LXM PRO Tour vs. MLL

A huge question that's come up in the lacrosse world over the last summer is whether or not the LXM Pro Tour is going to survive for much longer, and whether or not it is a true competitor to the MLL.

For those of you who are new to lacrosse, or have just been living under a rock for the past year while playing lacrosse, the MLL (or Major League Lacrosse) is the professional field lacrosse league. It features greats like the Powell brothers, Paul Rabil, Nicky Polanco, and so on.

The LXM PRO Tour is a new project that is designed to throw lacrosse into the limelight and make it more mainstream. All LXM PRO events feature a professional game, which features talent like Chazz Woodson, Brandon Corp, Kyle Harrison, Steven Brooks, and Max and Xander Ritz; a clinic session, which usually goes before the professional game; and a concert by a mainstream band or artist. In some cases, a college game is thrown in there sometimes that includes local colleges and talent.

Overall, both leagues are competitive, and both bring a lot to the table, but I think that the MLL will eventually win out. Some would argue that the flashiness and the contemporary style of the LXM PRO Tour events would attract more people, and therefore more revenue, but I think that it can only go for so long before it eventually burns out. You can't have the same guys playing all the time and keep attracting audiences, because there are only so many large cities that will accept an event like this. Also, since there are only two teams, you can't really identify with a team because they aren't really from anywhere.

Another thing is that this whole thing is very expensive, and while it might be attracting a lot of attention in places like Baltimore and Philadelphia, the Texas and Georgia events might be a little iffy on the popularity front.

I haven't mentioned the NLL (National Lacrosse League) yet, which is the professional indoor league. A lot of the guys that play in the MLL in the summer play NLL lacrosse in the field offseason to keep their stick skills up and stay in shape. The last thing that league needs is something that takes great talent away from it.

All in all, I think that the LXM PRO Tour is good for now, but it should only act as a catalyst in boosting the popularity of lacrosse around the nation, and not become a permanent deal.

KEEP LAXIN!

Oh, and be sure to follow me on twitter @gtlaxx!!! (I tweet back!)

Decisions, decisions...

I know for me, a huge question that I'm constantly facing is: where do I want to play lacrosse in college? Lax is a huge part of my life, and I would hate for it to end when I leave for the next level.

If you're like most of the laxers out there, you want to shoot for the highest level: NCAA Division 1. This is the ultimate goal of pretty much everybody who has ever really gotten into lacrosse. Playing for one of those high level programs like Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Virginia, Duke (sadly...), Notre Dame (???), Cornell, etc. has always been a dream of mine. However, when I finally looked at the kind of talent that was going to those kinds of schools, and the amount of academic achievement that it would take to get me into one of the top lacrosse schools, I flinched.

I know that you should always try to shoot for the best that you can be, but sometimes you need a reality check. My Dad put it to me this way once: start with the people on your team. Are you the best? If so, what about your area? What about your section of the state you live in? The actual state? The region? The COUNTRY? Those kids that get to the regional/country level and can still say that they (honestly) top the charts are the ones that are going to end up playing for a Syracuse or a Hopkins. It finally struck me one day that I was not the best on my team, so all of the others had to be true as well. It frustrated the hell out of me, and now I'm on a training program to try and get to be one of the best. But that's beside the point.

The point is, if you're not good enough for one of those higher-level programs, DON'T FEEL BAD. There are THOUSANDS of kids who are in the same position as you. Some kids just don't have the natural athletic ability, size, speed, hand eye coordination, etc. to really be the best. If that's true for you, then Division 2 and 3 are completely viable options, and give you a chance to play a high level of NCAA lacrosse.

Another option, for those who want to maybe go to a school for academic reasons, and just play lacrosse for fun, is club. There are some cases in the MCLA in which the team has considered going Division 2 or 3, but because of the Title 9 restriction, they can't because they would have to spend the same amount of money on the women's program as well. Some MCLA programs such as BYU, Michigan, Chapman, and Oregon are truly dominant, and they play a very high level of lacrosse. I know that I personally am considering attending UC Santa Barbara, and a couple other California schools that haven't gone to the NCAA just because of Title 9.

