While these are not major changes, both of them are definitely notable, and will impact play on some level. I’ve highlighted the big two stick and equipment issues below, and then I link to where you can find the rest of the Rules Update from the NCAA…

Change #1 – Butt Ends

Originally, we didn’t hear a peep about butt ends from the Rules Committee. But if you were paying attention to the new Rules Video, you learned that lacrosse shafts can not exceed 3.5″ in circumference. If they do, they are now illegal. This means that a little tape on the stick won’t be a problem, but any sort of donut of tape, or butt end, will be a BIG problem.

Here is the IMMEDIATE and obvious problem with this rule… Players use end caps on their sticks, right? End Caps go outside the shaft. The circumference of a lacrosse shaft is usually just under 3.5″ without a butt end or any tape. So…

Does this rule make ANY butt ends that go outside the shaft illegal? Is there a butt end that doesn’t go outside the shaft, at least at some level?

That seems like an oversight when even a small rubber end cap makes a shaft too thick. I reread the rules though, and didn’t see this specifically addressed. Another issue of circumference is how will shafts that have concave faces get addressed? An old Brine Power Grip shaft already has a true outer circumference of over 3.5″ around if you measure along the raised edges. Is that shaft illegal now? I’m being nitpicky on this second question, but from the read in the books, it doesn’t seem like this rule was fully thought out.

I’m interested to hear if there are any further explanations. They might even be out there already.

Illegal, Illegal, legal?

A great test for shaft circumference is to cut a piece of string 3.5″ long and then wrap it around your butt end. If you can touch the ends of the string together, it’s legal. If not, it’s illegal. The only shaft pictured above that is legal for 2013 college play is on the far right, and the only way I could make that happen was by removing the end cap altogether. This rule either needs to be changed, or clarified, because right now it seems to be literally creating an impossible scenario, where butt end caps are illegal.

A 4″ limit on butt end/donut/shaft circumferences makes much more sense, allows for small end caps or a tiny donut, and could very well be the next point the Rules Committee clarifies. Or not. I could certainly use some clarification here, that much is for sure.

Change #2 – Back Test Is Now GONE

I do not believe that this is not a good move, and I’ll come right out and say that. The new back test forced players to create pockets where the ball could be dislodged more easily, and got away from super whip-y and hold-heavy pockets. By allowing the back test to go the way of the Dodo, the committee has given up their biggest stick change victory, and they did so without a single game being played.

Shooting strings are a finishing touch, and reinforced the rule, but the meat of the new pocket regulations was the back test. And because of this, losing the test is, in my opinion, a huge mistake, and we’ll see more deep bags because of it. This trackback seems to go against everything the Committee wanted to accomplish, and it makes little to no sense, at least to me.

Why is this legal again?

According to the memo, the Committee based this change off of coaches’ comments from the fall, and deemed the back test unnecessary. However, I still think this one is a huge mistake, and by removing the back test, players can once again string their sticks so that the mesh sits on the inside of the rails, which effectively makes the pocket, and stick, more narrow. This also allows for more tightly channelled pockets.

It gives stringer’s more options to create “black hole” pockets, and I for one, can’t believe they let this go so quickly, when the test was not onerous at all. Also, if it wasn’t a hindrance, but it forced wider pockets on players, how was it deemed not necessary? I’m hoping to hear an explanation, because right now, this one definitely has me scratching my head.

The NCAA also clarified a couple of other points in their memo, and I found the most interesting point to be that players can not saw off the bottom of their stick’s throats. Evidently FoGos were doing it to get their hands closer to the plastic? Ridiculous that this rule even had to be stated, but I guess guys will try to get any advantage they can!

We have a call into John Hind, the Chair of the Men’s Rule Committee, and will update the post once we hear back from him with more info, and hopefully even more in-depth explanations on these new changes!

1) It’s a Brine Prophecy. Aside from two defensemen for Middlebury back in 2002, I can’t think of a single player who used one of these. The fingers were an intriguing concept, but just weren’t executed that well. Originally, the fingers came in blue. Then they added orange. Then they stopped making the head.

