Arachnophobics have no fear! The Maverik Spider doesn’t bite, that is unless it’s the back of the net.

What sets the Maverik Spider head apart from any other on the market right now is its design. Inspired by the combination of robotic spiders and the architecture of NYC’s famous bridges, the Maverik Spider merges the unique and intriguing anatomy of spiders with human technology. Maverik took a different approach to designing the Spider by adding support on the specific areas of the head that receive the most stress while in play. The cool thing about the Spider is its weight, which is surprisingly light when considering the amount of strength it has. When I first picked this head up, I was really surprised by its light weight. The Maverik Spider’s rail structure and specifically placed holes give it the unmatched weight and strength of a spider web.

After I had my first look at the head, I went on to stringing it. The unique feature on this head is the design of the sidewall holes. When you string a stick, the sidewall string is what pulls the mesh to the head and forms your pocket. The Spider essentially has slits placed in cooperation with its sidewall holes. This makes it easy to lock your sidewall into place and guarantee an even tightness on each side of the head.

For stringing, I used grey 10D Jimalax hard mesh. The grey hard mesh by Jimalax is pretty different than most other hard mesh. It is softer, which makes it easier to break in your pocket. I strung the mesh up with Jimalax Snow Camouflage sidewall string. I felt like the grey and camo together would truly give the head the look of a spider. After I was done stringing, I ended up with a surprisingly nice channel. Usually it is difficult to get a good channel with rounded heads with wide throats, but not with the Maverik Spider. I decided to put in a V for a shooter instead of a U in order to get optimal precision when throwing. Then I put in one straight shooter and a Snow Camo nylon, which really lets you feel the ball come out when you throw.

I’d recommend the Maverik Spider head to the offensive minded player. Whether you’re an attackman, middie, or pole who is a scoring threat, this head is great for putting the biscuit in the basket. I was sniping with this in the side yard and I was ripping holes in my net! The Spider is a great head engineered by some creative minds over at Maverik Lacrosse. Pics below - and you can get your own by clicking right here:

By Chris Tomaselli, ComLax Franklin, MA

My game day stick is an STX Professor in white, strung with white 10D Jimalax hard mesh and black striker shooters on a black Nike Sprint SC Shaft. I dig this setup because of the shape of the Professor. Its long throat gives me the ability to have a long pocket, which is perfect for attack because I can cradle the ball up against the shooters when shooting or down in the throat when dodging. The Nike Sprint SC Shaft is one of my all-time favorite shafts. It has a very unique shape with smooth edges, while still feeling angular. The grip is very comparable to a Warrior Krypto Pro Diamond. I’ve been using it for almost a year and it really doesn’t dent. That’s legit considering the hacks I give and take in practices and games.

My backup set up is an STX Proton Power in black with white 10D Jimalax hard mesh on a silver STX Scandium Pro shaft. You really can’t go wrong with this head or shaft. Both great, aggressive products that have proven durable when filling in for my game day set up.





For For shoulder pads, I wear the Maverik Empire Speed. Like most older players, I altered them a bit. To get rid of the little bit of bulk, I cut off the shoulder caps. It hasn’t sacrificed much protection and it gives me lighter shoulder pads. I really like the shape of the Empires on my body. It gives me lots of protection without the bulk. This year, I’m rocking home and away elbow pads. For home games, I’ve got STX K18 II Arm Guards in red. These are hands down my favorite elbow pads for an attack man. Super comfortable, flexible, and protective, I got a year and a half out of heavy use out of my first pair before they finally ripped, so naturally, I got another pair. For away games, I’m, wearing the Nike Vapor Elite Arm Guards in white. The Vapor Elites are very, very light, but don’t sacrifice much protection.














For gloves, my school ordered custom school Brine Messiahs in red, white and black. I got #22 on the cuff along with our school logo. So far, I love these gloves, as they are really light and comfortable. We’ll see how protective they are when tryouts start later this month. My lid is a Cascade Pro7 in red with my school’s decals. Plenty of tilt to go around folks!


















On my feet, I’ve got the Nike Zoom Vapor Carbon LX in white and black. If you turn on ESPNU this Saturday and when they zoom in on the players look at their feet. The Vapor Carbon LXs are what all the college kids are wearing and for good reason. They are extremely light, but are also surprisingly supportive during your cuts and dodges.

After digging out all of my gear, I found an UnderArmour jock, a cup, a Top Gun CELL pinny, and an ankle brace.

By Chris Tomaselli, Commonwealth Lacrosse (Franklin, MA)

It is a well-known fact that lacrosse is the fastest growing game on two feet. Along with the publicity has come a flurry of trends and fads in style and gear. The newest up-and-coming gear trend is the use of waxed mesh. While waxed mesh has been available to the public for quite some time, it has only recently become a bit more popular.

