I play middie in high school and I currently have the Nike Lunar 2 lacrosse stick but my coach says that I should look into finding a more advanced stick. I have been trying to do as much research as possible to find the right stick and have been borrowing my coaches variety of team sticks to experiment with. I am trying to find a stick with the most ball control as possible. My current favorite one that I have tried out was the Maverik Ascent. When I researched it I found the Maverik Ascent Pro with the hex pocket and was wondering if that would be a better fit for me then the Ascent or Ascent+. Any suggestions (even about different brands) would be greatly appreciated.

As a coach or official, what are the best/worst comments you've heard from parents on sidelines during a game?

My most common:

"Take it to goal!" Parents, I know you want to see your daughter score, but we are trying to run a play.

"Call it both ways ref!"

"How is that a penalty?"

"Moving pick!" Parents, moving picks are not illegal.

Funny:

On an obvious flop "When did LeBron start playing women's lacrosse?" This one actually made the ref start laughing.

"Wheels!" John, your daughter has been playing for 40 minutes straight in 98-degree weather, she has no wheels left.

"Fast break, go to goal!" Dave, it's on our side of the field, it's not a fast break, and your daughter is playing defense.

"What the H*** is shooting space?"

Situation - This past weekend tournament - HS A Bracket. Running clock. Close game. Player on opposing team earns a well-deserved yellow card for Slashing. Whistle start. Opposing coach calls out a defensive play for what I assume is a man down defensive scheme.

The opposing team gets a 3 second violation penalty. Free position at the 12m. We begin again with our offensive set based on man up. Whistle; another 3 second violation. Free position at the 12m. Start again, and yes, a third three second violation by the defense. Each reset taking up a full 15 to 30 seconds to set up and restart. Burned through the two-minute yellow card. I didn't realize what the coach was doing until the third violation and seeing the yellow card released. On the officials' side, this should be a held flag to not disadvantage the attacking team, I believe, based on the official's manual. Officials' insight is welcomed. We lost the game 5-4, so a frustrating situation.

In addition, the timer should be tracking the full two minutes on a stopwatch with a stop at whistle fouls, correct? "Elapsed playing time" This is my understanding based on the official's manual. I've never seen this strategy by a coach. The yellow card was released after 2 minutes of running game clock instead of a real two minutes of actual "elapsed playing time". Was the coach just taking advantage of a weak timer?

What's to stop a coach from doing this to run the clock out and end a game while on defense with a running clock? Held flag I assume, but I welcome feedback.

My daughter is looking for a new stick/ stick head and I found a few that seem promising. There is a gait apex head that is gently used for $180 and a new Infinity for $150 (complete stick), does it make sense to pay the extra $30 for the gait head over the complete stick? How much better is it and does it even make sense to be looking at gait as she is a defensive player looking to move more midfield? Additionally, there is a womens Whip 1 for sale as it is the older version for $160 but I have heard that is more of an attack stick but am unsure what the difference truly is between attack vs midfield sticks.

My daughter is a going to be a sophomore in high school and has been playing lacrosse for 2 years (8th grade and 9th). She has a pretty beginner to intermediate stick but has been complaining that the head/ pocket does not work well. It is a STX stick that was part of one of the beginner packs so I am unsure of the proper name. Is there any recommendations for a stick/ stick head that isn't super expensive as she will be continuing for high school but not planning on playing in college. We have tried a few like the EDC infinity and the Gait Apex but they are pretty expensive and looking for something a little cheaper. She plays defense but hoping to move more into midfield.

I am currently going into my junior year of high school next year. I just want to know, how late is too late for recruiting, typically? Would the summer before my senior year be too late to start sending tapes/filling out questionnaires?

I was watching my daughter’s team play in a youth tournament today, and the poor officiating was unbearable. Our entire sideline was commenting loudly throughout to the officials about the repeated bad calls. Even the opposing team’s parents agreed the refs were shite. One parent commented the refs were purposely not making calls for our team out of spite for all the jawing we were doing.

At one point I lost my composure. I didn’t curse but yelled “flop” after a girl went down with what was a legitimate injury. That was psycho on my part. I kept asking myself what the hell is wrong with me?

After the game I felt embarrassed. I really don’t care about the score- I just care about the girls getting treated fairly so that they have an opportunity to realize the benefit of all the hard work they put in. It frustrates me when refs take over the game and take that away from them. I’m normally chill but wondering what got into me. What do you do when your girls are getting jobbed by the refs?

