Whenitcomestolacrosseequipment,manyparentshaveaskedme“whattobuy”and“wheretobuyit”.AndIunderstandthatthesequestionscanbebothcomplexandintimidating.Nottomentionexpensiveifyouarenotcareful.Thisdocumentismeanttoeducateandsimplifytheprocessabit.Butbewarned,lacrossegearfitandfeelcanbemuchlikebuyingapairofrunningshoes.Ifthewidth,weight,length,material,cushion,flex,etc.isn’tquiteright,thenitcanbeannoyinganddistractingfortheplayer.Inotherwordsnoonesizeormodelfitsall.Solistentoyourplayerandensuretheytryontheequipmentwheneverpossiblebeforebuyingit.First,let’sexplorewhattobuy:

SafetyisthenumberonepriorityofourProgram.Eachparentneedstoensuretheirplayerhastheproperequipment.Andeachcoachmustensureeveryplayerhastherequiredequipmentbeforeandduringeverypracticeandgame.IusetheUSLacrosseEquipmentguide:

• http://www.uslacrosse.org/sites/default/files/public/documents/safety/us-lacrosse-equipment-fit-guide.pdf

Thefollowingisapplicablefor“fieldplayers”(attack,middies,&defenders)

LACROSSEGEARBUYINGGUIDE

Thefollowingisapplicableforall“Goalies”

1stthingyouneedtodoiscreateachecklistforyourplayertoensuretheyhavewhatisrequired

**Ihighlyencourageaprotectivecupbepurchased&usedforallplayers**

POSITIONALDIFFERENCESINEQUIPMENT

Gloves:• Attack/Middie/Defense–Allwearsimilargloves.• Goalie–Glovesforgoalieshaveadditionalpaddingforthethumb

LacrosseShaftLength:• Defense–between42-62inches• Goalie–between40-52inches(mostcommonis40”)• Attack/Middie–between30-32inches

ArmPads:• Attack–usuallywantthemostprotection• Middie–usuallywantaverageprotection• Defense–usuallywantminimalprotection• Goalie–attheHSlevelmostdonotweararmpads

ShoulderPads• Attack–usuallywantthemostprotection• Middie–usuallywantaverageprotection• Defense–usuallywantminimalprotection• Goalie–donotwearshoulderpads.Rathertheywearachestprotector.

ProtectiveCup• ThoughonlyrecommendedforHSplayers,Istronglyencouragewearingone.

Throatguardsandchestprotectorsareonlywornbygoalies

HELMETS:(forBrighton,theyshouldbeOrangecolor)

Tipsforfitting:

1. MakesurethehelmetisNOCSAEapproved.TheNationalOperatingCommitteeonStandardsforAthleticEquipmentconductsrigoroustestsandsetsstandardsforsafeathleticequipment,includinglacrossehelmets.

2. Helmetsaremeasuredininches.Checkmanufacturers’chartstoshowthepropersizehelmet.3. Paddingofthehelmetshallgivefirmanduniformpressureaboutthehead.Theskinoftheforeheadshould

moveasthehelmetismovedfromlefttorightandfromfronttoback.4. Besurethereisafour-pointchin-strapattachedtothehelmet.Thechin-strapshouldbetightenedsothatthere

isnoslack.5. Properlyfittedhelmetsmusttakeintoaccountthehairstyleoftheplayer;iftheplayerreceivesahaircut,the

helmetshouldberefitted.6. Properhelmetfitshouldnevercauseheadaches.7. Thefacemaskshouldattachcleanlytothehelmetandshouldbereplacedifitisbent.

ARMPADS:(Canbeanycolor)

• ElbowGuards-Themostprotectivepadsforattackandmiddies,elbowguardsfullycoverandenclosethearmandelbow.

• ArmGuards-Designedforgreatprotectionandmobilityforallpositions,armguardscovertheupperarmwithpaddingandfeatureanelbowcapfordurableprotection.

