Lacrosse stick

A lacrosse stick or crosse is used to play the sport of lacrosse. Players use the lacrosse stick to handle the ball and to strike or "check" opposing players, causing them to drop the ball. The head of a lacrosse stick is roughly triangular in shape and is strung with loose netting that allows the ball to be caught, carried (known as "cradling"), and thrown or shot.

A traditional lacrosse stick is made out of wood, usually crafted from hickory trees. The lacrosse stick is given its shape through steam bending. Holes are drilled in the top portion of the head and the sidewall (i.e., the sides of the stick head), permitting weaving of nylon string, which is then hardened by dipping the nylon in resin. Leather "runners" are strung from the top of the "head" to the "throat" of the stick. Then nylon string is woven in to create the pocket.

The wooden lacrosse stick dates back to the creation of the sport and is still fashioned by box lacrosse players around the world. Though modern lacrosse sticks made of plastic have become the most popular choice for contemporary lacrosse players, traditional wooden lacrosse sticks are still commonly used by box lacrosse goaltenders, senior and masters players, and by women's field lacrosse players. Wooden sticks are still legal under Canadian Lacrosse Association rules but are subject to the same size regulations as contemporary lacrosse sticks. The only exception to this is the Western Lacrosse Association, which prohibited the use of wooden sticks by non-goaltenders some years ago. The last WLA player to use one was A.J. Smith of the Coquitlam Adanacs, c. 2003–04, the last player who had been grandfathered to use one.

In 1970, the first patent (US Patent #3,507,495) for a synthetic lacrosse stick was issued to STX. A modern lacrosse stick consists of a plastic molded head attached to a metal shaft. The heads are strung with nylon or leather strings to form a pocket. The dimensions of the stick (length, width, sidewall height, and depth of the pocket) are governed by league rules, such as NCAA rules for collegiate players or FIL rules for international players. Recently, the NCAA updated the college men's rules regarding stick dimensions for the 2010 season in an effort to prevent players from having an unfair advantage due to excessive difficulty in dislodging the ball from technologically advanced, modern sticks. The new dimensions include a minimum 6 inches at the widest point of the head, and wider dimensions for the throat of the head.

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