2nd Annual Plymouth Rock Tourney

I woke up a little sore this morning from playing 4 games (not including semi's) at the "Rock" Tourney in Plymouth, MA yesterday. Good times, I love tournaments (especially over 30 ones!)....just not a fan of the 4 games in one day format any longer. It's pretty cool actually as the tournament fees, etc. all go to help the self funded Plymouth HS lax program, so in actuality we were playing for a cause. There were 10 teams, 2 divisions and the top 2 teams from both divisions made the playoffs, we were one of those teams and accomplished our goal for the day, which is always a good feeling. We lost to the eventual (and defending) champs; The Mega Men (Congrats V!)as they were just too much for our squad. There were some solid players in the tourney, Dave Evans former Boston Cannon; Brendan Glass former UMass star, a few former Boston Blazers as well as plenty other guys who can get up and down and all love to compete.

Tourneys are great because you get to play with old friends, play against old friends and meet new dudes that you're playing with for the 1st time. It was great to run attack with my boy Falvey, he's still got it. Haven't played with him since the old Brine Outlaw lax club days but it's like nothing ever changed. I've always wondered what it would be like playing against a guy I've played with for the past 5+ years....I found out on Saturday. Flanny is one of the meanest defensemen, he's always been on my side until yesterday. First run, poke checks me right in the throat...couldn't even speak for like 5 minutes. Don't worry though I got him back with a nasty 2 handed wack between the glove and the arm pad on a clear......can you say ouch?

When you play in tournaments you have to keep it simple and stick to the basics. Offensively let the ball do the work, don't try and do too much and just keep moving. Always have to keep in mind that the defense is most likely playing together for the 1st time as well so the more you can keep them guessing the more success you're going to have. With that said, defensively you need to hope you have a solid goalie (which we did), make sure you communicate and just fly around to the ball when you can. The biggest thing with any tournament is taking care of yourself; make sure you stay hydrated, pack some snacks with protein and that will provide energy, stretch, warm up and make sure you stay warm in between games if it's a chilly one.

We'll have some shots of the tourney up soon so check out facebook.com/laxschool and if you're not a friend yet do that as well.

You can follow us on twitter.com/laxschool and keep an eye out for the lateral speed training video. In the next few weeks we'll have some more warm up and training stuff up on the site as well.

As always, if you have a question or want to see something specific on lax-school.com you can email me at bd@lax-school.com

Heels 4-0, keep it rolling boys!

2010 Heads

We're already a few weeks into the college season and the start of the high school season is right around the corner for most states...... unless you're in Cali. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa, CA) opens up tomorrow @ Berkley....good luck boys! So with all of the fuss about the new rule changes in both college (NCAA) and high school (NFHS), what are you thinking about the new heads on the market that meet these specs?

The new NCAA heads are ridiculous if you ask me.....ridiculously good for you offensive players that is. The new NCAA rules make the stick resemble a box head; the 3" dimension goes up more than 1/2 way up the head of the stick. What does this mean? It means major ball control right in the sweet spot of the stick, where the ball sits 95% of the time. Also with the width of the head at the widest point (the scoop) being reduced from 6.5" to 6" you have a nice tight wand to take your opponents to school with. Honestly, the NCAA committee made it harder for the ball to be dislodged when there goal was just the opposite. The NFHS rules basically stays within the traditional head specs; 6.5" across the top of the head and they have no measurement at the throat of the stick. There are also some high schools out there that play under NCAA rules, if you're one of those players then you're pretty psyched.

I've only tried the SuperPower and the Professor, both NCAA heads for 2010. They're both pretty sweet and I can definitely feel the difference in the "hold" of the stick when cradling and when I'm getting ready to let one rip. The ball seems to stay in the center of the pocket longer before I release my shot. Although the older sticks were a little narrower at the bottom of the head (closest to the throat), they got wider as you progressed up the stick where on the new heads it stays at 3" and remains narrower a lot longer. If you haven't seen our video with guest speaker Sean Morris yet, check it out on facebook.com/laxschool. Sean (Boston Cannon, Boston Blazer, former UMass AA and founder of seanmorrislacrosse.com) breaks down the NCAA head rules from a players perspective. We'll have a video up soon with John Hill from Lax-school's guidance department and present MLL & College referee, discussing the rule changes and how it'll be measured and enforced on the field....so stay tuned!

Did anyone see that Maverik commercial with Pauly Rabes last night during the Hopkins/Delaware game?

Make sure you're checking us out on facebook.com/laxschool and that you're following me on twitter.com/laxschool.

As always if you have a question you can always reach me at bd@lax-school.com

Watch out for those Tarheels!