Waxed mesh was initially used in indoor lacrosse; rather than use the mesh for its water resistant qualities, players used the wax grip to make up for the humidity lost from the outdoor game. As more and more players indoors began using it, it began to catch on in the MLL. Players of every position --even goalies-- began giving waxed mesh a whirl. Fast forward to today, and waxed mesh is the new thing a few stores out there are carrying. At the moment, ComLax carries all Jimalax mesh, but not JimaWAX mesh. We are looking at and evaluating the potential for carrying it, but we'd love to hear how feel about it first.

I was able to get my hands on a sample and I can tell you a little bit about it here.

I had the opportunity to sample a piece of Carolina Blue JimaWAX mesh on the CEO, Nike's top-of-the-line head. To be honest, I was really excited to test out both the mesh and the head. Waxed mesh is something I’ve never been able to get my hands on and the CEO is one of the top heads on the market designed for attackmen.

My first impressions of the mesh were its smell and texture. It smelled like wax; no chemicals, no dye, no fresheners....just wax. The JimaWAX mesh was also interesting because I expected it to be really stiff and hard to stretch out. It was actually the opposite - it took me three easy pulls for the mesh to be as stretched as I needed it to be to string. The only annoying part about stretching the mesh was the waxed flakes that fell onto my lap, but you have to give a little to get a little, so I can’t complain. I simply put a towel on my lap while I was stringing to avoid being covered in little pieces of wax.

With the technical stringing of the CEO, the head has unusual top string holes. There are eight holes total split in half by the part of the scoop displaying the Nike symbol. I strung up a regular 10D top string, but instead of stringing every other hole on the scoop, I had to do the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 8th holes due to their spacing. I also started the top string on the 2nd hole down on the sidewall in order to pull down the mesh. I started the sidewall stringing on the 3rd hole down, skipped a hole, and then double interlocked. This creates a good channel so that the ball releases out of the head on a straight route. The channel also affects the hold and whip of your head, so it is important to create a channel that suits your game. From the double interlock, I doubled up on the mesh once and then strung every other hole on the head until the 14th hole. From there I strung every hole the rest of the way down. I put in a tight bottom string and ended up with a mid pocket, perfect for a feeder from X.

At this point, you see where the JimaWAX mesh plays its part. The wax coated mesh has the distinct ability to memorize where you hold the ball in your stick and how you throw and shoot. Because of this, the pocket will reform and hold every time you get the ball in your stick. JimaWAX is also significantly lighter than any other weather resistant mesh. Waxed mesh is not fool proof, however. It does have the tendency of “bagging out.” This means that you need to make sure you keep your sidewalls and bottom string tight and shooters loose so that the mesh does not get too whippy. Since I chose to make a tight channel, I decided not to install a U or a V because the ball would get caught up before releasing. Instead, two straight shooters were put in just above where the ball sits in the pocket. To add on an extra lip when the ball releases from the head, I wove a nylon above the straighties.

Overall, this setup is ideal for an attackman who specializes in feeding. Lots of hold, smooth release, a fairly stiff head with a long throat, and very durable mesh are perfect for the position. In addition, I would recommend the JimaWAX mesh is perfect for any player of any skill or position from the cage to X. Its weather resistance and durability put it a notch ahead of any other type of mesh. JimaWAX gives you the grip and feel of traditional stringing, but also the same old reliability and hold of a mesh pocket.

...but what do YOU think? Have you used this stuff? What are your thoughts? Let's hear it!

Today's post features College and Professional Lacrosse players’ stick setups and stringing preferences.

First up is former UVA standout and LXM Pro athlete Rhamel Bratton. Unfortunately, Rhamel ended his 2011 senior campaign earlier than we would have liked due to a team-issued suspension, but he played a vital role in paving UVA’s road to the national championship. Now, Rhamel participates in the LXM Pro Tour, which is a professional lacrosse tour run by Kyle Harrison.

Today, I’m mirroring Rhamel’s setup he used when he played for UVA. There is a story behind this setup. The manager of our Franklin ComLax store, Kyle Prussing and a couple other ComLax managers were at the Final Four at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA a few years back. Rhamel threw his stick up into the crowd and they caught it. Considering some pictures I found on the internet and Kyle’s description, I came up with this mirrored setup.

Throughout college, Rhamel rocked the Evo X head on a Gait handle. At the time Kyle and company got their hands on his setup, his shaft’s graphics were pretty worn. It is safe to assume however, that Rhamel used one of Gait’s top shafts because UVA has always been sponsored by Gait. Therefore I decided to throw a Gait DB803 on the head.

To mirror Rhamel’s setup, I started off by marinating the white Jimalax hard mesh in some lukewarm water just as Kyle and Kyle demonstrate in our YouTube Stringing Tutorial. I then laced up the California Dream Top String (Triangle Top String). Then I strung the sidewalls with the goal of forming a mid pocket with a tight channel (1,1,1,1,2i,1,1,1,1). One cool thing I liked about this stringing pattern was the crispy mesh curl - once I threw in a bottom string. After I pounded in the mid-pocket, I put in one U shooting string, 3 diamonds wide and then another one 5 diamonds wide. A unique thing Rhamel does with his stick is he puts two nylons above his shooting strings. Most players use one nylon, but Rhamel places his on consecutive rows of diamonds and makes them fairly tight. This gives the head a good amount of whip and a very smooth release. Rhamel’s distinct passing and shooting style/technique can be attributed to this unique shooting string pattern.

