So far the stick that I'm most interested in is the Maverick H2. It has a built in grip, which is nice when it's raining and your stick keeps slipping out of your hand, and it has a concanve shape, which I prefer because it helps me handle the stick better. It's also very light at only 6.4oz, so I can throw checks faster and harder. I also saw a new stick from a brand I have never heard before called the, EPOCH Dragonfly Gen. 5 R60. This is a fairly new company and this stick itself is so new there are only a few review, but those who have bought it have loved it. When I go back home over break this weekend I plan to go into a few shops and check out what other shafts they have, along with some new heads/stringing and elbow pads but that's a whole different story that I'll get into later this week.

List of Shafts: http://www.onestoplacrosse.com/best-lacrosse-defense-shafts/

Search for a new stick

Last week at practice, there was a ground ball during our scrimmage and I hit two attackman pretty hard while trying to get it and I bent my metal shaft... needless to say it was kind of upsetting. Lacrosse sticks can vary in prices but for the most part they are not cheap, and that's only for the shaft, getting the head restrung is a completely different story. There are basically 3 types of sticks in lacrosse a short pole, which is what an attackman or offensive middie use (sometimes defensive middies use them as well). 

A long pole, which is what I'm holding in the picture from the previous post, is what I use as a close defender and sometimes long stick middie (LSM), but who wants to do all that running at midfield? The other stick used would be a goalie stick, which for obvious reasons is only used by the goalie. Goalie shafts are slightly longer then short poles and while short poles and long poles have similar heads, goalies have much larger heads so it's "easier" to save the ball. Everyone has their own stick and head combination and unless you buy a complete stick, it's rare that someone would have the same exact head, shaft, and stringing as you do. It brings a uniqueness to the game because no other sport is like this. Sure baseball players have their bats and hockey players have a stick but they can't personalize it like you can in lacrosse, you really have to work to try and find that perfect stick that feels good. Luckily since it's the off season I don't have to worry about getting a stick right away and I can take my time to look up some shafts and see what the hot new ones are. Also finding lacrosse equipment in PA is really tough seeing that barely anybody plays it here, so I have to wait to get my equipment back home in Maryland.

Welcome to The Lax House!

The Lax House

Welcome to The Lax House! Stop by every week to get updates on what's new in the world of Lacrosse! Just to give you a little lacrosse background about me, I attended Oakland Mills High school in Columbia, Maryland where I began playing lacrosse for the JV team my sophomore year under Coach Trevor Shea, the man who encouraged me to pick up my first stick and try out for the team. And by the end of my first season I was starting at close defense, as well as a captain of the team. That year we racked up 2 wins in our county, which was twice as much as the year before, so to say we were excited about those two wins isn't even close to how we actually felt. Following my first year of JV lacrosse I began to play on multiple club teams, in order to gain as much experience as possible so I would make the Varsity team. That summer I tried out for the Howard County Lacrosse Club team and made it, and stayed on the club that fall until the following spring. The next year I made the Varsity club team, where I sat the bench for the majority of the year, to slowly get in more and more as the year went on. After my Junior year I tried out for a travel lacrosse club called the Maryland Wild (shoutout to the sponsors, Buffalo Wild Wings) where I made the team and traveled with them to many tournaments, eventually winning the championship in Ocean City. I've continued to play on the Wings to this day, and even though we are no longer in high school, we still go back to Ocean City every summer to play in a tournament. My senior year at Oakland Mills I started at close defense with 2 of my closest friends on the team, helping to rebuild our program for the future and winning the team's second playoff win in a decade. Currently other than playing for Wings, I am on the Men's Club Lacrosse team at Slippery Rock University, where we're looking to continue our streak at being top in our conference.