Freshmen new to lax

[ben1113]

Hey guys,
Been reading alot of posts here at tlf, but this is the first of my own posts.
I am a freshman in highschool and i'm gonna be playing lacrosse in the spring for the first time (starts in the middle of january). Been workin with some stick skills... hitting the wall like alot of people recommend, and im wondering, should i buy a Dpole and practice with that as well as an attack pole so wherever the coach puts me i'll have a little bit of experience? I am about 5 11, 170, can run mile in like 640, 2 miles in like 15, been lifting for about a year and am in good shape. I have been noticing that alot of posts say that to play attack you need to have really good stick skills, and where i do think that i'm getting the hang of passing shooting catching and cradling, i dont think i have good skills, and havent been learning dodges. Any suggestions would be great.

[fenwicklax89]

you need good stick skills for almost all positions. just some more than others. even still having great stick skills will make you an all around good player, not just an average one at a single position

[Lurch22d]

agreed...work with everything if u dont know where u want to play yet...like fen said u need more stick skills for some positions more then others...like u need better stick skills for attack/middie then u need for defense but its still nice to have good stick skills. also try to work with both hands because a lot of ppl are dominant with one hand..if u can become good with both ur better off.

[GBaschski]

Take the stick for whatever position you want to play. If you want to be a defenseman, then get the d-pole...if you want to be an attackman, then go with the short stick. You shouldn't base your choice off what other people say about the position.
If you really want to play attack, then yeah, you should have some good stick skills, so just go out and hit that wall twice as often.
Trust me, if you work hard enough, you can do anything in lacrosse. Trust me.

[ben1113]

thanks for the responces guys, and to be hoenst i think that of all the positions i'd like to play middle the most, i got pretty good endurance. I dont need to score or anything like some people, that think scoring goals is the only thing thats important, but i would hate to say, be playing attack and they are killin us down in our defense zone, i'd always wanna be able to help out. As you guys are saying, to work on all skills, does this imply that i should buy a d shaft and practice with that a little too? thanks again for the responses guys, can't wait till the season starts.

[Lurch22d]

hmmm u could always be a long stick middie :P

[ben1113]

Yeah, for some reason, the thought of being a middle with a long stick, so more towards defensive end but still be able to roam the field really appeals to me. But for people that are defense or lsms... did they start playing with a long pole? or did they get the basics down with an attack stick then change to a long stick, beacuse i have never used one, but it just seems by how it is quite abit bigger that it'd be more difficult to use, especially catch.

[Lurch22d]

lol i guess ill respond again...i play defense and LSM and i first started off with a short stick bouncing balls off a wall then i did indoor which is short stick where i played but then i bought a long pole and started bouncing that off the walls and if ur school has captains practices...go to them thats how i got the hang of a long stick before tryouts.

[WPCLAX14]

wouldnt go spending a load of money on 2 more sticks, but dude ur pretty big, you should play defense. ALso, defensemen must have equal or better stick skills than middies. Handling that shaft is hard dude. :nut:

[Eric]

well playing d isnt about size, u gotta have the "nack" for it as i would say like i picked up a LP and i felt right at home. If u get that feeling a LP is your calling and honest being a attackmen only for boys D is for the men. :agree:

[ghs/wylax]

you could get a cheap aluminum dpole to practice with,only like $20 if you'd like some experience their.I play d/lsm and i started out w/ a short pole

[Mtkalax]

Lol, weird question but do u have a good attention span? I always have to be running or I get bored, so I play middie. Imo, attack is boring, unless your playing a bad team, and its boring playing a bad team. So... In conclusion, can you handle not touching the ball or even moving for sometimes long periods of time? If your playing a good team and they have the ball in your zone a lot, can you deal with standing on the other half watching, not doing crap for the D?

[moondog]

My suggestion is to buy Mark Millon's Offensive Wizardry for general stick skills, dodging, and stick protection. Also, try to hit the wall every day you can. At the very least, have a stick in your hand at least 30-40 minutes every day, and you will get comfortable with it before you know it...

[irishlax611]

also when your on d get ready to get hit with alot of shots.. last year i stopped more goals with my body then are back up who played 4th qtrs. but d is alot of fun once you get good at it plus i have noticed there isn't many kids out there that wanan play d everyone wants to be the superstar and score. But i mean i get to hit,check, and take the ball from guys thats good for me. just pick a position you feel comfortable in. i mean playing d one year then the other isn't bad i started off at attack and it helped me alot to understand what i hated when a d player did this or what moves i was gonna do to lose the defender. its all how you feel don't stress over it tho you'll come to see where you fit in best.