Once the strings were all tight, I screwed the Evo X on the Gait DB803 Handle. Based on the photos I found online, Rhamel made a thick butt end on his shaft and also taped about a 1/4 of the way up. In addition to this, Rhamel had three thin strips of tape that sat right where his top hand sits when he passes and shoots.

I would recommend this stick for any mid-level to experienced players who hit the weight room. This setup isn’t for those who pass or shoot lightly. You need to get some muscle behind this stick for it to be effective. So, anyone who can bring the high heat and dish quickly will standout with this setup.

 

By Kyle Prussing, Manager, ComLax Franklin, MA
 
For many of us folks here on the east coast, February vacation week has come to an end. As Spring nears, many of us players and coaches will soon be taking the field. For goalies, this is the time to be taking inventory of your equipment and one of the most important items to consider is your STICK. Come April, the excuse of  "coach, my stick is not throwing properly" or "my stick is too short/long" doesnt go over so well. Trust me, I'm a coach. Listed below are a few tips and suggestions I strongly reccommend you consider.
 
- A complete lacrosse goalie stick (including head and shaft) is approx 60" in length. The shaft/handle is generally 42" in length. Goalie Heads are approx 17-18" in length. In my opinion, the length of stick can be slighly reduced without jeopardizing performance.
 
- For boys playing lacrosse at the college or high school level, a length beetween 49"-53" is ideal. This still allows one to have control of stick while clearing on outlets or playing defense and knocking down or intercepting passes.
 
- For Girls in college or high school, the stick can be no LESS than 35 1/2 " in length and no longer than 48". The ideal length for this age group is 39"-46".
 
- For Youth levels of play (boys and girls), 37"-44" is ideal.
 
- Many of todays lacrosse shafts are made from some type of high grade Aluminum or Titanium. Please use caution when cutting and always remember that you can cut off more if needed- any table saw or hacksaw will suffice.
 
- In todays market, you are given many different options when selecting a stick. Listed below are my top picks for 2012.
 
TOP HEADS: STX ECLIPSE, WARRIOR NEMESIS LYTE, WARRIOR NEMESIS
 
TOP SHAFTS: WARRIOR KRYPTO PRO DIAMOND, STX SCANDIUM PRO, WARRIOR KRYPTOLYTE
 
BEST COMPLETE STICK: BRINE MONEY COMPLETE
 
Have questions? No problem! Contact your local ComLax location with any questions. Until next time. BREAK!

By Chris Tomaselli, Commonwealth Lacrosse, Franklin, MA

What’s up everyone? This is Chris Tomaselli, checking in here at the Commonwealth Lacrosse blog. I will be kicking things up a notch with a Game Time Review and this week, I will be featuring one of the best defensive stick set-ups out there - an STX X10 Head strung up with Jimalax white hard mesh, white sidewall, and white shooting strings on a black Maverik Wonderboy defense shaft.










Why is this one of the best defensive stick combinations available? The STX X10 is the head every defenseman from middle school to the pros is using. A defensive stick should be stiff to throw hard checks, hurt your opposition’s performance, and should not warp or flex when poke-checking or scooping. The X10’s rigid trestle sidewall design gives you the necessary strength and stiffness that a defensive stick should have. The X10 also has many sidewall options, which offer a number of diverse stringing patterns to any stick doctor. Compliant under NCAA and NFHS rules, the X10 has a wide throat which is ideal for a defensive head.

To start this bad boy off, I laced up the X10 with the California Dream Top String (a.k.a. the Triangle Top String). Despite its difficulty, the California Dream is gaining popularity because it is able to pull the mesh tighter to the scoop which significantly minimizes the lip. Plus, I think that the California Dream gives your head a sophisticated style unlike any other regular top string.

Next, I made sure that my sidewall knots were larger than usual because the top sidewall holes are larger on the X10 than on most other heads. From there, my stringing pattern went as follows: Skip a hole, in a hole, skip a hole, in a hole, double up on the mesh, and then string until the 2nd last hole where I tied it off.

After putting in my bottom string, I picked my shooting string pattern. I put in a U for ball control and then two straighties for a smooth release. Personally I like to feel the ball come out of the stick a little bit so I threw on a nylon too. I ended up with a smooth channel, perfect for handling ground balls and a sweet mid pocket which gives the head the ability for superb fakes and a quick release during clears.