Speed Training

Hopefully you've seen the latest video we uploaded to our facebook page, Linear (or straight) Speed Training....if not, you want to definitely check it out. Speed training focuses on your 1st step and Lax-School's director of strength & conditioning Glenn Harris is on point explaining the proper technique and what we're trying to accomplish with the Lean Fall Run. Let's take it a step further though so you can have a better understanding of why. Think about when you're dodging vs. your opponent. You can go left or go right no matter where you are on the field and that's pretty much it. The guy playing defense has a 50/50 chance of guessing which direction you want to go. The higher level you play at, the defensive middies or long poles are just as athletic as you and can run. The better you are, the defense is going to slide quicker and try to eliminate you as a threat. Now think about it, hmmm.......how important is that 1st step? Yeah, that's what I thought.... you want to have as quick as a 1st step as possible, bottom line. Offensive players today pretty much have the cards stacked up against them. Soooooo, the quicker you are off the dodge the more successful you're going to be. Let's face it, the more success you have (scoring goals, breaking ankles, taking your opponent to school, etc.) the more fun you're going to have.

We'll have the lateral (side to side) speed training video up soon, so stay tuned...especially you defensemen. If you have any questions on this type of training or anything to do with strength & conditioning, email Professor Harris @ glenn@gamefitperformance.com.

Check us out on facebook.com/laxschool and follow me on twitter.com/laxschool.

The weather these past few days have been almost spring like.....your season is almost here...make sure you're working hard!

BTW - anyone see the Notre Dame/Duke score.......

Upcoming Week

What's on tap for the weekend? A couple of potential big games that's what.

Coach T faces Syracuse and the 1st test as the head coach at DU. A lot of people questioned Bill Tierney's move to Denver, I think it was a great move for him personally and for the game itself. Let's face it, in other sports when coaches have done all they can at their respective organization/college it's a blessing in disguise to move along and start fresh. This is exactly what coach T was looking to do when he made his move; a new opportunity to be a part of the growth of the game in a booming area (have you seen the attendance at Outlaw games) and live out west in a great city and most importantly coach with his son Trevor. Good luck Coach T, knock the orange off early and start your new era making some noise!

Loyola is @ Navy, should be a good one. Loyola is tough, they ended last year on a role and have some returning players that can get it done. Navy is always disciplined and like machines, Coach Meade has those guys well conditioned and ready to execute his game plan to a tee. Notre Dame goes down to blue heaven to test their skills vs. the mighty Dookies. We'll see what ND is made of early in the year, if they can get the W they may be worth all the hype...we'll see. My last big game of the weekend is Delaware at UMBC, a lot of folks think UD is the real deal this year, they have a bunch of seniors who are have grown together since they're final four finish vs. the Hop four years ago. Word on the street is Dave Metzbower (former Princeton long time asst) has been very influential in where they are at this point in the season. We shall see what becomes of this one as UMBC is always there making a run at the tourney come May.

If you're a high schooler, the season is rapidly approaching, check out facebook.com/laxschool for our latest speed training video. Lots more to come so keep checking that and lax-school.com.

Make sure you're following me on twitter.com/laxschool

Go Heels, time to get to 2-0!

1st weekend of College Lax

Some nail biters this week, the Heels 5-4 over the Bryant Bulldogs. I didn't see the game but heard it was pretty tight; Press once again does a great job coaching his guys. If it wasn't for Carolina's goalie Chris Madalon, the outcome could have been different is what I was told. Good game for UNC this early in the season however, it's one of those character builders that will pay off down the road. How about Bucknell almost knocking off the Blue Devils? Duke came back to win in OT, once again another high profile team getting tested. Two highly ranked teams surviving against unranked teams early in the season. Usually these schools schedule these games are "warm up" games for when they start to get into the big dogs o their schedule (Carolina/Duke 3/10). But not anymore, college lax is so competitive now and it's great for the sport. I love seeing games like this, especially at the beginning of the season........ it's going to be a very interesting road to Baltimore in 2010.

Speaking of Baltimore and the 2010 NCAA Championships, make sure you check out facebook.com/laxschool for my insiders guide to Memorial Day weekend and the Final four. Everything you need to know about where to stay, eat and party for the big weekend.

Any questions about Fells point or Federal Hill? Or where to get the best crabs while in Baltimore? Shoot me an email at bd@lax-school.com and I'll let you know.

Make sure you're following me on twitter.com/laxschool as well as facebook.com/laxschool.

Got a new video on the way, stay tuned.

Turf Fields no match for snow.

Lax teams in Baltimore and Philly with turf are pretty psyched, if you're playing on grass then you're bumming. Doesn't mean you can't get out & hit the wall though! Maybe we'll get a wall ball snow edition video going.

