It seems we have a good report with the pros. It makes sense, being as we were all players once too, and we know a bunch of these guys off the field anyway. So this time we found a few savvy veterans and some young guns to bother. Lax.com got a hold of Michael Springer from the Philadelphia Barrage, MLL all time points leader Jesse Hubbard from the LA Riptide, Boston Cannons midfielder Matt Poskay and teammate Matt Alrich, and the Rochester Rattler's Joe Walters. How is your stick strung (is there any secret)? Springer: Mesh V. Although my preference is traditional, it's hard to find someone who can string them well. Hubbard: I'm using a pretty standard hard mesh pocket these days. I used traditional my whole career until switching to mesh last year. The maintenance and break-in of traditional is much more complicated than mesh, and mesh obviously holds up better in rain. Traditional leather sticks are dying off, but you never know what will make a comeback. I am still waiting for the mustache to come back into style, and I know it will with Mitch Belisle leading the way. Poskay: Pretty basic mesh with three shooting strings Walters: I string my sticks with mesh, and when I string all of my sticks there is a natural channel because I string the sidewalls super tight (that's the secret). My biggest pet peeve is a pocket where the ball just rolls around. If you don't string your own stick: (1) Who does? (2) Who strung the best stick you ever used? Springer: Usually the players on my high school team. Hubbard: Have to give a shout out to Josh Schmidt at Warrior who strung the Revo 2.0 that I was using earlier this year. He picked up stringing sticks pretty quickly and can string a nice bag. I have to say that the best stick I ever used was a traditional leather one strung by me. I had some great sticks in college, back when the ingredients were good and the leather thongs were still mooing. It's tough to find good leathers these days. Just ask Josh Sims. He has been probing the Colorado plains for good cowhide. Poskay: A player who I coach at Johnson HS (Clark, NJ) strings my sticks. Alrich: Eric Martin and Eric Martin - Defenseman for the Dragons and [San Jose] Stealth - I actually ship them to him cross-country. Is there any special way you tape your shaft? Why? Hubbard: I put some solid tape at the bottom of the handle for bottom hand grip, and I put three rings where the top hand needs to be for passing and shooting. Nothing is worse than having your sweaty hands slip on the handle. Alrich: Tape at the bottom - about eight inches up Walters: Candy Cane all the way down the shaft, it's a ritual now. It gives me a good feel for the shaft no matter where my hands are... What was your first stick? Springer: An old hand me down that was used in the late 70's that weighed a ton. My first new stick was a Superlite 2. Hubbard: My first stick was way back when there were only about three choices. My older brother and I each got the STX SAM for Christmas one year. Poskay: STX Turbo Alrich: Laser Hi-Wall Walters: STX Dominator (black) on a heavy aluminum shaft Best lacrosse game you've watched was? Why? Hubbard: For me, when I was a kid, the 1992 Princeton upset of Syracuse in the NCAA Championship game was pretty memorable. I was at the game with my dad, and my older brother was a freshman at Princeton that year, so we had particular interest in that game. It was really David vs. Goliath. Syracuse was stacked with all the big names, and, although Princeton has some great talent, the players were not well known at the time. Dave Morrow matching up with Tom Marachek epitomized the game. Princeton got off to a strong start before Syracuse even knew what hit them. Then Syracuse came back and sent it to overtime. There were some pipe shots and crazy saves at the end of regulation and in the first overtime, but in the second overtime Andy Moe stuck the game winner off a fast break, and the rest is history. Who says Princeton never pushed the ball? More recently, the Hopkins overtime victory over UVA in the 2005 semifinal was a pretty ridiculous game. It had so much drama with the weather delay and some great individual efforts on both sides. UVA tasted victory, but it was yanked away. Poskay: 2005 semifinals UVA-Hop...I was playing and it was the best game for anyone to ever see. Alrich: 'Cuse v UVA, this year's Final Four - tons of excitement and an OT ending. Walters: Any lacrosse game on TV. When I was a kid there were three games on every year - the Final Four. Now, with the rapid growth of the sport there are lacrosse games every week in the spring and games of the week for the MLL in the summer. The sport is taking strides, which is what it needs for people nationally to tune in and appreciate the fastest game on two feet. The best game you've ever played? What made it the best game? Springer: The best game was either of the championships I won in college. 