Xmas

With Christmas basically here, I wanted to give some last minute gift ideas that can be picked up at your local Lax Unlimited or sent via rush mail order guaranteed by Thursday.

The new redesigned STX K18 line is on point! The glove is low profile and extremely comfortable and the new palm has ridiculous grip but not too sticky like others out there. The arm guard and arm pad fit like you want them to fit, no sliding which means you're not going to constantly have to pull them up after you make a pass or take a shot. Since you have to wear shoulder pads (rules) this is the one, it sits so low on your shoulders you don't even realize you're wearing one. The best thing about this pad for being so low profile is it doesn't sacrifice on protection. For more of the tech stuff on the K18 line check out stxlacrosse.com.

There are a lot of new heads on the market especially because of the new NFHS (National Federation High School) & NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) specs. In a nutshell NCAA heads look more like box heads now and the NFHS heads are like the old rules but a little wider in the throat. Heads are more of a personal preference depending on what you're looking for, I definitely recommend trying it out before you make the purchase. At LU we always have demo sticks on the floor that are custom strung so customers can pick it up, cradle with it & even give it a soft toss on the Lax wall to see how it feels, how it holds and what the release is all about. I was at the Weymouth store yesterday shipping out some last minute Xmas gifts when a kid was doing just that with the Professor head by STX. He was sold on it, couldn't believe how tight it was and was ready to pull the trigger. Unfortunately Dave (the store mgr) had to inform him it was a NCAA head as he was in high school and couldn't use it. For more info on the two new rules and specs on heads check out laxunlimited.com

Make sure you're following me on facebook.com/lax-school and twitter.com/lax-school

Have a Merry Christmas and hope you get what you asked for!

BD
You want to get schooled online or on the field? www.lax-school.com

2009 Supplemental

Today we had the MLL supplemental draft where we acquired 12 players to fill the roster for the 2010 training camp. I went heavy with midfielders today for a reason. I'm a big believer that the MLL is a midfielders' game and when you have guys who can create from up top, beat their defender and draw the slide it initiates the offense. We picked up Pat Heim who was the #1 overall pick in 2007 out of college. Pat took the year off last season but he indicated to me he is hungrier than ever to get back on the field and compete. He is a vey dangerous dodger and has a laser of a shot on the run both lefty and righty. He's very good in transition and can play on the defensive end if need be. With the 3rd pick I took Billy Looney, another up and down midfielder who came out of Navy in 2007 as well. He and Pat both played for Chicago in their rookie season so there's some familiarity there amongst the two. Billy like Pat is also a very good dodger and shoots well on the run. Being from Navy and playing for a former coach of mine (Richie Meade), Billy is also a very intelligent player and is extremely tough. The last midfielder I took with MLL experience was Glenn Adams from Wesleyan who played the past two seasons with the Long Island Lizards and has been a thorn to the Cannons when we faced the Lizards. Glenn is very quick and has good wheels, he has a nasty right to left split and can get his hands free for good high percentage shots. I've seen him mature as a player the past two seasons and we're hopeful he hits his stride with us. The rest of the midis I drafted are rookies that have high accolades with their former schools and we'll see if they have what it takes to make it in the MLL.

I took two defensemen in the draft, Dan Cocoziello and Chris Atwell. Coco was a highly decorated college defenseman out of Princeton and began his career with the Outlaws before suffering a knee injury that kept him from playing with the Toronto Nationals last season. He's healthy and we want to add some depth to our already strong shut down defensive personnel. Atwell is a 6'6" monster out of Fairfield and my good buddy Ted Spencer told me about him last year but we couldn't get him into camp unfortunately. He's got the physical skills to play in this league, we just have to see if he has the mental toughness to earn a spot on the roster.

On the attack we brought back Mike McDonald, a kid we were really high on last year. He played in a couple of games before our veterans joined us after the NLL season concluded. Mike is a tough kid that goes hard 100% of the time. What will determine if he hangs around this year is if he can get over the hump when defended by some of the premiere defensemen in the league. Jake Byrne joins us via San Francisco and Washington. He's got a lethal shot and is a 2 point threat. We need to see if he can make good decisions and hang around.

It was an exciting day for sure. Although we're still 4+ months away from training camp, the supplemental draft always gets the juices flowing as we're one step closer to the 2010 squad. To see the complete draft list from today go to www.bostoncannons.com

Make sure you're checking in with me, if you have a question or just want to comment on our draft picks shoot an email to bd@lax-school.com

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Until next time........

STILL WAITING FOR SOME HOCKEY CHALLENGES!!!! WHAT'S THE MATTER YOU SCARED???

Video Games not Just for kids

I was up at Lacrosse Unlimited in Weymouth today (store was packed by the way) and I overheard some kids talking about Xbox & PS3 and my favorite game of all time EA Sports NHL. They were talking about the differences between 2009 & 2010, what they liked most about the game, their favorite teams and all that good stuff. Being an avid fan of the game since the old school Sega days (when you could skate around the goal and score almost every single time!) I had to interject and give my 2 cents about this years game. They looked at me like I had two heads! "Coach Daye, you play Playstation??" Of course I play Playstation! What do you think video games were just invented with the birth of Playstation and Xbox??? When I was a kid we had the Atari 2600, the Atari 5200 and Colecovision gaming consoles (then came Nintendo but those were the college days). I basically grew up with a game console as a permanent fixture in my house.........son! The graphics were no where near where they are today (obviously) but the 70's and 80's were the birthplace of today's gaming systems......no doubt. Sorry for the rant but I needed to make sure today's youth had an understanding of why guys like myself are avid video gamers.

Back to EA Sports NHL 2010, I love this game. Not being a hockey player I've taught myself the nuances of the game; the offensive, defensive and fore checking strategies. When I play I try to emulate lax and apply different offensive strategies. I get the puck through X and attack the weak side and try and force a slide and open up a big slap shot from my man Nick Lidstrom. Oh yeah forgot to mention I play and always have played with the Detroit Redwings (since Sega). Defensively I love to play aggressive, high pressure and force my opponent to make quick decisions with the puck. I'm not afraid to sacrifice the body and I love the big hits.

This years game is very similar to 2009 but the passing is a lot more difficult to master that's for sure. Other then that the realistic dekes, moves and bone crunching hits makes this game one of the greatest of all time. When I can find the time my boy Millman and I have our epic battles whether face to face or online. Like I said I have always been the Redwings; he's been the LA Kings (Gretzky) and Flyers (Roenick) back in the Sega days. Then he played with the Avalanche for a little bit before settling with the Dallas Stars for quite sometime now. I wish I knew what our overall record was but if I had to take a guess I would say something like; BD 648-Millman 204.......I'm sure he would disagree but I have owned him for 10+ years!

Think you got what it takes to hang with BD on the ice? Shoot me an email at bd@lax-school.com and we'll trade screen names and get online for some NHL 2010!!

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Make sure you're keeping up your training, I'm getting ready to hit the gym in an hour to work with my boy Seto @ MBX!

You want to get schooled online or on the field? www.lax-school.com