New inventions and rules for lacrosse

           

• The NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Rules Committee is proposing a single 30-second count once teams gain possession to advance the ball into the attack area.
• The committee also voted to add a mechanic for officials to better implement a stall warning when the ball is outside the attack area.
• The committee proposed a separate rule dealing with targeting the head and neck. The penalty for a violation of this rule will be a one-, two- or three-minute non-releasable penalty.

           In previous years teams had 20 seconds to advance the ball to the midfield line and then 10 seconds to reach the attack area. The teams had to re-establish possession in the attack area every 10 seconds.

           Officials may now signal and vocalize “get it in” when the ball is outside of the attack area and the offense isn’t making any attempt at all to attack towards the net.

           Rules regarding player safety is going to continue to increase and provide safety for the players. Concerns for the player’s health is going to result in many more rules to come. Playing a year under these new rules I’ve noticed too many touchy calls resulting in a minute unreleasable penalty. It seems too many times the attacker ducks or falls into the hit forcing an unreasonable penalties that can give a dramatical advantage to a team.

Next is the 2010 lacrosse head specifications-

Traditional specifications- legal for NFHS (high school) and youth lacrosse

X specifications- Legal for play at all levels. These heads meet both the NCAA and NFHS measurements

X6 specifications- Legal under NCAA rules only. Measurements meet the NCAA minimum width, but are not legal under NFHS lacrosse rules

the biggest adjustments to the new styles of heads is the three inches where the ball sits. This measurement affects the balls hold. The amount of hold is how well the ball rest in the pocket while cradling. The biggest factor of how the ball throws comes from how the stick is actually strung.

1.) http://laxbuzz.com/2010/08/05/ncaa-mens-lacrosse-new-rules-proposed-for-2011-2012-include-single-30-second-count-to-advance-to-attack-area-stall-warning-and-up-to-3-minutes-non-releasable-penalty-for-head-and-neck-hits/

2.)http://www.lacrossemonkey.com/new-head-specifications.html

The District Bracket for the 2010-2011 lacrosse year is out-

1. Hempfield

Key Wins- Penn Manor, Ephrata, Carlisle, LCDS, Cumberland Valley

Key Losses- Manheim Township

2. Manheim Township

Key Wins- Hempfield, Penn Manor, LCDS, Ephrata, Peters Township

Key Losses- St Marys Annapolis

3. Red Lion

Key Wins- Cumberland Valley, South Western (twice), Dallastown

Key Losses- Susquehannock

4. Wyomissing

Key Wins- Governor Mifflin (twice), LCDS, Conrad Weiser

Key Losses- Exeter

5. Susquehannock

Key Wins- Red Lion, Cumberland Valley, Dallastown

Key Losses- South Western (2ot), Northern York

6. Ephrata

Key Wins- LCDS, Penn Manor, Hershey, Manheim Township, Carlisle

Key Losses, Hempfield, Manheim Township, Carlisle

7. Penn Manor

Key Wins- LCDS, Carlisle, South Western

Key Losses- Hempfield, Manheim Township, Ephrata

8. Northern York

Key Wins- Susquehannock, Cumberland Valley, South Western

Key Losses- Carlisle, Chambersburg, Hershey

9. Hershey

Key Wins- Carlisle, Northern York, Dallastown, Trinity

Key Losses- Ephrata, Conrad Weiser, Palmyra, Cumberland Valley (OT)

10. Conrad Weiser

Key Wins- Governor Mifflin (twice), Hershey

Key Losses- Exeter, Cocalico, Wyomissing (twice)

11. Carlisle

Key Wins- Northern York, Ephrata

Key Losses- South Western, Hempfield, Hershey, Cumberland Valley, Penn Manor,

12. South Western

Key Wins- Carlisle, Susquehannock (2OT), Dallastown (OT)

Key Losses- Dallastown, Penn Manor, Red Lion, Spring Grove, Northern York, Red Lion

13. Governor Mifflin

Key Wins- LCDS

Key Losses- Exeter, Wyomissing, Conrad Weiser (twice), Wyomissing

14. Cumberland Valley

Key Wins- Carlisle, Dallastown, Hershey

Key Losses- Warwick, Trinity, Susquehannock, Red Lion, Hempfield, Northern York

15. Dallastown

Key Wins- South Western

Key Losses- Susquehannock, South Western (OT), Cumberland Valley, Red Lion, Hershey, Red Lion

16. Lancaster Country Day

Key Wins- None

Key Losses- Governor Mifflin, Ephrata, Penn Manor, Hempfield, Wyomissing, Manheim Township, Warwick

Projected Picks

First Round

(1 vs 16) Hempfield over Lancaster Country Day. I see Hempfield winning this game but LCDS staying in this game because of their dominating face-offs.