On the other half of the set up, I have the Maverik Wonderboy defense shaft. The Wonderboy is probably one of the best overall shafts on the market. The name says it all -- Wonderboy. The urban definition of this term is a low profile super hero. Keeping a low profile in lacrosse is what it’s all about. Not too flashy, but not unnoticed. The design is in fact a Wonderboy. It showcases the name in big bold letters that grab your attention, but not in a negative way. Like the name, the graphics are not too flashy, but not unnoticed.

The Wonderboy features an interesting grip pattern on the shaft. On defense, it is important to be able to slide your hands on the shaft to throw poke checks, but also to have the control to hold onto it when throwing other checks and handling the ball. The shaft’s raised grip is positioned on the sides of the shaft so you can hold onto the shaft when cradling. The smooth part is located on the top and bottom of the shaft’s exterior making it easier for your hands to slide up and down during poke checks. To top off the Wonderboy’s low profile is its alloy composition.  It is a blend of titanium and aluminum metals that give the Wonderboy a combination of strength, lightness, and durability.

Individually, the STX X10 head and the Maverik Wonderboy shaft are great pieces of lacrosse equipment. When combined, the X10 and Wonderboy are bad news to any lacrosse player who opposes their reign. Stop into your local ComLax store, or shop our righteous website and add these weapons to your game today.
 

Well, we've opened our doors in Needham, Masschusetts. This is our 12th Commonwealth Lacrosse store, so hey, we're getting pretty good at opening these! The Needham store is located at 1299 Highland Avenue, right across from the Bertucci's, about a half mile away from our Pure Hockey store. At the very least, our employees at the store will have a very good lunch option! Anyway, we also thought it would make some sense to introduce Mike Cignarale, the store manager at the Needham store. Here's an example of a pretty qualified guy - Mike played in four straight national championships and has played at Gillette Stadium and at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore as well. We did a quick interview with him to get you better familiarized. Now you can go to the store and pretend you know him and freak him out!

1. How did you first get into the game of lacrosse?
I first started playing lacrosse in the spring of 8th Grade - a late start compared to most who grew up in Central New York! My Tech teacher, who was also the Varsity Lacrosse coach, suggested I try out for lacrosse in the spring. Most of my hockey buddies played lacrosse, so I gave it a try and after that first year, I was hooked.

 2. What’s the biggest difference for you regarding lacrosse gear/equipment from when you were a kid vs. the gear available today?
When I started playing lacrosse in 2001, the equipment was beginning to change pretty rapidly. Brine was what our high school carried, but it was very basic gear  - more similar to starter package gear that you see now. Lacrosse gear today is certainly of better quality, more protective and lighter. Sticks have also come along way since the Brine Shotgun head and the A6 shaft, but it still got the job done. Back then, we didnt care what equipment we used. We just loved to play the game.

3. What are you using for gear these days? Anything you’re dying to try out?
Currently I wear all Brine equipment - Brine Silo Gloves, Brine Lo-Pro-D Arm Pads and a Brine Swizz Beat D Pole with a Brine Clutch X6 head. I really like the Nike Hurrache molded cleat and for a helmet I have the Brine Triumph w/ a Titanium Cage.

I am dying to try out the Warrior Dolo-Diamond D-pole with the STX Professor Head. For new gloves and protective I was really impressed with the Maverick Rome Series - the gear is comfortable and looks really protective.
 
4. Describe the experiences of playing at Gilette Stadium and winning it all.
At Lemoyne during my 4 years, we attended all four Division II National Championships. The championship weekend is a lot of fun. Seeing Baltimore's M & T Bank Stadium and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough was an amazing experience. The crowd, the size of the stadium, the whole event is something special.  Nothing really compares to winning it all in 2007 - its a tough feeling to describe. After the long season and all the travel it almost doesn't sink in right away, but its a great feeling to know that you accomplished the ultimate goal.
 
5. What was the last thing you laughed really hard at?
The last thing I laughed really hard at was the Spike series Blue Mountain State - hilarious


Here's some pictures of the store for you:

Good news! It's time to announce a new Commonwealth Lacrosse store location. Drum roll, please.........

We're super-excited to announce a brand spanking new lacrosse store in.......Needham, Massachusetts. We'll open up for business in early December at 1299 Highland Ave in Needham - this is right next to SuperCuts and in the old Soccer Spot location. That's right, you can now get a haircut and a sweet new lacrosse head within 30 minutes of your time. One stop shopping, as they say. Anyway, here's the press release:


FRANKLIN, MA  -- Commonwealth Lacrosse, one of the largest U.S. lacrosse equipment and apparel retailers for men, woman and children, today announced it has signed a lease and plans to open a new 1,700 square foot lacrosse retail store in Needham, Massachusetts. The store will represent the 12th Comlax retail store in the Comlax chain. The opening is scheduled for early December 2011 and standard promotional activities are planned.

David Nectow, President of Commonwealth Lacrosse’s parent company, TSG Enterprises, LLC., commented, "We are excited to be establishing a presence in Needham and we are confident that this store will be a great addition to our expanding retail portfolio.”

