looks = respect?

[mikeylax22]

hey guys I've noticed that if a kid walks on the field and just looks nasty, you will give him respect as a player because 9 out of 10 times if the kid looks nasty (has the "lax look") he is nasty. just wondering how you guys feel about it

[kamera]

more like the kids who look real goofy get no respect.

[WHEELAX2]

i agree 100%...

[stegmakk]

Hmmm...so a good baller should come out lookin goofy so the other team thinks he cant ball...and then light the other team up...
no..how you look doesnt make me respect you or think less of you...i have the same regard for everyone...everyone is beatable

[$uperman15]

if you are wearing a helmet of an elite high school or maybe gloves or a dominant team then you get automatic respect like watch this guy, or get a pole on him before the game even starts
i agree 100% looks is a huge part of the game

[LaxLlama8]

I really agree with this, if the guy has like 3 or more of the lacrosse Fashion Do's or whatever, you know he knows how to play. Well, that's a little too vague, but usually really new or not committed players don't know how to even put their helmet on right(as in, looking through the top bar), let alone look really nasty. Intimidation is a factor, and you usually want to just keep an eye on anyone who does intimidate you. But also, as stegmakk said, everyone is beatable. Even if you look nasty, there's always someone who plays just as nasty.

[LaxLlama8]

Sadly it is true that looks do matter in the game of lacrosse. If a kid comes out with a bucket helmet, you will automatically say "oh he sucks". Me, I am one of the best in my grade with an original cascade helmet(not bucket, but the next one up). What can you say about that?
Oh yes, you made me think of a good point. If you see a guy with pretty old gear and stuff, it could just be that he was raised around lacrosse and maybe uses old gear because it was passed down or he is just used to it.

[holyschnikes101]

At camp, my team kinda sucked (defense wise) because if I was the best....yeah..But anyways. I would immediately go to the Long Island Express people if there were any. I guess what you guys say is right.

[Crimdad]

Look only last the time before the game starts, I try to spot the good players with the "lax look" and when I do they seem to be grabage, Everyone is beatable easy as that well said stegmakk

[Orange]

I don't even look at the attack or mids but since I play attack I'm kinda forced to look at the d at the start of the game and usually when they look good they disappoint me and are crappy. Just seems to happen a lot for me.

[Midman03]

most of the time this is true. one case where it is true is that there is this one kid on a another in my league, and he has all the lax fashion do's, adn everybody thinks hes like the best player there is. But when he steps on the field, our defensemen rip him apart.

[smooth87]

Hmmm...so a good baller should come out lookin goofy so the other team thinks he cant ball...and then light the other team up...
no..how you look doesnt make me respect you or think less of you...i have the same regard for everyone...everyone is beatable

Just like in 'White Man Can't Jump.' Sidney and Billy played everyone for fools, just because they didn't think that Billy could ball.

[MedinaLax21]

yeah i agree but where i look is when thier warming up before the game i see how the stick is in thier hand how they throw thier speed but dont get me wrong when we play some of the indian teams and they all have those matching dyed heads thats intimidating

[titans 43]

I don't look at the other team while warming up...they can look at me

[EastCoastDeft]

I look at everybody and rate them i guess kids with good equipment are probably more serious about lacrosse than kids who just play and stay with old equipment. thats 99% true up in MA. And then kids who have strung thier sticks i rate are really good because I know a good amount of great laxers who dont string. And Im right almost every time. this statment is true and other people give kids respect for the worng reasons sometimes

[RockStar]

if you are wearing a helmet of an elite high school or maybe gloves or a dominant team then you get automatic respect like watch this guy, or get a pole on him before the game even starts.......
I'm confused.

I mean there's this huge other thread that says lots of losers wear top of the line gear.....like guys that use a Mikey Powell signature Shizzle and can't even catch, or guys that have custom Supa-fly Pimpslapper gloves and drop the ball on the slightest hit.

(Don't believe the hype. It's technically possible that the worst player in the world can spend several hundred dollars for gear.)

[WHEELAX2]

maybe instead of judging based on type of equiment we might just be judging on the overall look.. I think we're talking about judging on if someone just "looks' like a good lacrosse player..