(8 vs 9) Hershey over Northern York. Hershey’s star mid fielder won’t be contained by the Northern York defense and should be able to take over the game.

(4 vs 13) Wyomissing over Governor Mifflin. Wyomissing has already beaten Mifflin twice this season with a combined victory 17-23

(5 vs 12) Ill take the upset here with South Western over Susqy. South Western has the best pole from the york league along with a dominating starting mid field. The only problem South Western will face is the lack of depth.

(2 vs 15) Manheim Township will destroy Dallastown in this one. Don’t be surprised if Township runs the score up either.

(7 vs 10) Penn Manor over Conrad Weiser. I think the game will be a pretty even match but the Comets should win by atleast three.

(3 vs 14) Red Lion did lose their first game to Cumberland Valley, but Red Lion turned their season around and should win this game by atleast five goals.

(6 vs 11) Ephrata just came off a huge win over Hempfield and will most likely lose to Township in the League championship, but Ephrata should win this game by atleast five also. Ephrata’s goalie is the best goalie in the district and will help them out in this game along with the rest of their district tournament run.

Note: A team must win two games in the district tournament in order to qualify for the state tournament.

Five steps to success

Have fun/ enjoy the sport- It is quite obvious that athletes perform at their highest level when they’re having fun and enjoying themselves. When athletes start to doubt themselves about having fun they’ll most likely decrease their performance level. Also, athletes can become a ticking bomb ready to explode of frustration. The season or career of your sport will be over before you know it.

Better than you were yesterday- Its not better than the other team or not better than your team-mates it’s improving yourself to become a better player than you were yesterday. Many athletes get caught up in all kinds of drama when they just need to focus on their own ability and have the attitude of, “I’m going to become a better player than I was yesterday.”

Be passionate- a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything. Love what you do and if you don’t love what you do than make changes. To gather success in life you need to be doing something you want to be involved in. If you’re a baseball player that always wanted to play lacrosse and think you could be having more fun doing so; go ahead take the chance you have.

Have discipline- Having discipline goes so much farther than itself. It’s a sense of pride. It doesn’t come easily in the course of a frustrating game. It’s taking ownership of what you say to your team-mates when the coach isn’t around; it’s listening to a team mate scream at another and telling the frustrated player it’s going to be alright and hes playing fine.

Make your team a family– Love your team-mates. Don’t just let the season be a once and done friendship. Take the opportunity you’re giving with the other 50 players on your team and develop a family and be there for each other. When one player needs your hand be right there for him and chances are when you get cheap shotted in the next game he’ll have your back and will be on the other guy before you have the chance to turn around .

“It is not the critic who counts, not the man
who points out how the strong man
stumbled, or where the doer of deeds
could have done better. The credit belongs
to the man who is actually in the arena;
whose face is marred by the dust and sweat
and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs
and comes short again and again; who knows
the great enthusiasms, the great devotions
and spends himself in a worthy course; who
at the best, knows in the end the triumph of
high achievement, and who, at worst, if he
fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so
that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who
know neither victory or defeat.”

— Theodore Roosevelt

http://www.hoopsu.com/winningwords/roosevelt-in-the-arena.html

^— President and soldier, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was one of the most energetic presidents the United States ever had and his quote above defines dedication, passion, and discipline by creating this hungry image of an athlete.

Win Puts Comets Back On Track

Penn Manor gets win over Warwick to even out record. We haven’t beaten Warwick in two years so it’s nice to be back on track. Before the game we didn’t know what to expect of the team with the loss of seniors and especially the loss of injured Jake Watson. Watson is a standout goalie from the Central PA area that injured his ACL and placed him on the injured reserve for the season. Penn Manor took advantage of these mishaps by beating the Warriors, 18-6. I don’t think this will be the last time the clubs will meet this year since the district tournament will take the top 16 teams from the area. Before the season many people thought the top five district rankings would be as followed-

1. Manheim Township (2-1) lonely loss to MIAA team

2. Hempfield (3-0)

3. Warwick (1-1) ranking was set before unfortunate injury

4. Ephrata (2-0)

5. Penn Manor (1-1)

With several games played its hard to tell if these standings will hold true but will keep up to date with the five teams.

Poll Reflection On Favorite Sport To Watch

What’s your favorite Varsity sport to watch?

First Place: Lacrosse (13)

Second Place: Football (12)

Third Place: Other (8)

Fourth Place: Basketball (7)

Fifth Place: Soccer (4)

No surprise with LAX being number one with the whole blog revolving around the sport. Football wasn’t a surprise either being in the top because of the popularity in the country. The biggest upset to me was “other” being ahead of basketball and soccer. I wonder what sport you all pick when considering the “other” category. I know most of the voters came from my high school and am curious if the same poll was ran throughout all schools in my county/ state/ country. Many of the viewers of my blog are directed from searching “lax bro” into a google search engine and are most likely going to be lacrosse fans. Thanks for all the views regardless of what sport happens to be your favorite to watch!