Commonwealth Lacrosse sells all major lacrosse equipment brands such as STX, Brine, Warrior, Maverik and many more and also designs and markets fashion-forward and custom made apparel for its online and retail shoppers. Comlax has quickly established itself as a major player in the lacrosse e-commerce business as well, having re-launched a brand new website in May of 2011.

The Company has seven other retail locations in Massachusetts, including Berlin, Braintree, Danvers, Framingham, Franklin, Kingston and Medford , along with additional stores in Nashua, NH, Dover, NH, Norwalk, CT and Fairfield, NJ.

SOURCE: TSG Enterprises, LLC., 11/18/2011
CONTACT: Jeff Copetas of TSG Enterprises, LLC., +1-508-541-6100 x10
Web site: http://www.comlax.com/

Pretty soon here at ComLax, we will be offering the STX Alliance Shaft. What makes this shaft worthy of a blog post, you ask? Well, the first and most notable thing to mention is that STX is introducing the idea of flex into lacrosse shafts this year. Love those STX folks, always thinking ahead, aren't they? Anywa,y, the idea of flex for your shaft basically means that you can now purchase a lacrosse shaft based on your style of play and your position. Much like ice hockey, you can now optimize your on-field performance with the three following flex options on the Alliance:

85 Flex: This will be the most "whippy" of the three - in other words, you'll find a lot of flex in this shaft. If you play a finesse game and pride yourself on speed, this shaft will give you a little more power and accuracy.

135 Flex:  This will offer you what we'll call "mid-flex" - if your game requires a combination of brute power and finesse, or if you play multiple positions, this Alliance shaft is probably going to suit you best. This one is neither too stiff, nor too whippy.wa

160 Flex:  The 160 flex Alliance caters to the player who needs a very stiff shaft and tends to play with brute power.  The stiff 160 will still have some flex in it, but is really constructed for the ultimate in shooting power and is a rugged, more tough shaft. Made for the "heavy" guys (and we don't mean weight, though players on the heavier side will benefit from the 160)

The Alliance shafts will be available at ComLax in the next few weeks! Stay tuned!

By Kyle Prussing, Manager, Comlax Franklin, MA

It's fall, so what better time to try some new heads and have a little fun? For many players at all levels, the autumn provides an ideal time to get out and test out your weapon of choice for the upcoming season. With new product arriving to our stores daily, I had the distinct pleasure of trying the new Warrior M80 X lacrosse head. After only a few sessions of torching my opponents for a few G's, I noticed some great new features that seperate this head from past others.

The M80 X has a been given a significant face-lift, starting with the sidewall. The new double-X sidewall provides superior stiffness and durability. In addition many multiple string holes along the rail provide a stringers delight. The reinforced scoop design gives you a durable scoop that can scoop up ground balls with ease. The overall stiffness and light weight of the head make this a player favorite for any field player. Currently, the M80 will only be available in (X) universal specs. Please visit us at any of our retail store loactions or click the link above to get yourself one now.  Until next time.......Bar Down

This is pretty sweet! Maryland pulls off a Hidden Ball Trick on #8 North Carolina. The reaction (or non-reaction) of the North Carolina goalie cracks me up! See here:

Today we're checking in with Bryan Feener, who manages our ComLax store in Medford, Massachusetts. Bryan has been with us for about two years now and played both lacrosse and ice hockey at Malden Catholic. Let's let him give us the lowdown on what you might find in his lacrosse bag these days:

Stick(s): STX SCI-TI Pro (black), STX CO2 offset shaft, Warrior Razer Head
Shoulder Pad: STX Cell Liner
Arm Gaurds: Nike Vapor arm gaurds (white)
Helmet - Custom Cascade Pro 7 helmet (Malden Catholic colors)
Gloves - Warrior Mac Daddy Navy Blue
Cleats - Under Armour

Go see more about Bryan and our Medford store at our Medford ComLax profile page.

It's time for another installment of "What's In My Bag." Today we take it out to Berlin, MA, where Terry Soloski runs the show over at our ComLax store in Berlin. And away we go......
 
Stick: Pink-dyed Evo Pro strung up with all white soft mesh (I like the hold and whip you get with it)
Shaft:  cut down Brine Scandium goalie shaft.
Helmet: Cascade Pro7 with chrome mask
Gloves: STX K18 custom colors (older model)
Cleats: Nike Huaraches (original model)
Arm Pads: K18 arm pads (White)
 
Along with the random stuff of UnderArmour cold gear, pinnies, mouth guard and empty gatorade bottles.

After watching a couple college lacrosse games from this past weekend (Syracuse vs Denver & Duke vs Notre Dame), the "gear junkie" in me started paying more attention to what players were rocking for equipment rather than the game itself.

A few interesting observations were...

