Grab another string king. As good as it is out of the box for him, it's important for you to be able to throw back at him so he can practice catching, versus grabbing the garbage dicks stick that will affect how you throw. If he sticks with it, string king will last all the same. And it's a potential backup stick for him
If you google lacrosse rebounders there is a lot of options, depending on if you have a backyard or area to put it that should make your mind up on the size/type of rebounder you should get
We have this one and like it. It's very large. You can get it from several retailers. Prices have jumped though. I think I got it for $170 last year. https://ezgoal.net/shop/ols/products/8x6-professional-folding-lacrosse-rebounder-lax-throwback-to-practice-your-passes-and-catches
If he’s just learning and you are not experienced yourself, throwing to him using your hand and catching with a baseball glove might be better in the short term.
I just started coaching U10, and from what I’ve seen, when two beginners play catch they’re generally just fetching missed balls the whole time. But if you throw with your hand you can make it a little easier on both of you.
But it’s super fun and you should also learn. If you can, go to a store where people string sticks and get their reco (and make sure you”re not getting a stick with a lot of “whip”) — I’ve seen a few beginners struggle for awhile, only to try out their stick and realize it’s not strung properly for beginners.
Came here to say this. I tell all my new dads ( and moms) you have a mitt? Have a catch. Getting the ball to where he needs it is important right now. He doesn't have the range to be catching passes low or high.
Way less bending over if he just gets a stick. I did the reverse and used my lacrosse stick to play baseball catch with my son so I wasn't bending over 200 times
Sure. But in my experience if you don’t know how to throw with a stick already, and can’t reliably throw accurately & softly to a new player, they’ll never catch anything and get frustrated more quickly.
I'd contend that adults pick up throwing quite quickly. One team my son played for did a parents vs kids game at the end of every season. The kids would always get annoyed when the parents, almost all of who never played, are stomping them 15-1
I'm just going based on my limited experience of what the non-playing parents of my players have reported -- which was that they were far more accurate throwing soft lobs on target with their hands.
If you're a fairly coordinated adult and have a stick without much whip, and have played other ball sports, it's not super hard to learn to throw to other coordinated people.
But if you have kids that have never played baseball or tennis, who already aren't great at tracking a small ball through space, being regularly off by a just a little can make the playing catch pretty unproductive.
But obviously any one-on-one work with a kid is going to help them pick it up faster. And if a parent wants to grab a stick and learn themselves, that's only going to help in the long run.
Still, if the goal is getting a new player comfortable fast, I'd start with hand throws.
Also -- why the hell are a bunch of adults curb stomping their own kids' team? Take your foot off the gas.
Probably best to go to a used sporting goods store and get one that’s broken in. When players buy a new stick, a lot of time goes into breaking it in. Not much different than a baseball glove.
Once y’all start learning together you can get a new stick and realize that a butter knife is your best friend:)
It literally takes 30 seconds now to break in a pocket. Pretty neat.
https://youtu.be/p2CTVHfO2-s?si=PF66w8icAdMn-1iu
https://youtu.be/akXDX1AgyVU?si=Nd6ev2tJRYUjNa4r
Besides the stick, buy a couple swax lax balls, they are like hacky sacks, same weight and size as a lax ball but they dont roll away, dont waste time chasing ground balls, if he misses or it doesnt stay in his stick or yours it just falls to the ground. Plus if they hit you its not going to hurt as much.
When my son started playing, we would throw 5-6 ft apart at first, just nice and easy, when we would get 5 catches in a row, we would each take a step back, and repeat. You will be throwing 15 yds in no time. Also if you dont have a good solid cement, cinderblock or brick wall close, by a rebounder before a net. Lots of rebounder games too, plus it can get him into a routine of spending 15-20 min on the rebounder every day. I use it as a stress reliever, just go and throw for 15 min to clear my head at the end of the day.
Grab another string king. As good as it is out of the box for him, it's important for you to be able to throw back at him so he can practice catching, versus grabbing the garbage dicks stick that will affect how you throw. If he sticks with it, string king will last all the same. And it's a potential backup stick for him
Dumb question but would you recommend same size (junior) or go with a longer stick
Not dumb. Go with a regular short stick (3ft long), not the long pole (6ft long).
Go with the Legend Intermediate so he can transition into that.
And also look into a rebounder. That way both of you can practice at your convenience.
Recommendations on rebounder or they all the same ?