Peter Petey Pete Deluca Doin’ It Big

Pete Deluca

Man or machine? Either way this guy was a team-ate.

Peter “Petey” Deluca is a Penn Manor High School grad from Conestoga, PA with a natural act of standing between the pipes playing goalie in lacrosse.

Courtesy of http://www.facebook.com

Deluca’s legendary career is entering its prime as he decided to continue his athletic success at Jacksonville University.

80 degrees and sunny has its obvious advantages.

According to Deluca his college team is dedicated, “Everyone works hard and looks forward to practice.”

However, Deluca’s High School career needs more recognition as he was one of the top goalie prospects in the nation. He earned all-American status as a junior along with first team all-district and two all-league honors.

He finished his senior season with 241 saves and a 70.2% save rate. The three year captain demonstrated more than just skill in High School as he was a captain, member of the National Honor Society, Gold Honor Roll student and an AP Scholar.

Deluca played with Blue Mountain, a stellar summer lax club since ninth grade and played for Adidas Central Pennsylvania’s team as a rising senior.

Deluca’s skill never kept shy in High School as he constantly proved to be the best athlete on the field contest to contest.

The best athlete on the field in high school proves a lot to the High School world, but what about the best athlete on the division-one playing surface?

The dedicated player has taken his abilities to the next level as expected for the JU Dolphins where he has jumped in with the elite division-one bunch as a starter. Many Freshmen don’t receive any playing time and often redshirt because of hopeless chances of playing time.

Jacksonvolle Mens Lacrosse Jerseys Courtesy of http://www.facebook.com

Peter has proved otherwise as he’s been receiving large recognition for his star-like play.

Deluca couldn’t say enough about the difference in play between High School and college.

“Well it’s a different game. Pretty much everything changed, the athleticism was obviously the biggest difference.”

Deluca’s first game was a dual that will help his career, he recalled.

“I’ve never played for more than one thousand fans let alone in stadiums that have capacities of about 80,000 spectators. It was crazy and a lot of fun.”

Staying in Jacksonville would satisfy nearly all teen athletes. However Deluca’s career has never settled for the easy road.

The Lancaster county native has been flying all over the country to reach games.

Deluca focusing on the Georgetown attackman Courtesy of http://www.jacksonville.com

“It’s wild, a completely different experience. I just got back from Denver where we played two games including Denver and Air Force.”

This first college appearance was an exciting match-up even with the final result being a loss.

Deluca’s continued college play has just improved to 2-2 after a huge win against Air Force to put the Dolphins back on track. The freshman had a NCAA career high 15 saves.

The talented freshmen has a lot more fame to come as his success continues to rise. Deluca has been featured on lax.com and in Paul Rabil, the Michael Jordan of lacrosse, video.

Deluca is excited to continue the college season and hopes to make the NCAA tournamen

Deluca's dorm

Mount Saint Mary’s Defenseman

At the age of 22, Brendan Flanagan felt as though he were 90.

A day after undergoing surgery in September 2007 to remove a brain tumor, Flanagan tried to walk from his bed to the bathroom at the hospital at New York University. A simple step took unbelievable effort.

“I was so unbalanced that I walked like a 90-year-old man,” recalled Flanagan, who could not lift anything heavier than a 5-pound weight for a month and was barred from physical activity for two months. “I remember the first time I got out of bed, I thought, ‘Oh, I’m an athlete. I’m fine, I’m healthy.’ They [the doctors] said, ‘You can’t walk.’ I tried to go to the bathroom and the first step I took, I went down. I thought I was walking straight, but I was walking at an angle.”

Flanagan persevered and 18 months later, he rejoined his teammates on the Mount St. Mary’s lacrosse team. This season, the fifth-year defenseman starts on a defense that is tied for 20th in the country in goals allowed per game, and he leads the team in ground balls (34) and caused turnovers (11).

Flanagan’s performance has not surprised many of the Mountaineers, who take note that the 24-year-old lifts a few more weights, runs a few more meters and takes part in a few more drills than his younger, fresher teammates.

“He’s the kind of kid who just won’t stop,” defenseman Matt Nealis said. “He says: ‘Got to go work out. Got to go run. Got to do this.’ ”

Scary discovery
Flanagan’s energy is a product of his ordeal almost two years ago. In August 2007, Flanagan was talking on the telephone when he suddenly heard nothing in his right ear. After undergoing a magnetic resonance imaging, Flanagan was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma, a brain tumor.

“I thought I had wax in my ear,” he recalled. “… Basically, it was one of the scariest things ever.”

Added Laura Flanagan, his mother: “There was shock because we had been told by the doctor that he was going to have a brain scan and some other tests, but the odds of him having this kind of tumor were so slim. … It was scary.”

