Budget Beginner

[moostein]

My son is 7. We live in Los Angeles (land of little to no lax) and I'm looking for an activity to build his coordination and confidence. I'm thinking about buying a couple complete Brine Waves (http://www.epinions.com/sprt-Lacrosse-Brine_Wave_Youth) (around $25 each) for us to hack around with and wondered what you all thought of that. I'm not necessarily trying to get him into the game, but I don't want sticks that make catching and passing harder either. He gets frustrated quickly and if he can't learn to catch and scoop quickly he'll give up.

I need to keep the cost down. $20 / stick is a lot for me for this purpose, but I know sporting equipment isn't cheap. I know a decent stick goes for $75 to $200.

Thanks everyone!

[BasicTraining]

The gait Icon is perfect for what your looking for and is not even a bad head, you can find a complete on the website below for $30.

http://www.laxshopper.com/index.htm?equipment/mens/heads/Gait_Icon.htm~laxmain

[mdlaxman]

have you thought about starting with mini sticks?

the mini sticks are smaller but you use a spongey racquetball sized ball so it is ok.

they cost 14.99 at the store near me so you could pick up two of them for a little more than the price of one of those waves.

little guys come in and buy them all day long and some of the youth programs around here are now playing with them instead of soft sticks

http://lacrosse.com/Images/Catalog/ProductImages/600/182111.JPG

http://lacrosse.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Section_Id=2&pcount=&Product_Id=299943&Key_id=

[moostein]

Are Fiddle STX considered mini sticks?

[Bretmac]

yeah they are

[Lacrosse4life31]

http://www.lax.com/shop/item.phtml?page=product_3320_front.phtml
the gait icon is probably one of the best full sized low-costing sticks on the market, some kids on my Varsity team use these as back ups. They hold up very well. On this site, it comes with a shaft too.
Your son is 7, so he may want to go with a smaller stick-you could not use this in a game, but it would help getting the basics down:

http://www.lax.com/shop/item.phtml?page=product_5498_front.phtml
this is a scaled down version of a quite popular head that runs about $80. This is smaller in all ways, such as width, height, and weight. Since your son is 7, I suggest this. A normal sized stick may be too big.

Also, if you wanted to go all out:
http://www.lax.com/shop/item.phtml?page=product_5500_front.phtml
comes with a goal, 2 sticks (the same ones above) and 2 mini lax balls.

heres a link to buy more balls if needed
http://www.lax.com/shop/item.phtml?page=product_2701_front.phtml

[spenny]

hes 7 and old enough to play organized lacrosse (U9) dont start him with a fiddlestick. i'd go get a STX AV8 or gait Icon. either should be between $25-$35 and are currently legal for play. they are sticks that he can grow with. that $25 wave will be obsolete for play very quickly. start him with what the big kids are using

[UNCLax12]

hes 7 and old enough to play organized lacrosse (U9) dont start him with a fiddlestick. i'd go get a STX AV8 or gait Icon. either should be between $25-$35 and are currently legal for play. they are sticks that he can grow with. that $25 wave will be obsolete for play very quickly. start him with what the big kids are using

Agreed. From my state, kids who play U9 usually have an STX AV8/ Gait Icon, instead of a Ballhog, Fiddlestick, Wave, etc. Although, I would recommend buying him a Gait Icon complete (you can get one off eBay for like in the $20-30 range, and he will last a lot longer with that compared to mini sticks.

[spenny]

Agreed. From my state, kids who play U9 usually have an STX AV8/ Gait Icon, instead of a Ballhog, Fiddlestick, Wave, etc. Although, I would recommend buying him a Gait Icon complete (you can get one off eBay for like in the $20-30 range, and he will last a lot longer with that compared to mini sticks.

i forgot to add that in the little lax clinic (ages 4-6, boys and girls) i coached last fall, almost all the kids had "real sticks" and i think the ones that didnt were at a particular disadvantage. bigger head, wider head easier to catch.
yes the mini stick balls are smaller, but they are almost all modeled after high end sticks with extreme pinches. bad plan

[Lax4life528]

I would say either the AV8 or the Icon. Both are really cheap heads that can work even at the pro levels.

[moostein]

Thank you all for your insights. Interesting how the philosophies vary.

I picked up a pair of Brine plastic mini sticks - the shaft length was right for my 7 year old but I can see they'll crack and snap quickly. Those metal minis looked good, but AV8's were on sale locally, so I went that route. I guess I just need to cut the shaft down on his.

Any suggestions on how to cut the shaft properly? Are there already threads on that?

Thank you!

[pvlax02]

Thank you all for your insights. Interesting how the philosophies vary.

I picked up a pair of Brine plastic mini sticks - the shaft length was right for my 7 year old but I can see they'll crack and snap quickly. Those metal minis looked good, but AV8's were on sale locally, so I went that route. I guess I just need to cut the shaft down on his.

Any suggestions on how to cut the shaft properly? Are there already threads on that?

Thank you!

take a hack saw and just cut it down. depending on how tall he is, id say maybe take off 4-5 inches. you dont want to make it to short. after you cut it, you can put the buttend back on, or tape over the end so there are no sharp points left exposed.

[laxmj1992]

Thank you all for your insights. Interesting how the philosophies vary.

I picked up a pair of Brine plastic mini sticks - the shaft length was right for my 7 year old but I can see they'll crack and snap quickly. Those metal minis looked good, but AV8's were on sale locally, so I went that route. I guess I just need to cut the shaft down on his.

Any suggestions on how to cut the shaft properly? Are there already threads on that?

Thank you!

If you live near a laxworld, take it there. They will do it for free. You can also try your local lax shop, but i'm not sure if they have a hack saw.

[spenny]

i'm sure there are threads, but all you need is a hack saw.
i use my dremel with a round cutting wheel and a small rubber band to make a relatively square cut