• ElbowPads-Perfectfordefensemen,lightweightelbowpadsslideeasilyonandoff,andprovideminimalcoveragewithmaximummobility.

LAXHEADS:(Canbeanycolor)

Lacrosseheadsarethemostvaried,andalsothemostimportantpieceoflacrosseequipmentinyourlineup.Theycomeinallsizes,shapes,designs,andpriceranges.Butremember,agreatlacrossehead,alongwithhowitisstrung,canmakeahugedifferenceinyourgame,givingyouimprovedaccuracy,ballhandling,checkstrength,andshotvelocity.Withsuchahugeselectionandvarietyoutthere,knowingwhattolookfortofindthelacrosseheadforyoucanbeaconfusingprocess.Whenchoosingalacrosseheadthough,it'sallaboutfindingtheonethatwillhighlightyourskills,andfityourposition,yourstyle,andyourbudget.Firstofall,it'simportanttounderstandthepartsofalacrossehead,togetasenseofhowtheydiffer,andwhatthesedifferencesmeantoyourgame

• Sidewalls–o Affectthestrengthandstiffnessofthehead,determiningitseffectivenessinbodyandstickchecks.o Canrangefromflexibletoverystiff.o Stiffheadsareheavier,butdeliverharderchecks,makingthemgoodfordefensiveplayers.o Flexibleheadsarelightweightandmalleable,makingthemgreatforpickingupgroundballsandfast,

agilemovements.o Givetheheadandpocketitsshapeanddepth.o Canbelow,mid,orhigh,affectingthepocket'sdepthandhowtheballiskeptinthepocket,alsoknown

asballretention.o Sidewallheightcanalsoaffectshotandpassaccuracy.

• Scoop–o Thetopportionoftheheadusedtopullballsofftheground.o Alsowhereshotsandpassesleavethepocket.o Scoopsaremeasuredinwidthanddrop.Dropreferstothedipinthecenterofthescoop.o Dramaticdropscoopsdelivermaximumshotaccuracyo Minimalorflatscoopsaregreatforplayinggroundballs.

• Pocket–o Referstotheareatowardsthebaseoftheheadwheretheballresides.o Head'spocketscaneithercomeunstrung,orcompletewithfactorystrungpockets.Newplayersshould

havetheirheadspre-strung,whileexperiencedlacrosseplayerswillwanttocustomizetheirpocket.o Pocketwidthisdeterminedbytheheaditself.o Widepocketsaregoodfornewanddefensiveplayers,sincetheydeliverlessaccuracyandmakeit

hardertoholdontotheball,butgiveyouawiderareatoblockshotsandpasses.o Narrowpocketsdeliverthebestaccuracyandballretention,butmakecatchingandblockingharder.

• Offset–o Referstogradualdecreaseoftherail,orsidewall,inrelationtothecenterlineofthehandle.o Anoffsetputsthescoopbehindthelineofthehandle,improvingcradlingandballretention.

LAXSHAFTS:(Canbeanycolor)

• Material(withdurability&playerlevelscale)

:

• Grip

o Sandpaper–Createsasandpaperlacrossegripfeeling,ensuringyourlaxshaftwon’tslipatallo Rubberized–Thisgripisdesignedtofeelsticky,andwillmakesurenoslippingoccurso Smooth–Nogripaddedtotheshaft

Wheretobuylacrossegear:

Online–ManyplaceshavesimilarpricessoIoftenlookatpopularsitesforsalesanddiscounts.

1. Lax.comismygoto.a. Freeshippingonallordersover$99b. LowestPriceGuarantee-http://www.lax.com/price-guaranteec. RewardPointsSystem-http://www.lax.com/reward-pointsd. ComprehensiveProductreviews

2. LacrosseMonkey3. Amazon4. SidelineSwap&KSLaregreatplacestogetqualityusedgear.

Instore:

1. TribalWestLacrosse–9860S700East,Sandy2. DicksSportingGoods