I don't think you have to have the exact top of the line gear to "look" like a lacrosse player.. you can just have that look..

[RockStar]

........
I don't think you have to have the exact top of the line gear to "look" like a lacrosse player.. you can just have that look..

Good point

The way the guy carries his stick is part of his look, and this part is way more important than what the stick label says.

[CutsConstantly]

Trust the adage: "Don't judge a book by its cover"

Some chumps waste all their money on flashy gear and new sticks
Some ballers forget their gear and wear their backup gear
Some very skilled, experienced players are more comfortable using the equipment they've always used (aka huge bucket helmet, wooden shaft with old head)
Some people don't waste their money on consumerism like others
No two are the same
To each his own

In general, you're better off looking at a guy's muscular build, noting the way he holds a stick in his hands, and seeing what happens when you stare him straight in the eye.

[ekajsk8er]

Theres also an intimidation factor playing here. If a player your playing defense against looks like a good player (way he holds his stick, etc.), you might be more intimidated to play against this player and not perform as well as if your opponent held his stick in a weird position. If he looks like a beginner or just plain bad player, your more confident you can strip the ball away from him, which helps you perform better.

Steg has it right though, anyone can be beat.

[goalie1215]

i think that gear isnt really all that intimidating. if i was an attackman and i saw 2 poles and there was a small guy with macs and a revo pro and a titan pro, he wouldnt scare me as much as the guy with gigantic gorrilla arms and a al6000 with an av8 and fusions.

[LaxDr]

at first glance i might give him more respect but once i find out he sucks i will disrespect him alot for sucking and having all that fancy equipment.

[mikeylax22]

maybe instead of judging based on type of equiment we might just be judging on the overall look.. I think we're talking about judging on if someone just "looks' like a good lacrosse player..

I don't think you have to have the exact top of the line gear to "look" like a lacrosse player.. you can just have that look..


yea im talking about the look, not necesarily the equipment because 99% of the time when a kid steps on the field and hes got the mid-high socks with nike speed tds and hes looking through the top bar..that kid is nasty as heck and im usually always right

[berger1227]

i wait till the D is on the field to lead the attack on...then i take the d guy who looks like he can play...if im right i get challenged and it helps my game if im wrong i set a goal record...win win situation

[faceitoff]

everyone is beatable

Except the Gaits.

[yourtenderloins]

I agree with the idea that we are talking look, not equipment. Equipment is a part of your look, but as it was stated you could drop a grand and have every flashy top of the line peice of equipment and still look like a total boob on the field. Wearing nice gear doesn't make you look like a good lacrosse player. Guys that wear their helmets on a low angle so they can see through the space between the visor and top of the cage without having that center bar in your face look like good players and can come off intimidating, or d poles that are wearing gloves and a helmet and shoulder pad liners and thats all look intimidating and are probably good. If you are truly a good player, you know what a good player looks like. If you aren't a good player every player looks good to you because they are better than you are so its hard to pick the best just based on looks.

[zdss14]

some kids just have a look, like there confident, strong, have worked hard, but still calm under it all. as far as equipment, look for things from other sports, like the underarmor from football, or socks from soccer, it shows that he is always staying determend and phisical.

[sammyduelist]

Well theres always that first impression kinda thing right?
Like if your going in for a job interveiw you wanna look good wether if you are or not.

[mauraderlax]

Looks mean nothing ......respect is earned by how you play.....we learn that real quick in Canada especially playing box....we never judge just play.....

[Canadian Lax]

Looks mean nothing ......respect is earned by how you play.....we learn that real quick in Canada especially playing box....we never judge just play.....


^^^^ Very ture. In box you dont judge looks, or size b/c you never know. Don't waste your time judging, work on your skills and focus on your team.

[WoodDuck14]

OK, what about looks besides equipment, like facial hair and hair lenght? I think A guy with a 5oclock shadow and shoulder length hair is intimadating, but so is a guy with a shaved head. weird.