2002 DI Final: Syracuse vs Princeton 2000 DI Final: Princeton vs Syracuse Hubbard: The best game was probably the 1996 Championship game (Princeton vs. UVA), which was the first of three National Championships I won at Princeton. It was not the prettiest game on our side, but we ended up pulling it off in overtime. Everyone was picking UVA to win that game, probably even some guys on our team (Ben Strutt!). Poskay:NCAA championship game in 2006. Alrich: Senior night at Delaware - I elapsed the 100 pt mark - we won - and my entire family was on hand too. Walters: Senior year at UMD against Johns Hopkins at Homewood. I ended up having a good game (6 and 2), but we had just lost three games I believe and our team needed a win. Our senior class hadn't beaten Hopkins in our three years, and that is one of our goals every year. We went out and played our game just like we had planned and beat Hopkins in front of a sold out crowd. It turned our season around and we went to another Final Four. I felt like I carried the team and lead the way, and I am proud of that. What do you do, besides being a professional lacrosse player (if you have a 9-5 job, what is it)? Springer: Work for Maverik lacrosse and have my own camps and leagues, Vision lacrosse. Poskay: Coach football, basketball, and lacrosse at the high school level, and I run btblacrosse.com, my own camp, apparel and clinic business. Alrich: I work full time as a rep for Reebok Lacrosse Walters: Endorsed by STX. Co-Founder of Run 'N' Gun Lacrosse with Kyle Harrison. We run an outstanding lacrosse camp all over the country. We are always looking for new venues. www.runngunlacrosse.com. Founder of Sharp Shooter Lacrosse. This is my private instruction company with the Sharp Shooter Academy (shooting specialty camp) being a branch of the company. www.sharpshooterlacrosse.com. Who is your biggest lacrosse influence? Springer: My father. Hubbard: Since my older brother Andy and I started playing at the same time, I would say that we inspired each other to play and compete. We brought our sticks everywhere and were constantly throwing the ball around and beating on each other. This is how a lot of kids get into lacrosse. All you need is a couple sticks and each other. In terms of coaching influences, Coach Rick Sowell, who now is the head coach at Stony Brook University, was my first coach in middle school, and he pushed me hard to become a good lacrosse player. When I was in seventh grade he would make me practice with the varsity, and he would yell at me if I didn't beat a senior defender to the cage. He also was not very generous with the water bottle during 95-degree heat. He would purposely take the water bottle and squirt you in the eye and nose rather than the mouth. What a great guy? In high school, Coach Malcolm Lester, who is still the head coach at St. Albans, was a big influence in developing my all around game. He emphasized being in peak physical shape and being a team leader. He would routinely make us run 3 miles after practice. In college, Coach Bill Tierney was obviously a major influence. Walters: #1 is my father. He never played lacrosse but was always pushing me to practice and reach my fullest potential. I can remember him buying every video/book/going to camps with me to learn the sport so he would have an understanding of what to work with me on. I tell everyone that in my pre-adolescent years you couldn't get me off of the field, I was always playing, shooting, etc. When you get to those teenage years things change, but my father got even tougher with me and wouldn't back down when all I wanted to do was what my friends were doing. I can't thank him enough for that - I would have been an average player at a SUNY DIII school if he hadn't been hard nosed with me. So for kids out there and parents, don't be scared to make your kids practice, no matter how heated things get. Being great at lacrosse takes hard work and sacrifice, which carries over to everything in life. #2...Gait brothers. They were the first celebrities of the sport. I still have autographs and pictures from the Final Fours when I would see them every year. #3...The Powell brothers. Coming from Rochester I went to every Syracuse home game and it's no secret, they are Syracuse lacrosse. I wanted to be like them, in particular Casey. I think he is the most complete player I have ever seen play lacrosse. It's still weird playing on the same team as him. Through the years, you have had many coaches. Is there anything a coach said that still sticks out in your memory today? Hubbard: Coach Tierney emphasized preparation over everything else. He tried