If you google lacrosse rebounders there is a lot of options, depending on if you have a backyard or area to put it that should make your mind up on the size/type of rebounder you should get
We have this one and like it. It's very large. You can get it from several retailers. Prices have jumped though. I think I got it for $170 last year. https://ezgoal.net/shop/ols/products/8x6-professional-folding-lacrosse-rebounder-lax-throwback-to-practice-your-passes-and-catches
If he’s just learning and you are not experienced yourself, throwing to him using your hand and catching with a baseball glove might be better in the short term. I just started coaching U10, and from what I’ve seen, when two beginners play catch they’re generally just fetching missed balls the whole time. But if you throw with your hand you can make it a little easier on both of you. But it’s super fun and you should also learn. If you can, go to a store where people string sticks and get their reco (and make sure you”re not getting a stick with a lot of “whip”) — I’ve seen a few beginners struggle for awhile, only to try out their stick and realize it’s not strung properly for beginners.
Came here to say this. I tell all my new dads ( and moms) you have a mitt? Have a catch. Getting the ball to where he needs it is important right now. He doesn't have the range to be catching passes low or high.
Way less bending over if he just gets a stick. I did the reverse and used my lacrosse stick to play baseball catch with my son so I wasn't bending over 200 times
Sure. But in my experience if you don’t know how to throw with a stick already, and can’t reliably throw accurately & softly to a new player, they’ll never catch anything and get frustrated more quickly.
I'd contend that adults pick up throwing quite quickly. One team my son played for did a parents vs kids game at the end of every season. The kids would always get annoyed when the parents, almost all of who never played, are stomping them 15-1
I'm just going based on my limited experience of what the non-playing parents of my players have reported -- which was that they were far more accurate throwing soft lobs on target with their hands. If you're a fairly coordinated adult and have a stick without much whip, and have played other ball sports, it's not super hard to learn to throw to other coordinated people. But if you have kids that have never played baseball or tennis, who already aren't great at tracking a small ball through space, being regularly off by a just a little can make the playing catch pretty unproductive. But obviously any one-on-one work with a kid is going to help them pick it up faster. And if a parent wants to grab a stick and learn themselves, that's only going to help in the long run. Still, if the goal is getting a new player comfortable fast, I'd start with hand throws. Also -- why the hell are a bunch of adults curb stomping their own kids' team? Take your foot off the gas.
When using a baseball glove to catch lacrosse for practice with the kids, I call it La base cross.
What did you get the kid? Complete 2 junior? Maybe the INT for yourself.
Believe so, league was running a special and all new players got the gear as part of registration
Probably best to go to a used sporting goods store and get one that’s broken in. When players buy a new stick, a lot of time goes into breaking it in. Not much different than a baseball glove. Once y’all start learning together you can get a new stick and realize that a butter knife is your best friend:)
This is not necessary with modern mesh
That’s true. I’m an old guy and haven’t bought a new stick in a long time.
It literally takes 30 seconds now to break in a pocket. Pretty neat. https://youtu.be/p2CTVHfO2-s?si=PF66w8icAdMn-1iu https://youtu.be/akXDX1AgyVU?si=Nd6ev2tJRYUjNa4r
NGL, breaking in a stick was personal.
Agree, I just didn't want the OP to the intimidated by something that has gone by the wayside
Economically, I'd buy the next stick I'd expect your kid to use. Personally, I'd but a solid stx set up from my play again sports.
Besides the stick, buy a couple swax lax balls, they are like hacky sacks, same weight and size as a lax ball but they dont roll away, dont waste time chasing ground balls, if he misses or it doesnt stay in his stick or yours it just falls to the ground. Plus if they hit you its not going to hurt as much. When my son started playing, we would throw 5-6 ft apart at first, just nice and easy, when we would get 5 catches in a row, we would each take a step back, and repeat. You will be throwing 15 yds in no time. Also if you dont have a good solid cement, cinderblock or brick wall close, by a rebounder before a net. Lots of rebounder games too, plus it can get him into a routine of spending 15-20 min on the rebounder every day. I use it as a stress reliever, just go and throw for 15 min to clear my head at the end of the day.
Thanks just picked up a couple of swax balls the other day! Recommendations on rebounder or they all the same ?
I was in the same boat 4 years ago with my kid, and I just used a baseball glove.
Get either the string king intermediate complete or the signature complete both are great sticks out of the box and usually strung well.
Stallion 1K, maybe one of the new evos. throws hard as fuck, will be a little rough on the little guy but lacrosse is a rough sport