Another question is the issue of playing time. I know that I would rather contribute to a team from the very get-go, and be a team leader in my third and fourth year, rather than ride the pine for the first two years and only get to play for my junior and senior year. Playing at a lower level program and being a starter is a lot more fun than playing at a Syracuse or Hopkins and not contributing seriously for two years.

The bottom line is, make the choice that's right for you, and don't just make it about lacrosse. Make it about where you really want to go to college, and have the best experience.

And most of all, KEEP LAXIN.

Travel teams/club teams

Sorry guys! School has been a little overwhelming over the past couple weeks, so I haven't been able to blog, but I'M BACK!

We all know that your club team can make or break your recruiting. Yeah, your school team matters because the colleges want to see that you're a team captain and that you mesh well with a team oriented game plan, but your school team doesn't usually go to recruiting camps and tournaments. That's where a good club team can come in.

The most dominant club team in probably the entire nation is the Baltimore Crabs. They constantly dominate the recruiting circuit and have a consistent base of insane talent.

On the West Coast, the club circuit has picked up a lot in the past couple years. The NorCal Lacrosse club has consistently put out great national contenders at the US Lacrosse U-15 and U-13 National Championships. The Starz program, which includes both boys and girls club teams that are based throughout southern California, Arizona, Nevada, and Oregon are constantly coming up with great talent. The West Coast Starz team that is fielded from this network is always a contender on the national level, and the USA Starz is also a great program that allows for high level lacrosse players to go and play in other countries, such as Japan and England.

Overall, your club teams have a huge impact on where you end up college-wise, if you want to play lacrosse at the next level. So get off your butt and go hit the wall, and get laxin!!

It's been a while...

Sorry it's been so long...I was in Baltimore for a couple days for a JHU Lacrosse Camp, and then I went to Haiti for a missions trip with my family. I should be making regular posts again soon.

Thanks for your patience!!

New Poll: Camps

Camps are an essential part of off-season (mostly summer) lacrosse. They help you keep your skills sharp, and you also usually learn a lot of new and useful tips to help you in the next season. Some camps are for recruiting, some are for skill development. Some are inclusive, some are very exclusive and are only accessible through coach recommendation and/or tryout.

Some highly exclusive camps include Jake Reed's Blue Chip camp, and the California Gold Invitational. These two camps allow for incredible college exposure and great competition.

Individual college camps are great too. They allow for the campgoers to be taught by the players and coaches from the college that they are attending the camp at, and also let them talk to the coaches about what it takes to get into their school. I personally will be attending the lacrosse camp at Johns Hopkins this year because I love the program, and I attended the Denver University camp last year. These kinds of camps are a huge opportunity to allow for a camper to check out the campus of a college they might want to attend, and check out their competition as well.

Showcase tournaments such as the Adrenaline High Rollers and the All West Showcase are sometimes by invitation or recommendation only, and can be for individual players or whole teams. These showcases allow for college exposure, team bonding, and great competition as well.

Well, I hope this post contained some useful info to all those aspiring to become better lacrosse players this summer.

HAPPY LAXIN!

The "Lax Bro"

When my girlfriend told one of her friends that she was dating a lacrosse player, the first thing her friend asked was, "Is he a lax bro??" When faced with this question, my girlfriend called me, and asked me if I was a lax bro. Proudly, I answered that I was indeed what you might call a lax bro.

A lax bro is somebody who plays lacrosse, DOES NOT PLAY BASEBALL, carries around his lacrosse stick wherever he can, and wears shorts, sandals (or long white socks with vans), a lax pennie, sunglasses, and sometimes a flat-billed hat (backwards or forwards depending on preference). A lax bro also ideally has some measure of "flow". "Flow" is a reference to a certain players hair and the way that it "flows" out the back of his helmet when he is playing. If a player's flow is pretty much perfect, then that player has a "flow bucket".