Given the option of surgery, radiation or simply waiting, Flanagan, a native of Garden City, N.Y., chose surgery. On Sept. 12 that year (a date Flanagan chose because he wears a No. 12 jersey), he and his family went to the hospital and prepared for the operation.

While his parents and older brother struggled with the situation, Flanagan tried to lighten the mood by telling jokes and mooning his family just before he was carted into the operating room. But even Flanagan was worried.

“I thought: ‘You could actually die from this. This could be the end-all, be-all,’ ” he said. “I was really nervous. I didn’t know if this was going to be the last time I saw them.”

The operation took 12 hours, as surgeons had to carefully scrape the mass – which was found to be benign – away from the nerves controlling hearing, facial movement and equilibrium. A titanium plate has replaced the portion of skull that was removed for the operation, and Flanagan estimates that he still has 15 percent hearing loss in his right ear.

“Even as he came out of the surgery, there were so many other things that could have happened,” his mother said, citing temporary facial paralysis and muscle impairment. “For a guy who comes back right away, it upset him that it took awhile before he could be back to himself again. But Brendan is a kid who does not give up easily.”

Flanagan, who missed the 2007 season and transferred to Mount St. Mary’s after Butler discontinued its lacrosse program, said he is grateful for another chance.

“I live life for every day, and every day is the focus,” he said. “[Against Navy in March], I got hit by a ball in the head. I went back to playing, but in the back of my mind, I thought: ‘OK, I think I’m OK.’ I stress about it, but I’m living.”

Staying the course
Flanagan returned for the 2008 season but was lost for the season with a torn hamstring after playing just two games. Flanagan, however, cleared one of his biggest hurdles in one of his first practices with the Mountaineers when he crashed to the turf after chasing a ground ball, falling on his head and producing a quiet hush among his teammates. After a few breathless moments, Flanagan got back to his feet and stood on the sideline before rejoining practice.

“He never gave us a chance to give him a pity party,” defensive midfielder Shaun Moran said. “If anything, he pushed us harder.”

Flanagan has a sympathetic ear in coach Tom Gravante, who has battled non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma since 2000. Gravante said he never considered blocking Flanagan from resuming his lacrosse career.

“I’m a firm believer that you live in your body,” the coach said. “You, of all people, should have judgment of what your pain threshold is. As long as he was released by the trainers, I was OK with that.”

Flanagan said he contemplated giving up lacrosse after the 2008 season and pursuing a career in education and a coaching job. But Flanagan changed his mind after talking to Gravante.

“In my head, I thought, ‘I’m done.’ I want to coach. I want to coach, I want to teach, I wanted to get my life started,” said Flanagan, who is studying for his master’s degree in elementary and special education. “He [Gravante] was like: ‘Right now, if I could be you, I would love to play again. You’re going to miss it.’ And you know what? He was right. There are times when I’m so excited that I’m not a coach because I love being out there and playing.”

His doctor has told him there’s a “good chance” the tumor could return. Although he sometimes thinks about enduring another operation, Flanagan said his mental approach to this season is unlike in any other.

“Give everything I have,” he said. “Probably more than any other season, there is a drive to win. I’m ready to play. In practice, I give 110 percent. I’m encouraging kids that it’s time to go because they don’t realize that it can be taken away. I tell them, ‘Live today and worry about tomorrow when it comes.”

http://network.laxpower.com/laxforum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=36163

^— Wow! Thats the only thing I can think about when I read this story. This story makes me want to work harder in everything I do and take nothing for granted. This story is so inspirational an impressive and I always hear stories about these circumstances involving other sports but for the first time I found one with lacrosse. Anybody in the world who has to undergo these changes to their lives deserves so much credit and respect. My favorite part of the story is that one team-mate said Flanagan never gives anybody time to pity him. What a strong character mold he fills.

This cartoon is sick! It demonstrates the game by showing brief details.

Huge hit

This hit just shows so much.. It can explain the game in just one glance! There aren’t many rules for the game of lacrosse. There is really just two purposes for both teams and thats to put the ball in the back of the net.

Professional Lacrosse Team’s Mascot Gets Lap Dance

Professional lacrosse is getting more and more popular each year, but I have a feeling some kids might not be getting tickets to a game for Christmas next year. According to the article posted below, the Boston Blazers are taking responsibility for the halftime -show gone “wrong.” The mascot known as “Scorch” was sitting on a chair in the middle of the field when 3 skanky looking women gave the mascot an intense lap dance. The New York Daily Times reported that fans were furious with the show and felt terrible for their kids who were trying to spectate a game. I personally find this article rather funny because of the mistake and since it was the mascot. These dancers shouldn’t be considered “laxitutes” because these women were not going for laxers!!!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/boston-blazers-mascot-lap-dance_n_809937.html