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

Convention

Great weekend down at the coaches convention in Baltimore. Ran into a lot of old buddies as I always do, good to see friends you haven't seen in a while. It was great running into one of my closest buds Press (aka Mike Pressler) as he was looking good in his Team USA gear; honeslty there is no one better suited to bring the gold back in the World Games then he and his staff.

There was a lot going on Friday and Saturday in the Convention halls; two lax fields of live demos by some of the best names in the game including the US Men's & Women's teams as well as product presentations by the manufacturers and retailers. We were able to walk through the convention hall on Saturday and check out some new products including the colored facemask Cascade is thinking about introducing. I personally think it's a no brainer to be honest but I'm not the one responsible for pricing and inventory. We show the red mask in our video up on facebook (facebook.com/Lax-school) so check it out let me know your thoughts, it'll also be up on Lax-school.com very shortly. If you think it's something your team would be interested in wearing shoot me an email to bd@lax-school.com and I'll make sure to forward your feedback to Cascade! You never know maybe we'll do a giveaway contest! (have to talk to my boy Ells about that one).....

Besides walking the show and checking out some of the new gear for 2010, we (Lacrosse Unlimited) also hosted coaches socials on Friday and Saturday night. Both went over very well and I was able to meet some new coaches, hand out some business card while enjoying some ice cold beverages. It was definitely a good time and a huge success, looking forward to working with some of the people we met this weekend and building on it for 2011.

February is a couple of weeks away, the high school and youth seasons are slowly approaching. Make sure you're doing work in the gym, on the road/treadmill so you start the season with an edge! Make sure you check out lax-school.com as we'll have some training tips up real soon.

Follow me on Facebook.com/Lax-school and Twitter.com/Lax-school

Last but certainly not least......J...E...T...S...Jets, Jets, Jets!

Convention

Its that time of the year again, the US Lacrosse Men's & Women's coaches convention. Heading down this Friday to Baltimore to take it all in yet once again. No matter how many times I've been to this event it always seems to create a little excitement for the attendees. Let's face it, college lacrosse is literally right around the corner. Some programs are already back to school and hard at work with conditioning. February is two weeks away, most teams begin practice on the 1st if not the week before. The convention is sort of the unofficial "kickoff" for the lax season in my opinion. Lax Unlimited is hosting two socials @ Mother's bar in Fells point on Friday & Saturday night; all you need is your US Lax credentials and you're in. Should be fun, its our way of saying thanks to the ones that support us........Make sure you pop by and introduce yourself.

Probably what I like most about the weekend is seeing some of the boys; guys I used to work with (Brine, Cascade, Coaching jobs) and dudes I've played with/against; its the one place we all convene on and its a great way to reconnect and catch up. If you plan on going make sure you keep an eye out for Lax-School as we'll be filming live Friday and Saturday.

If you're not already following us, check me out @ facebook.com/lax-school and twitter.com/lax-school.

Up to 1,000 + on the facebook page! Yeah boy! Thanks, keep it coming we're just getting this party started!


See you Friday!


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

2010 NLL Season Opens

Can't wait until this weekend as the NLL opens up their 2010 season. I'm heading into the city and checking out the Blazers home opener vs. the Toronto Rock at the Garden on Saturday night. It should be a great game, as the boys from Boston are hoping to build off of their inaugral season where they surprised a lot of people and made it into the playoffs. They are a very talented team and return the majority of their roster from '09. I'm sure they want nothing more than to get that 1st one of the season in front of the Boston faithful; so if you haven't gotten your tickets yet make sure you do!

The MLL schedule was just announced today, you can check it out at www.bostoncannons.com We open up at home vs. Denver, a rematch of the semifinal game from last season. If you haven't purchased your Cannon's tickets yet.......what are you waiting for???

The indoor game is played at the same speed as the outdoor game but in a confined space (hockey arena) so the stick skills are insane. There are 6 players on the floor compared to 11 players on the field and there's no such thing offsides in indoor. Teams can pull the goalie if there behind in the score and play 6 O vs. 5 D (6 including the goalie). I've honestly believe that American players who play indoor at that level develop better sticks and become nasty shooters; they go from shooting on a 4'x 4.5' goal to a 6'x6'. I played indoor for 3 years and it's a different perspective from the goal where I was totally padded up and the trick was not to move. Field lacrosse goalies are taught to attack the ball, totally different mindset so for me I prefer field over indoor and day of the week.

Check out our latest video at facebook.com/lax-school and make sure you're following me on twitter.com/lax-school

Only a few months until the season starts make sure you're working hard!

BD

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

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

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!!

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

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