2) It has shooting string cross lace. I put this pocket in a Brine Air Attack, and broke the head the next day. I cut the plastic to keep the pocket intact, and then moved it into this set up.

3) The leathers three different colors. I love this look, but few others do.

In the end, none of the above really matters, because this pocket and head combo still catch, throw, cradle, and shoot near perfection. As we’ve seen with many other ugly stick entrants (24Seven’s Ugliest Stick on Earth, Ryan Garling’s ugly old Edge, and MP’s ugliness on the GTG Tour), function doesn’t always follow form. Are you surprised by that?

Have any questions? Hit us up in the comments and we’ll try our best to answer them!

Bradman can flat out score, and while we all know a good player can play with just about any stick, he must be doing something special with his stringing.  Fortunately for us, STX just wrapped up a three part stringing series in which Bradman teaches viewers how to lace up a gamer like his.  Check out the videos below of Bradman stringing up the STX Stallion.

So can we stop complaining about the new rules already and just get back to playing lacrosse?

Probably not.

There will always be some guy out there complaining that he gets less reps because of the sideline horn changes. Or there will be a goalie out there who thinks the game has changed completely now that he can’t chase EVERY shot that misses the cage and still get a 5-second grace period to get back in the cage. I’ve come to expect it. Some coach will hate the new face off violation rules, and yet someone else will bring up the topic of the stick stringing rules…

Wait, what? People are still complaining about the stick stringing rules? I literally might have a stroke right now.

The other rules are up for debate I guess, as we haven’t seen them play out for a full season, but the stringing rules? That seems like a lost cause, and a total loser of an argument, for a number of reasons.

First off, if you watched even ONE fall NCAA scrimmage or practice this year, I believe that you saw how the stick stringing changes were actually a good thing. I’ve yet to hear or see even a shred of reasonable doubt there. Players weren’t dropping passes. Guys could still shoot. Slick stick skills were still on display. A few more turnovers might have been generated, and we didn’t see as many “dodge through an entire defense” plays on offense. How is ANY of that a problem? To me, it just looked like great, entertaining lacrosse, and it was still very similar to last year.

So what did this rule change actually do, if it wasn’t a huge game changer, and why are people still complaining about it? To answer that question, first we need to look at what the deep channel pocket, Us, and Vs were good for. They were good for two things, and two things only:

1) Looking “good”

2) Turning mediocre players, who were good athletes, into good players, by giving them a black hole of a lacrosse stick.

OK, lets address point 1 first. It’s true, you can’t look as good as you used to… but don’t worry about that. Fashion changes regularly, and two straight shooters will be the look du jour in no time.

Just kidding. Point 1 is so meaningless it’s not even funny. Looking good, in the end, means absolutely nothing. It’s just something fun and additional on top of the game itself to pass the time. No more Vs in my sticks? Cool, time to get creative again, not hit the pillow crying.

Now let’s look at point 2…

You see the only person who could truly hate the new stringing rules is someone who doesn’t have faith in their own stick skills, or that of their team. Skilled D1 players have adjusted easily to the new rules, and D3 players I’ve spoken to have very few complaints, if any. It seems like most of the players don’t even care that much about the new rules… so why are some people still making a stink about this?

Because there is that group out there, and they know the benefit in ball retention that a deep channel and two Vs gives a player, and they simply can’t imagine playing the game without it. Instead of playing wall ball and adjusting, these guys want to use their old magic stick. They want the deep hold, with sidewalls pinching the ball tightly. They want the stacked wall of shooters, or some stacked Vs to let them do things their actual skills don’t yet allow for. Basically, they want to be better without putting in the work. It’s almost like cheating.

I can see how hard this year could be on those guys. But I don’t feel much pity for them. Lacrosse is a game of skill, and some of the pocket stringing techniques were getting away from that. Sure, the sticks look different from how they used to, but you still get to play the game, and the best of the best will still have to put in the work.

Complaining about the new stick stringing rules might make you feel better, but it won’t do a darn thing to help your game.