• Duke was wearing an airbrushed metallic royal TII helmet - almost EVERYONE on Duke & Denver was using a Brine Clutch X or Brine Clutch  X6 - one of Duke's & Notre Dame's F-OFF men were using a Warrior Emperor x6, interesting!
• The Nike Vapor Elite SU gloves looked sick!
• Syracuse likes to rock the chrome wands!
• STX Surgeon10 was in full force on a good portion of 'cuse's players - Notre Dame's all gold cascade lids were sweet! (we have a sample of this helmet at our Braintree store)
• Cuse & Notre Dame look strong!

--Marty Bulhoes, ComLax Store Manager, Braintree, MA

Listed below are some current/former ComLax employees and what they are doing now in college lacrosse.

During the past 3 years, I have had the distinct pleasure of working alongside some great people and great lacrosse players. Many of these folks provided great insight and knowledge about the game and touched the lives of many customers. This spring many of these gentlemen will take the field for each of their respective institutions.

Danno Lynch (Medfield, MA/Avon Old Farms). Danno is now a mid-fielder at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. After a strong 2010 campaign (33-8-41), Lynch returns to Gettysburg as one of the top mid-fielders in Division 3. Lynch says “Baltimore or bust!”

Quinn Cully (Duxbury, MA). Quinn is now a mid-fielder at Notre Dame and a great athletic player who saw action in ten games last year for the Irish, who were the national runners up in NCAA Division 1. Quinn looks to improve on a great freshman campaign, so look for him to have a break-out sophmore year.

John Fitzgerald (Hingham, MA). John now plays attack at Syracuse University. A prolific scorer in high school, Fitzy led the Harbormen to the Massachusetts Division 2 championship. Prior to Hingham, John played at the Rivers School in Weston, MA. During the summer months, he ran with the Fighting Clams select team. This fall John took his talents to powerhouse Syracuse, where he looks to add some depth at attack to a very highly touted freshman class.

Ryan Holbrook (Braintree, MA). Ryan played for Braintree High School and is now a defenseman at  UMass Dartmouth. “Breezy” started in all games at close defense for the Coursairs and after some significant time as a freshman, Coach Feroce at UMass looks to Holbrook to anchor the defense on this year’s squad.

I know I have omitted some folks (sorry guys) but promise to re-visit as more time permits!

--Kyle Prussing, Manager of ComLax, Franklin, MA

 Enhancing Your Knowledge Of The Game 

• Tufts Univeristy, Medford, Massachusetts (Division 3): 2010 national champions, NESCAC Conference, games to watch include Middlebury, Connecticut College and Bowdoin
• Harvard University,  Cambridge, Massachusetts (Division 1): Ivy League Conference, games to watch include Princeton, Cornell, Brown
• Bentley College, Waltham, Massachusetts (Division 2):  Northeast-10 Conference, games to watch include Merrimack, Le Moyne, Adelphi
• University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts (Division 1): Colonial Conference,  games to watch include Hofstra, Army, Syracuse, Deleware
• Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (Club): games to watch include Northeastern
• Bryant University,  Smithfield, Rhode Island (Division 1): Northeast-10 Conference, games to watch include Army, Dartmouth, Providence

When it comes to select lacrosse teams, I wonder: do they benefit the player or the program?

Our ongoing series details the gear our own Comlax store managers are using. Checking in this time is Kyle Minaker, who manages our sweet ComLax store up in Dover, New Hampshire. The growth of lacrosse in New Hampshire and all of New England has been very very impressive the last few years and Kyle is in the heart of our New Hampshire presence. Let's go digging through his own gear bag:

The go to stick at the moment is a STX Surgeon (white) with 6 Diamond Rubber mesh all-white strings on an STX SCI-TI Pro. I'm digging the stiffness and lightness of the new Surgeon - it reminds me of a new age Clutch, and the rubber mesh adds a new realm for my whip. The back-up wand is a yellow Brine Clutch with white 6 diamond mesh, grey strings, on a Warrior Dolomite TTM. I'm rocking an all Black Cascade CPX-R with chrome mask full tilt, with a black chin and orange straps. Next is the STX G-22 shoulder pads, STX K-18 Arm Guards white and silver, and my white with black original Kings for gloves. For footwear I have a pair of Nike Speedlax 2 white and black. for cleats, and original Michael Vicks for Turfs. Normal accessories include granola bars, bananas, water, powerade, black mid-calfs, baggy shorts, dangle and sty.

Marty Bulhoes is the store manager of one of our more heavily trafficked lacrosse stores, the Comlax in Braintree, Massachusetts. We check in with him today about what he's using these days for lax equipment, in a series we will appropriately call "What's In My Bag?" We know, creative!

What's in Marty Bulhoes' bag, you ask? Wonder no more!

Stick:  Warrior Evo Pro 2.0 (all white, no "flash" here!) w/ old school Brine Titanium D-Pole (cut down)

Helmet: Cascade Pro7 Chrome

Gloves: Warrior Sugar Daddy

Pads: STX Cell Arm Guards

Cleats: Warrior Burn 4.0's

Stay tuned for more....