I vowed to keep my mouth shut from now on- its pointless to make comments on how godawful a ref may be, all I can accomplish is making an ass of myself. If that feeling ever creeps in again, I will just take a walk.

And for the refs here, do you care about what you are doing when its obvious you are screwing up when you keep hearing comments and know they are right?

When my daughter finishes playing I have always planned to become a ref- just because I can’t bear to see such inconsistent and awful officiating. All the girls deserve better.

My niece is being recruited for D1 lacrosse. I know the odds are tiny for a full-ride. Which schools also offer merit scholarships for academically gifted students? She will not qualify for needs based aid.

Over the course of the past season we have seen an uptick in what the NHL calls “diving”. Young girls are being taught to flop on the ground anytime someone gets near them. This needs to be addressed at all levels of the sport before the sport becomes FIFA soccer. First offense is a 3 minute penalty, the 2nd is a 5 minute and mandatory ejection. Yes it’s harsh, but these floppers are making a mockery of the sport. Stop the flop.

I am a HS sophomore currently and have been playing lacrosse off and on for ~3 years now. If I want to go D3 with lacrosse, what are my chances? I wouldn’t say I’m terrible, but I’m definitely not where I want to be. If I really worked at it, could I maybe make it onto a D3 team? I don’t wanna go D1 or D2; I just want to do the sport but not as competitively as those divisions. Any thoughts/answers?

What are your favorite/funniest end of season paper plate awards ?

Is there a way to get the Brine head on the UA shaft? the shaft is plugged at the top (which I have never seen before) and the head used some new tech that goes into the shaft (something I have also never encountered)

I love the Warp and would love to get it on the UA shaft if possible

I am a draw taking middie (main draw taker in my team) and I am looking for a new stick. I have had the older gait draw for 2 and a half years but the head broke, so I’m upgrading. My coach said the draw m is good, but I’m not so sure. I’ve also been eyeing up the apex and possibly the whip just because my old draw stick was awful outfield. I don’t know whether I should go for the draw m because it will win draws or the apex. Tbh the apex doesn’t look like it would be awful on draw but my coach said that if I come up against a draw stick I won’t win draw, which is true.

Im hoping someone knows...

What is the max # of players a D1 Women's Lax team can have on the roster next year, 24-25?

I know Teams were allowed to roster more due to the extra yr of eligibility due to covid, so what will it be next yr? Some of the top D1 teams currently have 45+ players, others are closer to 30-ish. Even w grads and 5th yrs, it seems like some of these teams will still be huge next yr, when the new 2024 commits start in 24-25.

I am currently a Junior at an NCAA DII WLax program and trying to figure out if I am eligible for a 5th year. I don’t know the qualifiers for a 5th year/red shirt and would love some input. My freshman year, in 2022, I played in 3 games totaling 36 mins. I have heard that the limit is 4 games to consider the year a red shirt. Am I too late since that was two years ago? I would love to play the sport I love especially at a higher level if I was eligible to enter the transfer portal if there is a loophole. Let me know if anyone knows what I can do!

i’m a sophomore in high school. I’ve been playing girls lacrosse for about 5 or 6 year and i plan to play through college. i’ve had a couple different sticks but they were cheap ones. i play defense and i want to get a new stick for the next season but i have absolutely no idea where to start. any recommendations?

I am helping our High School Girls Lacrosse team with stats and getting data from Hudl to MaxPreps. I noticed there are tones of data for Offensive players but not much other than caused turnovers for Defensive players. Is this normal or just because we are in a region where Lacrosse is not popular yet?

If you had a little extra funding (~$600 - 1,000) to buy some non-consumable things for a high school team – what would you get?  We are in an area where the girls lacrosse program is still small so we want to work towards items that can be used over the years (not swag that is one and done). We are considering pop-up tent to provide shade on the sidelines and a folding wagon to hall water and gear.  What are your other suggestions?  If you have recommendations for where to but these (beyond Amazon) drop a link for us. 

Looking for some fun drills to run at practice to boost morale. The high school girl’s team I coach has been grinding for a few weeks now and we have a handful of days in between games.

It’s only a JV team (although the girls are all super competitive and most play on club teams and have multiple years experience) so I want them to be able to come in and enjoy a lower stakes practice with a fun atmosphere as a sort of mental reset before games resume.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated!!!

