Problems Clearing The Ball for this Lacrosse Goalie. Stick Help

I got a great question the other day from Al. If you're having problems with your clearing this article will help you.

Question: I am a moderately experienced goalie and my recent season has just ended. the entire season i played on jv and felt as if i was a liability because i have serious clearing issues. I can pass well for moderate distance passes but i just cant clear right. Whenever i try to wind up and launch one i cant it either goes straight up or falls out of my stick or i cant get enough distance. can you help me with my clearing mechanics. I have tried man different styles of clearing but i just cant get the distance i want( my clears only go 35-40 yds) and i think it is holding me back from being a goalie that is reliable enough for varsity play.



Answer: Al it sounds to me like you need a completely different string job in your stick. Or your hands are very inconsistent. Let me explain.

Your comment, "Whenever i try to wind up and launch one i cant it either goes straight up or falls out of my stick" That describes two polar extremes. One happens when you get the ball stuck on the shooting strings as you go to throw, the other happens when you bring the stick too far back in your windup and it rolls off the lip of the stick completely.

Also,"or i cant get enough distance" this usually happens because the mesh in your stick is too sloppy and the ball gets stuck on the lowest shooting string. As it gets hung up there the ball has nowhere to go and it will only come out late in your follow through which sends the ball low.

Let's address the inconsitency issue first. This can happen because of two things. First, you're hands are inconsistent. During the act of throwing your hands aren't picking up the feedback from where the ball sits in the stick as you come through with your throw. In this case you're just throwing but each time the ball is in a different place in the pocket so it comes out differently. The only way to fix this issue is with tons of practice. Tons of wall ball. If this is indeed your problem I would recommend wall ball drills with tennis balls. The lighter ball is harder to feel in the pocket and it should make your hands more sensitive to where the ball is in the pocket prior to throwing.

The other main issue you may be having is the stick itself. The whole stick may be too long for you, or not long enough. (Confused yet?) But more of an issue than that is the pocket itself. It may just not be strung correctly. Without seeing the stick that is tough to answer. You can email me some photos if you'd like. Here are a couple things that may help right away.

1) Make the pocket shallower. That will help with the whip problem.

2) Use the sidewall laces to bring the mesh tighter to the plastic. But just on the top half of the pocket. Where the shooting strings are I like to have the mesh pulled tight from sidewall to sidewall. Then you can loosen the sidewalls for the bottom half of the pocket but not too much.

3) Your top shooting string should be very tight. The next one a little looser and a third one looser still. The ball needs to transition from the mesh over the shooting strings rather easily. If it's getting hung up either the mesh is too loose, or the shooting strings are too loose, or both.

Also, the ball needs to move a little bit as you go to throw. What I mean by that is when you bring the ball back in your wind up it needs to be sitting in the center of the mesh and not resting up against the first shooting string. If it's resting there you are just going to throw it in the ground. The ball needs a little momentum to travel from the mesh and over that first shooting string.

The only remedy to all of these problems is strength. The stronger you are physically the easier it is to throw with a bad stick.

Al I'm proud of your for even asking this question. Most guys wouldn't critique their own game like this and call themselves a "liability." But kudos to you for identifying a weak spot in your game that will hold you back if you don't fix it.

If you want to email me some photos, or if you have video of yourself just email me. My email is on my blog.

Let me know how it goes and let me know if you want me to clarify any of this. I guess that once you read this you'll be able to figure out that certain things make sense and certain things just aren't happening. Stay in touch.

Jonathan -
www.lacrossegoalending.blogspot.com