to predict what a team would do, but he prepared us during practice for all types of scenarios so that we would know how to respond during the game. There are not many things you can control once a game starts, but you can control how you prepare for the game. His main role on game day was basically to get us angry and fired up to play. I remember a lot of really heated pre-game speeches that got us all fired up and ready to do battle. Walters: I went to Irondequoit High School, and anyone who is familiar knows some of the names that came through (Jeff Long, Paul Cantabene, Andrew Whipple, etc). One of my high school coaches was Jay Whipple (who has a reputation of being a tough/vocal coach), Andrew's father. Andrew holds all of the records at Irondequoit so I looked up to him and wanted to follow in his footsteps. He was an All-American attackman at Maryland (a part of one of the best attack units this game has seen - Hochstadt, Hahn, and Whipple) in the late 90's when they were in a series of Final Fours. I remember when I was a sophomore in high school playing in the semifinals of the Section V tournament. We were losing at halftime and Coach Whipple came up to me as we were walking into the locker room and screamed in my face, "You won't be a pimple on Andy's *ss!" To this day I remember it clearly. We lost that game but that memory stuck and it drove me to work my butt off and get to Maryland, I think I ended up doing well for myself. _ What songs are on your I-Pod for pregame? Alrich: Jay-Z Walters: Young Jeezy featuring Kanye West - I put on anything I am playing on the ride to the game (rap/hip hop) because when I get to the locker room I am forced to listen to rock 'n' roll and classic rock and really old hip hop. Do you have any pre-game superstitions? Poskay: Depends on how I played the previous game to decide if I am going to go about doing the same things or changing them. Walters: Always drink Diet Coke/Pepsi The night before a game I must eat____? Springer: Chicken Alrich: Chicken Parm What three things can/should kids do, to improve their games? Hubbard: 1. Hit the wall and work on your weak hand. 2. Practice shooting on the run at game speed. 3. Watch high-level lacrosse, and be a student of the game. Poskay: Speed, and working on opposite hand. Developing an off hand early will be a huge advantage Walters: (1) Watch a lot of lacrosse. (2) Play a lot of lacrosse. (3) Wall ball and shooting - REPITITION What three drills should kids always do when they are at the wall? Hubbard: 1. Roll back after catching and switch hands. You do this countless times in games. 2. Pass and catch one handed to work on wrist snap and body turn. 3. Find a wall you can shoot against from a distance. Work on making your release as quick as possible. Poskay: 100 right, 100 left, 100 behind the back Alrich: Watch other players who they know do things well, practice both hands. Walters: (1) Pick a spot and hit it (2)Left hand (3)Right hand The MLL rules are a little different compared to high school and college lacrosse. What should a player be looking at when watching an MLL game? Hubbard: Watch how quickly players have to make decisions and react to situations. The speed of the game is much faster than college or high school. Poskay: Transition and how the ball is moved so fast up the field. Ball movement is key. Alrich: Quick restarts, crease dives, and cross checks Walters: The speed of the game. Watch how you can push the ball in transition and catch the other team off-guard. Look where players dodge, create space for each other. Finally, if you could tell all the young players reading this any advice, what would you tell them? Springer: If you want to become a good lacrosse player there's nothing holding you back. Work hard and don't listen to the people that say you can't. Hubbard: Don't wait to improve your game. Go out and make yourself better every day and good things will happen. Set your goals high. Don't be intimidated to play against older or better players. Relish the opportunity, and you will improve your game. Poskay: Play as many sports as you can. Don't just concentrate on one. The more sports you play, the better you will get at all of them. Playing multiple sports makes you a better athlete and more important, a better competitor. Coaches love athletes, not just lacrosse players. Alrich: Enjoy playing the game, if you're not having fun then move on to something else. Walters: Lacrosse is a sport where you control your destiny. If you want to be a great player and play at your dream college, MLL, etc YOU CAN! You must work your butt off and make sacrifices. Don't do what all of your friends are doing - make sure you are on the field working on your skills. Watch and play as much lacrosse as you can.