Doing something wrong...

[newbie]

Okay, please don't laugh at me!! I'm just new to figuring how to use the equipment... (I feel lame but don't know who else to ask!)

I only have fiddle stix to play with right now before the season starts. I've heard the coach has certain heads and such that she likes the players to use so I'm waiting until the league starts to buy one. Right now I've been practicing my throwing/catching against a wall and with someone throwing the ball to me.

The fiddle stick has a really deep pocket (and I know girl's sticks don't have pockets) so I don't know if this is the reason why... but no matter what I do, I can't through the ball straight across or even up slightly. It goes pretty much straight down to the ground at a sharp angle.

I can catch from any angle, running, standing still, no problem. But throwing it... the ball lands ten feet away from me! Can someone pleeeease tell me what I'm doing wrong? I'm getting really frustrated. I've tried throwing it a million different ways and it's always the same. Thanks!


~Steph

[sumSum]

Okay, first of all, I STRONGLY reccomend you re-string the fiddlestick and tighten the pocket. You need to feel how it is to catch and throw with a women's pocket. Its not going to be any help when your used to catching with a pocket and you go to practice and the ball bounces right out because you dont know how to properly give with the stick to recieve the ball. As for passing, the reason your probably having trouble with throwing is because in men's lacrosse, because they have a pocket, their throwing action is a little different. Us gals use an across the body throw straight to our target for the most part, and the ball will easily come out of the pocket as we use force in a downward movement. Because of the pocket in guys/or the fiddlestick your using sticks, they throw with less of an across the body movement (this is the best I can explain it, it might not be completely correct). They call it whip and it sounds like the fiddlestick your using has a lot of it. Basically the pocket causes the ball to go straight down when throwing. Thats why you need to tighten it. If you have any questions let us know.

Also, one more thing, you should not buy a stick the director/coach likes. Not a good idea!!! Get one YOU like and are comfortable with using BEFORE practice starts. I strongly reccomend getting one soon and working with that and breaking in the pocket. There is nothing worse than starting a new season never having played with your stick before!

[laxstar003]

i completely agree with summer. you should definitely buy a real women's stick to throw around with before your season. there is a huge difference between a fiddle stick and a women's stick.

[QuickStyx]

Well, because i wanna feel cool and post it up her with the ladies (all of whom i love dearly, and wish they would get some girls on the West Coast to play this game) and partially because i know a LOT about the "whip" you are getting. The ball is gonna spike to the ground when you have a pocket that is deep and loose, and then at some point in the pocket it gets tight, and theres a little edge that the ball catches on, and just throws it at the ground. Im not gonna tell you how to fix it, because it sounds to me like you need a new stick anyways,

Hope i shed some light.
Chad

[newbie]

That's it! You guys rock! Thanks so much - you've saved me yet another hour of total frustration. I was about to pull my hair out, seriously. Alright, I'm going to try to tighten the strings (it doesn't look too hard......) and then if I'm STILL having issues I'll ask again. :D

Oh and Summer... if you can, could you please just clarify what you mean by "across the body?" (I'm into boxla - I've never actually seen a field lax game especially a girl's one.) By "across" do you mean horizontally across your body, or from hip to shoulder...? Thanks! Sorry for the dumbness. ;)

[laxbabe2121]

slant your stick sorta sideways. left arm on the left side, and right arm on the right side, so that your sticks at an angle, and not totally perpendicular... hmm that made no sense. your stick should be like this / . a slant. dont throw like this with your stick like this... 1. wow, i'm bad at explaining things. cmon summer, just answer her question!

[laxstar003]

haha, i like the use of the / and 1. i don't think you did a bad job explaining it ..i could visualize! if you look at ellen's avatar, you can see that he has it held in a slant. you basically would hold it like that to throw, except hold it so that the head of the stick is near your head. i don't even know if i am explaining that right, so if it sounds wrong somebody say so! lol.

[laxbabe2121]

ok ok see how mike powells holding his stick (the gorgeous guy in my avator) bring your right hand up towards your head but keep your left hand still on the left side, now cradle/throw/catch that way.

[sumSum]

Okay here goes :) Installment one:

In the photo below of the girl shooting, you can see that her stick has been brought down and across, to her left, of her body as she followed through on her shot. Thats what your body should look like when passing and shooting. If your left handed, and you play with your left hand on top and right on bottom, then you would do the same but follow through across to the right of your body.

[sumSum]

Installment two:

Here, you can see an example of how you should not throw and shoot. This is what I like to call "Chicken Arm." The girl is shooting and as her arm comes up it goes right under her armpit. Go across the body.

[sumSum]

And finally, installment three:

Here is a good way to hold your stick when running or not in play with the ball. The only thing I would say that this girl is doing wrong is that she is not protecting, or holding her stick in, close enough to her body.

[laxstar003]

gotta give you props for that, summer!

[newbie]

Awesome Summer! Those really help. Thanks a lot!

[ques]

The pix of the girl shooting with the stick in her arm pit, is the classic odl wooden stick style. That is why I really hate to see coaches still teaching that and forgetting that the game is changing and getting more like the guys game when it comes to stick work

[sumSum]

No problem :) Glad I could help. Let us know how your first practice goes and if you'll be getting a stick if you need any help.

[LatinBabe]

alright, guy sticks are used much differently than girls sticks,so keep that in mind.

guys generally shoot like summer's 2nd installment, except farther away from the body. usually your lower hand, the one on the buttcap, knocks your elbow when shooting and the shots are generally a bit more sidearm. this comes from my first 3 & 1/2 years of lax being guys. put your top hand about 10 inches away from your bottom for best results, until you get a girls stick atleast. also release much earlier.

for girls lax, installment 1 is all correct. throw with your arms coming down your side (im not too great a teacher but whateva).

disclaimer
just a word of advice, listen to summer and ellen first becase they are better teaachers, but mine is here hopefully help on anything you might not be completely sure on.


one last thing, cringing like the pic in installment two is not advised.

[newbie]

Haha, thanks Katy!

And thanks to everyone else too! Great tips!

Summer, I actually posted a question about beginner's sticks on the girl's stick board. If you have any opinions on my question they'd be appreciated! I found a lax store (finally) where I live so I'm planning on checking it out tomorrow or Saturday...

[SSG31]

if you were using old wooden sticks...would the "chicken arm" approach make more sense?

i've been teachign my girls to shoot acrosse the body (as in picture 1)...but did not take into consideration that they were all using wooden sticks.....

[laxbabe2121]

hmm i'm teaching my youngsters to teach straight up and down, but they don't usually listen to me, and they start throwing whatever way they want. i'm not gonna object to their throwing style as long as they're comfortable with it. teach them both ways, and see which way they fall into doing. and actaully, my coach said that i throw straight up and down with that whole push pull motion like a girl, but cradle like a freaking boy. she calls me a freak alot. and i'm just like, well you're the one that taught me how to play lacrosse!