Like Crystal Pepsi, the Segway scooter, and the Sega Dreamcast, the lacrosse world has come up with some bad ideas too. Here are some of my favorites:

1. Brine Edge Ice-In the late 1990s, Brine came out with a revolutionary idea that changed the sport of lacrosse: The offset head. The Edge was the first offset head and probably all lacrosse players at the time had one. Seeking to gain of its popularity, Brine made different versions of the Edge over the years, added more features, took away others. One of the concepts they tried was a clear, plastic head. While I thought it was actually a pretty interesting idea, it was a big flop in the lacrosse world. It was a gimmick that didn’t fly with lacrosse players. Part of the problem was that it came out during a time period when everyone was obsessed with trying to have a white head and white pocket to hide the ball. Gone were the days of the dyed head and colored mesh. So having a head that you could easily see the ball was a bad idea. People don’t seem to be as obsessed with having a pure white stick anymore and use stick dye and colored mesh more often now, so I wonder if a clear stick will make its way back into lacrosse catalogs in the near future.

2. STX Arrow-This gem came out a few years ago with the concept of bending the rules of the NCAA stick specifications. Instead of having the widest part of the stick at the top, the STX Arrow moved it down to the middle. I never played with one of these so I don’t know if you could throw or catch with it like a regular stick, but having the widest part of the sick at the middle seems like it would create a lot of problems. Plus its pretty damn ugly too!

3. Warrior Scorpion-I looked all over the internet for a picture of this head, but couldn’t find one. If you don’t know anything about it, here is the deal with the Warrior Scorpion: It came out in the late 1990s when curved and offset heads were just becoming popular. Warrior thought it would be a great idea to make a stick that had a reverse offset. It had a greater angle of the stick facing outward on the shaft instead of having the stick have its angle below the shaft. I remember going to Bacharach when this stick came out and trying to pick up a ground ball with it. It was almost impossible. All it would do is push the ball forward, you couldn’t pick up the ball! I don’t think many people bought this head, although I worked at a camp where one of the coaches used this stick.

4. Warrior Big Nasty goalie stick-This head came out a few years ago, I think Warrior was going with the idea that all goalies would like a stick with extra plastic on the sides so they could get a few more saves. They didn’t take into consideration that its so bulky that goalies wouldn’t use it, and the fact that its ugly. One of those things you wouldn’t be caught dead with.

5. Defensive Stick Bags-Stick bags are very effeminate. Sure they are great for girls lacrosse, but if you’re a guy, you better not have one! There is no reason for a guy to have a bag just for their stick. You can put all your equipment using the helmet, shoulder pads, arm pads, gloves on the shaft method. What is even more ridiculous is stick bags for goalies or long poles. Nothing looks more bizarre than a six foot piece of cloth covering a lacrosse stick. If you do have a defensive stick bag, you better not let your opposing attackman see it, because he will have lost all respect for you and will bull dodge you the first chance he gets!

6. Gait Identity Helmet-I think the only reason these helmets aren’t in the bottom of some landfill somewhere is the fact that Gait made deals with UVA, Albany and a handful of other teams to wear them. I liked the earlier model of Gait helmets, but these versions are horrendous. I laugh whenever I see a kid wearing one. If you’re a new or experienced player looking for a new helmet, DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE…unless you want to be a dork!

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