Of course then there is blaming Quint… and, well, that’s just unreasonable. If he is such a big supporter of the MLL, and their fast pace of place, why doesn’t he complain about their deep pockets, U shooters and narrow heads? If I remember correctly, Quint’s focus is usually on the shot clock. Oh, and also, he had nothing to do with the rule changes. Last time I checked those decisions came from the coaches, the rules committee and NCAA, not Quint’s on-air pontification.

Did Dick Vitale get the NCAA to move the three point line back a foot in 2007? No!?!?!? Then let’s not blame Quint for the new stick rules. Also, an explanation of WHY this rule change is actually a bad one, instead of just blaming someone at random, might help make the case a bit stronger.

For now though, the case of the 2013 stick rules is closed. It’s all fine, and good lacrosse players across the country will adjust and man up. A select few will complain and seek to place blame for things they hate blindly but isn’t that always the case? It’s almost time to play college lacrosse… let’s just get excited for that.

Reid also had a few tips and tricks that he has incorporated into his pita and traditional pockets over the years:

• Leathers connect to the head at the top via a simple top string for transplant-able pocket (without buttons)
  • “Some people may think this affects the release of the ball, but I’ve always preferred the ball to release off the top shooting string, (rather than the scoop, where the leathers ‘usually’ connect) so this seems to work fine.”

  

• Leathers are connected at the top using just one of the slits that the leathers are provided with, as opposed to both
  • “Personal preference as I don’t like doing shooting strings over a double-thick leather.”
  • “Sas originally concerned this would result in the leathers getting loose at the very top of the head (above the top shooter), but I haven’t found this to be the case.”
• Top-string and sidewalls are strung and tightened with the strings sopping wet
  • “This way they are all ridiculously tight once the string dries out, so your sidewalls don’t show slack between adjacent knots once the pocket is broken-in (works for mesh pockets too).”
• ‘Floating’ leathers / Gait-esque bottom string
  • “Run the sidewall strings under the head first, as I feel this allows for a lower-sitting pocket when one-handed cradling without compromising hold on the ball when its sitting higher in the stick / two-handed cradling.”
  • “Before stringing the pocket, leathers are thoroughly stretched, and holes are pierced (~9″ down for the outer leathers, ~10″ down for the inners) to run pieces of sidewall string through.”
  • “The two outer leathers share a piece of string, same with the two inners. This allows any difference in tension between the two leathers to get spread-out evenly and means you never have to fret about leather tension independently, just ‘set’ the outer and inner leather tensions by adjusting the placement of a single knot on a piece of sidewall string.”

  

• Run bottom-most crosslace knots around these bottom strings to anchor them
  • “This way the bottom-most diamonds don’t end up shrinking as the pocket breaks in.”

  

Great points, Reid! That’s just a wealth of information and technique right there. Check out more of Reid’s work on his Photobucket page.

What do you think lacrosse world? Have you tried any of Reid’s tricks yourself? Have any of your own that you want to share? Let’s hear them all!

Every Thursday we will have a new traditional pocket to show off, and obviously, we’re calling it #TraditionalThursdays. We’re starting this thing out right with a bright green (NOT neon) Spider 17 head from Maverik Lacrosse. It’s been spruced up with alternating yellow and orange leathers and a five diamond traditional pocket, using nothing but sidewall lace.

If you have a traditional head you want us to show off on some future Traditional Thursday, send us some photos and information on your stringing style!

As of 9am this morning, the head was up to $132 on Ebay. If you’re feeling lazy, the glow in the dark portion starts at around the 4:00 mark:

Unreal video work by Joe over at Throne of String, and unreal dye and mesh work as well. Is this the most ridiculous thing you’ve seen in a while? It certainly hits the mark for us.

As everyone prepares for their 2013 seasons, there will be plenty of new heads strung up and twice as many stringing jobs to try and find the perfect set-up. Reader Austin Colaizzi sent us his 2013 set-up on a Rabil X. It is a P34 pocket and should help him take it to the RMLC D1 as he steps on the field with the Buffs for his sophomore season.

Nicely done Austin! Have a set-up you want to see up on Sweet Sweet Lax? Send it over in the LAS Tipline and you just might see it up on the site.

Product: ChilLax Customs
Company: Waxed & Dyed Mesh
Price: variable depending on custom work.