Just got our Lax-school Pro 7's, check them out on facebook.com/laxschool, posted some pics up. Almost ready for our photo shoot, just waiting on some more gear and we'll be good 2 go.

Did you see the Cannons helmet with the red chrome mask on it? It's on point!!! Check out the lax convention video on lax-school.com. Maybe we can get Cascade to put them into production, shoot me an email if you think your team wants them......the Cannons do!

Any questions about preseason training or the 2010 NCAA or NFHS rule changes? Email me @ bd@lax-school.com. Or just shoot a note to say whaazzzup!

Follow me on twitter.com/lax-school.com

Go Heels!

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

45 degrees

Just finished working with 3 goalies from Duxbury HS, a sophomore, junior and a senior. All three are very good, they see the ball well and are pretty athletic. It's funny though they all had one common flaw and its something I see a lot with up and coming goalies. At some point in your career we as goalies are taught to "step" to the ball or as I like to call it, "attack" the ball. What some end up doing (I did it too) is stepping to the shooter and not to the ball. So if a shot is taken to our side (and not directly at us) we have to reach to the ball as we're moving forward towards the shooter...make sense? Our goal is to get our hands and body to the ball. So if a shot comes to my off hip for example, I want to step on a 45 degree angle to where I believe the ball is going. Doing this I'm sort of "meeting the ball" at a certain point before it gets past me. Yeah, I know what am I saying right? Don't let your momentum carry you forward before the shooter releases the ball. If so you will end up reaching to make the save, if you miss its a goal. If we're patient, sit back & see the ball.....then we react and step to the ball......not the shooter. If we miss it, there's a good chance it will hit a piece of your body.

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

Talon Butt End

At the convention my boys from Talon hooked me up with a new butt end they designed. I'm not sure how many of you tape a big fat butt on the end of your shafts but something Paul Rabil showed me was to do this about an inch or so before the end of the shaft. If your shaft is too long you still have the leverage of a long shaft but your hand stops short and it feels like a shorter shaft (obviously). Now with this butt end there's no need for wasting all that tape, plus after a little bit the tape gets worn and turns "gummy".......this won't happen with the Talon butt end. I highly recommend you check it out, they also have one for the end of the stick if you stay with what you got. Check out the pic I attached.

Big game today, Super Bowl Sunday....getting ready to hit my boys party. I'm taking the Saints, 34-31. I know the Colts have more experience, etc but the bottom line is the Saints offense is just as explosive and they're playing for their city more than anything. When you look at the Saints they're a bunch of outcasts that have been shunned by their former teams (Brees - San Diego, Shockey - Giants, Vilma - Jets) and they're ready for this game and to bring the Lombardi trophy home to New Orleans no doubt!

Make sure you're checking out the videos on facebook.com/laxschool and following me on twitter.com/laxschool. Be on the lookout for some preseason training videos on lax-school.com

Enjoy the game!




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

Team USA????

Anyone see the Team USA-Duke game that was aired on Sunday night? If you did I'm sure you weren't expecting that outcome, to be honest neither was I. However, the team USA that we saw vs. Duke will not be the same team that goes over to Manchester in July to attempt to reclaim the gold medal. Let's face it like Q said during the broadcast, this team showed up in Florida on Saturday and played two games for the 1st time as a group. They didn't practice, they had no offensive or defensive sets and really no EMO or special teams situational plays set. Not to mention Nick O'Hara was replacing Sean Nadalene who went down with a season (and possibly career) ending knee injury. Get well soon Nads! Not sure O'Hara is the guy to replace Nadalene, honestly I think they need more of a physical presence to match up with the likes of John Grant. If you caught my article in the New England Lax journal about Team USA, I based it on how this team was picked to beat Team Canada. If you haven't seen it check it out online (www.laxjournal.com). Nevertheless, once this team finishes their training camp in mid July they will be a far different team then what we saw on Sunday night that's for sure. If you didn't see the game make sure you check it as it's being replayed today at 4:00 on ESPNU.

We're in the midst of filming training sessions; this Saturday we went over a great warm up that specifically loosens up your hips which is important in our sport. We also filmed a spot on linear and lateral speed training; both will be up on lax-school.com very shortly so make sure you're checking it out. We'll be adding preseason training & conditiong content throughout the month of Februrary so you can make sure you're ready to go once your season opens up.

If you haven't already make sure you check us out on facebook.com/laxschool and follow me on twitter.com/laxschool

If you have a specific question you can email me at bd@lax-school.com

The college season opens up this weekend (can you believe it??)....GO HEELS!


BD