A lax bro must not only look the part; he must act like a lax bro as well. Activities that a lax bro engages in should not be overly taxing in nature, such as going for long runs. A lax bro should spend most of his time just chilling out and laxing with his friends. Lifting weights is important (just don't exert too much energy!) for completing your lax bro look so you look cut for the ladies. Curls, bench press, squat, leg press, and maybe some abs and shoulder workouts are all you need to be a true lax bro.

LAXBROS UNITE!! LAX ALL DAY!

East vs West

It seems that at this point in the development of the game of lacrosse, and its maturity into a national phenomenon, one of the big questions is this: is lacrosse West of the Mississippi catching up to the level of lacrosse East of the river? My personal bias (living in California) says that lacrosse on the West Coast is just as good as lacrosse on the East Coast. However, the numbers say something slightly different. According to national computer rankings on LaxPower show that most of the top 50 teams in the nation are all East of the river. However, there are more and more teams from the West showing up on that list.

La Costa Canyon High School, which is located in Encinitas, California, recorded a 23-0 record this year, and played against teams from the DC area and Colorado as well as top teams from California. My lacrosse team played La Costa Canyon this past year, and I tell you, LCC is the real deal. They were like a machine. St. Ignatius Prep, located in San Francisco, California, is another California powerhouse that produces Division 1 recruits like Rob Emery, who is going to Virginia and is rated as the number one recruit in the West by West Side Lax on the WSL Elite 25 list. The dominant team in California, and in the West, this year was definitely LCC, who trounced St. Ignatius 7-1 in a NorCal/SoCal showdown. Some other dominant teams in the West include De La Salle (Concord, CA), Foothill Santa-Ana (Santa Ana, Calif.), San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.), Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colorado), Brophy Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.), and Mercer Island (Mercer Island, Wash.).

Now, the East.

You can look at the rankings mentioned earlier, and find all kinds of teams that just dominate their opponents, and each other. The MIAA league in Maryland is probably one of the toughest lacrosse conferences in the entire nation. I read an article in US Lacrosse magazine that followed a week in the life of the Boy's Latin (MD) lacrosse team, and how they prepare for each team. What is different about their preparation is that they have to prepare each week like it's the biggest game of their season, which it is. Every team in the MIAA is capable of competing and beating every other team in the league, so all the players have to play their absolute HARDEST every second of every game. West Islip (NY) is a constant contender for the number one spot in the national rankings, as well as many other programs.

All in all, I believe the East still has the advantage in this debate, but there is no doubt that the West is catching up fast, which means very good things for the game of lacrosse.

CPX-R

Ok, let's get down and dirty with the subject of the latest poll.

The CPX-R: Yes or No?

Lacrosse Playground article: http://www.lacrosseplayground.com/post/a-closer-look-at-cascades-new-cpx-r/10373

I don't particularly like the look of this helmet. The little protrusion coming out of the back doesn't really please the eye...

I watched part of the Under Armour All-American Classic on ESPNU, and both teams were outfitted with the new CPX-R. The helmet didn't look too bad on the screen, but up close, especially if you're trying to look good, I would imagine that you should stick with a regular CPX or Pro 7 from Cascade, and possibly a Warrior Trojan (which to me looks almost exactly like a CPX).

Anyway, there is a pretty big upside to the new CPX-R. A lot of people that I've talked to like the CPX design a lot better than the Pro 7. I personally like the Pro 7 more, but who cares about my opinion right? The upside to the new helmet is that it brings the CPX's design (more or less), and combines it with the Pro 7 technology which makes the helmet a lot more comfortable and helps protect your head a lot more. The CPX-R is not officially on sale yet, but here's a link to some helmets on Lax.com.

http://www.lax.com/shop/lacrosse-helmets.html

First Post!

Welcome all LAXERS! In the future, this blog will contain relevant and up-to-date information on all different aspects of the game of lacrosse. for my first post, I would like to attach a linked video containing the essential elements of the lax bro.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqg01Nk3SYI

Enjoy!

btw...vote in the poll!