[endoftheline]

Theres also an intimidation factor playing here. If a player your playing defense against looks like a good player (way he holds his stick, etc.), you might be more intimidated to play against this player and not perform as well as if your opponent held his stick in a weird position. If he looks like a beginner or just plain bad player, your more confident you can strip the ball away from him, which helps you perform better.

Steg has it right though, anyone can be beat.
A lot of the time players who are hard to play on are the one's who hold their stick weirdly in an unorthodox style. There is a guy on my team who plays so unconventionally that it is almost impossible for anyone to play on him and he will run the ball from the endline dodge 6 players and shoot because no one has a clue wht he is doing. He has an old hand me down stick from his dad and not flashy gear but he's a great player.

[BwineLAX42]

I believe looks equal respect because if you see a guy that has all expensive equipment most of the time that means they are willing to shell out a lot of money to be comfortable on the field. And if they are willing to put a lot of money into the game that means they have made a big comitment to lacrosse. The bigger the commitment the harder a person works to make themselves a better player. That is my theory that the better the player the more willing they are to buy the best equipment that looks good because they have made a big comitment to the sport.

[laxn]

This also the factor that u can describe, when i guy walks on and u can tell hes confident just by the way he walks and acts, thats when i know if there good. That and I can often tell by the sticks, factory stringing almost always means there bad, and gimmick sticks are give away to.

[ohlax51]

if i look at a guy during line drills who can catch anything that might be intimidating, or a defensemen thats ripped or huge.

[LoyolaMiddie878]

I would agree with you to a certain degree. When a kid looks just plain baddass with his helmet fitting perfectly, eye black, knee socks, nice cleats, nice stick set-up, etc. one would naturally assume that the kid knows how to play.

However, you can't just automatically think "This guy's really good." There are plenty of guys out there with expensive equipment and have the whole "look" that aren't that great.

In my personal experience if I see someone on the opposite team that looks like he might be a good player the first thing I'll do is ask around my team to see if anyone knows definitively whether the guy is good or not. Once I receive confirmation then I'll play him accordingly. If no one knows, I'm not going to play him any differently than anyone else until I see that he's good for myself.

[homeskillet313]

in my personal experience, yes. its all about how they walk on the field and look out their helmet and hold there sticks. usually when i see someone with the complete package, their middle name is sick nasty mcfly.

[lax_pimp_47]

i agree but a kid on my team had all old stuff bucket helmet head that was almost a girls stick and he was one the the best middys we have he has the fastest shot and is probably are best middy and player and noone gave im respect n he jus burned every1 !! But now that he has all new kit he will probably get more respect and get found out a bit more by teams !! :flamed: :concerned

[Last Don]

I do give some creedance to looks, and anyone that says otherwise would be a liar, but I think this matters a lot more at the post-collegiate club level, since most of the time, guys will wear gear from their college team (except me, since I lost/traded/had all my college gear stolen from me, mostly by girls, but that's a different story).

This kind of gives me a little bit of a mini-scouting report on each guy. If I walk out onto the field to play close d, and I see three attackmen: 1 with a Towson helmet, 1 with a U of MD helmet, and 1 with a Hopkins helmet, I'll play each accordingly, until they prove my snap judgments wrong.

I've also found that counting out guys who wear their high school helmets/gear is a big no-no. Last season, in my first game switching from LSM to a starting close defenseman, I matched up with a guy who was wearing a local high school helmet. At half-time he put on a Messiah helmet (apparently there was a mix up, his fiance had his helmet, etc.). Anyway, in the 4th quarter, I'm talking to him about some guys I know that played at Messiah. I find out that the guy actually was an honorable mention All-American at Georgetowne. I played an incredible game against him, and he gave me a lot of compliments on my game, but had I known his pedigree, I would have played another guy, given the fact that I was a D-3 LSM, not a D-1 close defenseman. I would have let one of our other poles with a better pedigree handle him.

Lesson: Snap judgments can both help and hinder.

[MaKiMaKi13]

our ex coach always used to say you look good you play good but i never believed any of that if some kid shows up with like hopkins or cuse gloves on im not gonna think he's super beastly or anything

[Matz24]

i wear like bright orange socks on my team as everyone else wears black ones and when i have like a huge game they remember me the "guy with the orange socks"