OK, so we're pretty serious about the sport of lacrosse. And yeah, we're pretty serious about selling lacrosse gear and apparel. But that's more or less where the seriousness stops. I mean, after all, we sell sports gear. We have a dog running around the office and some loud people. We're not exactly contributing to world peace or solving the world's hunger problems - as much as we'd like to.

When we launched the new website a few weeks back, it opened the floodgates for a bunch of new stuff that we can do digitally. One thing you'll see a lot of from us this year is video. We'll do a bunch. Tutorials, product guidance, product descriptions, blah blah blah. Anything we can dream up that'll help you find the product you need and get the information you need about it, we'll do it. You can already see the fruits of some of our labor just by clicking around our website or visiting our YouTube channel, called Comlaxify.  

With all the videos we shoot, there are bound to be gaffes. Goofs. Golly-gee's. And we are not above showing them to you, because they are funny. So here is the first installment of the Comlax gag reel, brought to you by the Comlax Marketing Department and our Braintree, MA store manager, Marty Bulhoes. Good times were had by all!

Kyle Prussing, who manages our Comlax store in Franklin, MA, checks in with some recommendations for goalie heads:

STX ECLIPSE -- The STX Eclipse is the first open sidewall goalie stick with one of largest stopping areas of any goalie head. The Eclipse is a goalie stick with the passing accuracy of an attack stick. The Eclipse has a streamlined scoop and a perfect blend of stiffness and flexibility. The Eclipse has been a player favorite for 9+yrs.

STX GOAL MASTER -- Just ask your dad or coach. The most popular goalie stick in lacrosse for the last 20 years. The Goalmaster is excellent for beginner goalies through collegiate level play. Stiffness of head allows greater ease in clamping and scooping. A must have in any goalies twig collection. 

WARRIOR NEMESIS -- This head is for all you playerz out there who like to play aggressive between the pipes. Flared sidewall offers optimum stopping area and ball control. Slightly heavier mold provides greater stiffness and durability. Nemesis is still used by many elite goalies throughout the world.

WARRIOR VOID LYTE -- One of the lightest goalie heads in the game helps for faster reaction times and more eye-opening saves. The lightest goalie head on the market to date at 9.3 oz. Offset design provides outstanding ball control and passing accuracy. A player favorite for years to come.

WARRIOR VOID -- Created by some of the top goalies in the MLL. The Voids offset patent design offers better ball control and passing accuracy then many in its class. If you are looking to fill a VOID in your game this heads for you.

BRINE ERASER -- Offset design provides maximum pocket depth and ball control. Still a favorite of many of the games top keepers. Multiple stringing holes allows perfect set-up for custom designed pockets. 10.8 oz creates a perfect balance for players of all ages.

BRINE MONEY -- A MONEY stick for any player who is brave enough to stand between the pipes. Weighing in at 11.4 oz this head creates a perfect balance for players of all ages. With this stick you don't have to have $$$$ to be money.

It feels like it's been YEARS of work (and maybe it has), but we'd like to be the first one to welcome you to our new website! This is a big deal for us. As you can see, it's a complete, 100% overhaul of our old site. The very creative people who work for ComLax have NO shortage of ideas about things we should include on a website, but if we entertained all of those ideas, it would probably be another 2 years before we'd launch it! So we smashed everything we thought was best suited for YOU into this website - a place to purchase, learn, see videos, get equipment guidance from human beings - and of course see all the latest and greatest gear.

A note, though - there are many, many changes from our old site. For more information on how to actually use all the new features, including an incredibly helpful new search and navigation tool (among many other new features), click right here. We've put together a crash course for you - with pretty pictures - to get you comfortable with the new digs as quickly as possible. 

As far as what else is new, we think that there's a lot to like here, if we may say so ourselves. There is now video for a lot of our products to help you get familiarized with what you're thinking about buying. The more information the better! Some videos are provided by the vendors (STX, Brine, etc) and some will be shot here at ComLax. Stay tuned in 2011 as we really increase our video presence.

Our product descriptions aren't just cut-and-pasted from vendor books, as some other lax sites are prone to do. You're more important than that. So we undertook quite a project during the building of this new site - we enlisted some lacrosse experts to re-write almost ALL of the product descriptions. That's right - they're all written by people who work here and KNOW THE GAME. We're proud to say that our descriptions actually have a personality! Much of it was written by our store managers - this is a group of guys who are as crazy about lacrosse as you could possibly imagine. You will get to know them more in 2011. Trust us.

Other stuff: 

• Our store location pages have been greatly enhanced. You can now get easy access to store hours, maps, directions, manager bios and photos & video tours for each store. 
• We've made huge strides consolidating categories. It's a much more simple site to navigate and find stuff, as all the important lax stuff you need is along the top of the site on those sweet hanging scorecards (which seem to be most people's favorite part of the site). 
• In addition to better search and navigation, the traditional search box has also undergone a tremendous upgrade. Try it out!
• We also love the mouseover on the shopping cart icon so you can see what's in your cart without actually having to GO to the cart.
• Meet Bro Jackson! That little cartoon guy running around our site was designed in-house to keep things light and fun. He's the guy who's "saying" all those product descriptions. You can also buy apparel with the Bro Jackson theme as well.