My friend and I are both in middle school and we both play club lacrosse. She recently got a concussion and it made us both realize the lack of protection we have in womens lacrosse. My friend and I both have helmets and have both gone through concussions and other injuries. This happened in our most recent game, which was yesterday from the time im writing this, my friend plays middie and was fighting with a girl on the other team for the ball. The other girl won and started to run to goal, my friend started to play defense and their feet got tangled together. My friend ended up getting her head hit twice before she landed on the turf, hitting her head a third time. If girls were to wear helmets like the goalie helmets, the severity of her concussion might have been lower. She had to be taken off the field by our coaches and wasnt allowed to play for the rest of the game. Her head and neck were injured and she felt extremely nauses. She most likely wont be allowed to play in our game tomorrow either. Most of our teammates, including my friend and I, have had mouth injuries and chest injuries and it made us think about how we need helmets like the ones that goalies wear and chest padding. Hopefully this reaches the right people and more protection is made mandatory for girls lacrosse.

hi! i’m 14 and i play for my schools team. my coach has tasked us with finding new plays for our team. we are all fairly new to the sport, but ok at catching, throwing, and shooting.

any recommendations or resources would be greatly appreciated!!!

Hey yall. I just recently started playing back-up goalie for my D3 college team for less than a month and unfortunately already have a concussion. After the hit I had one practice before I knew I was concussed and even then I noticed I was ducking away from high shots and felt more scared of the ball. I already know this is something I am going to have to overcome when I am cleared to practice again. Do any goalies have any advice to overcome the fear after an injury in goal? I’m generally not afraid of the ball and have had no problem eating body shots. I know I definitely need to get my stick skills up so that even if there is a scary shot at my head I know I will be able to catch it.

Hi everyone! I'm a Freshman in highschool and its my first year playing lax (made the freshman team at my school). I'm really loving it and I'm looking for any advice you can give me. I live on the east coast so everyone who plays has had a stick in their hand since they could walk so there's a lot of competition. Thank you!!

Just lost my lacrosse game 2 to 12. I was goalie half the game, not out of the ordinary, but the only goal I managed to block I gave to the team. I went to pass it and pulled back to far, it feel out of my net and into the goal. When I played defense I got worn out immediately. I fucking failed. As a goalie. As a team mate. As a defense. I. Failed. And I don't know how to deal with it

Update: we lost the third game 11 to 13 but I had so much fun. I forgot that's why I started. Because it was fun. I love the other team and mine and after winning three seasons in a row I think I can handle letting them win

hi! my name is river:) i’m starting out lacrosse this year as a sophomore in highschool (very late to the game) as a goalie. yesterday was our first practice and i got my ass handed to me— and i honestly just need some advice. i was honestly kinda just thrown into the net with 15 minutes of like training on how to save a ball and basics. but im still really struggling. i was literally blown away by the talent from the players, especially our other goalie.

i have never played a high school sport, i have only done very competitive dancing growing up and i play ice hockey on occasion. i’m honestly even wondering if this is worth it. it’s really hard, and im not afraid of a challenge, trust me— but i dont know if im too late to the game to even make something out of this goalie stuff. i don’t know how you guys do it.

i would love to get some feedback, wether it be links to videos on skills i can practice on my own, tips on the field, or just general advice on how to manage starting out so late in the game. thank you so much:)

Hi everyone! My daughter’s township rec team was a couple coaches short this year and a friend of my wife’s asked me to jump in since I played in high school and college. These are middle schoolers who vary between newbies and a couple highly skilled club players. Most can competently throw and catch.

Assume that I’ve watched a couple hours of YouTube videos on rules and aspects of the women’s game (tell me the truth - shooting space isn’t a real thing and is just a subjective ref judgement). Does anyone have any tips for me? Anyone have experience transitioning their view of the game from one involving more brute force to the more skillful women’s game?

I play lacrosse and I'm in middle school. As of last season we now have two teams! Before hand we were one team the split up on game day. Now we are Valkyries and the other team is Fire Birds. I know most of they're players and am still friends with them. I made 5 of the goals and am pretty proud of myself. Though I don't want to sound to self confident. The reason I'm so happy is because coach put me as attack when I haven't played it. I've been playing four seasons. And I did surprisingly good at it. I normally play midi, and this season we have enough players on each team to organize it. As in center midi, defense wing, etc. This probably wasn't interesting seeing as there is no point but I just want to share

So i just got some football cleats because they’re the most comfortable will I have to return them or are they fine