Faceoff 2010: Could Stringing save your faceoff ?

As we approach the 2010 lacrosse season many players are wondering how the new stick regulations are going to affect college play. In particular, the faceoff is likely going to see one of the biggest changes in play. But does it have to?

In past times players have been able to tweak their heads to their liking. This could be done by baking it, pinching it, or just working it in over time. The purpose of this was to give the player what he believes to be the best chance of winning the faceoff. Winning with a flexible head, stiff head, or many other factors would come up when trying to create the perfect faceoff head. What remained constant between the majorities of these faceoff players though, was the width of the head. Most players preferred their stick to have a very narrow throat because this ensured a very quick clamp on the ball. Not only would that, having a very pinched head allows these players to perform had a move called the pinch and pop. For many this was their bread and butter but because of the new regulations it is going to be much more difficult to perform this move with such a wide head.

Over the past few months I like many have been adjusting to these new sticks. Also like many I would sure prefer the old heads to the new ones especially when it comes to facing off. Unfortunately though, these rules are not going to change any time soon so it is wise to adapt as quickly as possible and get in as many reps as you can in preparation for the season.

What I wanted to get at today though is that even though these rules will largely effect the faceoff techniques used, there is still some hope for those whose "go to" move was the pinch and pop.

Pictured here is the Evolution Pro X6. This is one of the new heads that has been cleared for college level play and has been the head I have been working with the past few months. As you will notice though there is some odd stringing happening along the side of the head. This blue shooting string is mirrored on the other side of the head as well. I believe this will help many players retain one of their favorite moves which is the pinch and pop. After going through the rules of 2010 I didn't find anything stating that this type of stringing couldn't be done. What happens is when you string alongside the head like pictured, the ball will become lodged in the back of the head and feels just like it would in an older head before these rules took place.

As you can see in the video the ball will become lodged and is also easily removable so there will be no worries for an illegal procedure. (For those who don't know, an illegal procedure can happen when the ball gets stuck in the backside of the head. You have one shot or about one second to dislodge it or you will be called for an illegal procedure)

Hopefully many of you found this helpful and possibly even try it out for yourselves. If you have any questions please just shoot me an email. Also if you would like to give any input as to how this works for you or any other ideas just fill out a comment, let us know what you think.