Back on Novermber 20th I asked, Is This Mesh SERIOUS? when referring to a piece of ChilLax Customs waxed and dyed mesh. Now, only one week later I am back to say that yes indeed, the ChilLax Customs mesh is serious.

Nick Coyne sent me two piece of his new waxed mesh to try out, and even though I am pretty picky about my mesh products, I definitely like this stuff, and it’s not just because of the beautiful colors and patterns, although that is a nice added benefit.

When it comes down to it, the mesh also performs. I did my usual thing with the mesh, stretched it out, soaked it in hot water, gave it a good rub down… and then I strung up some older STX heads I had laying about. An X2 got the neon triangle mesh and an old Proton Power got the USA mesh. Then it was out, and into the rain, to play some wall ball.

The video says you be the judge, but here, I will be the judge. I judge this stuff to be awesome. The pocket didn’t bag out, it threw consistently even when everything else was soaked and I didn’t develop a hitch in my motion. For a mesh trying to keep you balling in wet conditions, it passes the test beautifully. I also played with it in dry conditions today, and it’s just fine!

The wax is not over the top on Nick’s creations, and when I soaked it in hot water, I was able to get more to come off after a while, which is just how I like it. I do this to MarcMesh, I do it to ECM and I do it to Throne Mesh. I ended up with a soft, but structured piece of mesh that didn’t bag. I can feel the ball in there nicely and was able to string both a channel pocket (in the X2) and a box style pocket (the Proton Power) with ease.

To give you a little more info on ChilLax Customs, I sat down with Nick Coyne to learn a little bit more:

Why did you start ChilLax Customs? What was your motivation originally?

When I started coaching 7/8th graders a year ago, a lot of kids needed to have their sticks re-strung. Because I had quite a bit of stringing experience, I took it upon myself to order a bunch of mesh and stringing supplies. I knew after I had strung the first few heads, word of mouth would spread.

Now, at this time I had no idea about waxed mesh, MarcMesh, etc. But after seeing all this hype and coverage over it, I did some research and began experimenting myself, and figured it was a great business opportunity doing something I love! …And here we are today.

You called out to some other mesh companies in your first video as a tribute, which we think is honest, and excellent. Are you surprised by the number of mesh companies out there?

Honestly, I do not know how many other companies are out there, so I can’t say I’m surprised, but I’m more excited about the growth of the market and the game itself!

What is special about your product, other than the super clean lines for the dye work?

What we offer is 100% one-on-one interaction with the customer, specifically for full control and customization for your finished product. The mesh is specially treated to be water-proof, and provide quick, game ready break in time. The designs and ideas are fresh and innovative, which I attribute to my artistic side as well as my youth.

Where can people pick up your mesh?

I am currently in the works of making a website. It should be up within a week or so after Thanksgiving! In the time being, we have a Facebook page where you can currently send a private message as well as our youtube channel ChilLAX Custom Dyes. You can also email us at chillaxincustoms@gmail.com. Be sure to stay tuned for some giveaways and new products!

What is your favorite head of all time? What are you using now?

I have used every Proton head that STX has produced (Proton, Proton power, and Super Power) and have always been more than pleased with their performance. My favorite head of all time would have to be the Super Power based on its flex to strength ratio, as well as its narrow face for ball retention. With that being said, the Super Power is what I am using now. I have not played with many other brands, but then again, the STX Proton line has never given me a reason to otherwise.

How would you describe your ideal pocket? What pocket do you recommend for beginners?

I would have to say a mid to mid-high pocket is ideal for me. I set my stick up where I can crank a nasty underhand, but still able to get a quick feed off. It has a great hold with very little whip. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) I would rate it about a 4. You can check out my game stick in my first video!

For a beginner, I would recommend more of a mid to mid-low pocket.  I say that because when you hold the stick parallel to the ground, the ball likes to naturally sink towards the middle of the pocket/head, putting it in the “sweet spot” for two handed cradling. Meanwhile you still have a nice hold for a one handed cradle because of the shift and transition the mid-low pocket has.

Thanks to Nick for taking some to speak with us and for delivering such a great set of mesh to us. We’re excited to see where ChilLax Customs goes from here!