In short, the recurring theme we had in mind as we designed and built this beast was one word - SIMPLICITY. We wanted to create as simple, seamless and easy a process for you as humanely possible - and while we feel like we've achieved that with what you see here, we're not done. A few features are still to come and we'll keep those close to the vest for now! But stay tuned, because it's gonna be a fun ride.

With change, there's always pain points. The one bummer about our complete online overhaul is that you'll need to establish a new account with us. Your old information (login, email, card info) was not something we were able to bring with us to the new site. It only takes a minute to sign up, though, so go ahead and do that here, won't you?

As always, feel free to share any feedback about the site. As always, YOU are the reason we are here, so we thank you for all of your past and future business.

“Product Restrictions Apply.”

You see that statement in many, many, many advertisements for retail sales of all kinds. Judging by your Facebook posts and emails to us, you’ve certainly seen that statement it in our ads as well. It’s not because we’re trying to confuse you or make your life difficult. We promise. It’s hard enough to get through all the noise out there and convince you that buying something from us is your best bet.

So why is that pesky little statement in all of our ads, you ask? Because we have to have it there. We live under the rules and regulations of our vendors (Brine, Reebok, STX, Warrior, et al) when it comes to advertising sales & deals. There is something called “MAP” that all of the lacrosse retailers abide by. MAP stands for “minimum advertised pricing” and there are certain products – mostly all the newer stuff – that we are not allowed to sell under a certain price. If any retailer does sell for UNDER a MAP price, that retailer runs the risk of not being able to sell that equipment anymore. So it’s not a much of a choice – if Brine, Reebok, STX or Warrior stop making their product available in ComLax stores, you ain’t coming!

So we abide by it and we accept it without hesitation. We understand it. We follow it.

Now, on the web, it’s even more stringent. We cannot advertise under MAP on the web either, but we have further restrictions. We can’t even advertise free giveaways on the web. For example, if we advertise that you get a free sticker or t-shirt with every order, that is against MAP policy. We can actually do that and we have, on some occasions, given away free shirts with web orders, but we just cannot advertise it. If we advertise a 20% off sale on the web (like we will be having August 12-19th), we have to let you, the shopper, know that a certain item cannot be discounted right there on the web product page or in the shopping cart. ComLax chooses to do it right on the product page so you don’t put it into your cart – we think that’s a better customer experience online than what some other retailers do – which is letting you know there’s no discount only after you put the MAP item into your cart. So this is how we do it:

An example of a MAP product online

MAP Product

We figure this method saves you the time of having to remove something from your cart if you don’t want it.

The complexity with web retailing when using MAP products is an interesting animal. For example, a retailer might think they can skirt MAP by just discounting an item automatically when it goes into the cart. A retailer cannot do that. Why? Because even when a customer is looking at their cart, ready to check out and there’s a discount applied in the cart that violates MAP pricing, it’s still considered advertising a price. See? Complicated.

Let it be said here, however – we will always try to get you the best deal we possibly can and we hope that you’ll shop with us during our week long web sale from August 12-19, because you will get some great deals. We don’t think you’ll be disappointed one bit — and saying that is not a MAP violation!

The CPX-R is the newest helmet in the Cascade family. The design is a mix between the original CPX and the popular Pro 7 model. This new helmet will replace the original CPX and it's a lighter, balanced helmet with the technology of the successful Pro 7. Below is a detailed description of the helmet before it hits the market in early September.The front of the helmet looks very similar to the original CPX with the visor being separate from the Shell (the Pro 7's are molded to the shell).

Unlike the Pro 7, where you only had two options for the cage of the helmet (black or chrome), you will be able to select a titanium cage for a modest up-charge. By bringing back this option, you can now make this helmet even lighter than it already is.As you look at the shell, one feature is the ridge on the back. The idea behind this feature is to help balance the overall weight of the helmet. This helps create a better weight distribution throughout the entire helmet instead of making it front heavy  -which was an issue in the Pro 7 with certain customers we heard from. Also, you will notice the lines throughout the shell. This design was actually inspired by auto design and gives the helmet a new sleek look.

The interior of the helmet uses the same technology as the Pro 7 with the SevenTech liner system. How this liner system works is that it displaces energy from a direct impact to the helmet -  a must have in a concussion prone sport. Also featured in the CPX-R is the popular SPRfit hardtail, used in the CLH2 and CS models. This allows the helmet to be adjusted from XS all the way up to XL, meaning no more worrying about holding onto size pads.

The CPX-R is available now on our website, just click here and you’ll find everything you need, including some pretty deep customization options.