The Lacrosse Ball is an extensive component in the game of Lacrosse. It is composed of strong rubber and is used collectively with the lacrosse stick. Men often use white lacrosse balls while women use yellow, even though orange and lime green are possible options.
On some occasions, when lacrosse players choose a ball from the practice bucket and throw it around, they say, “Ah, it’s a greaser,” and toss it away with a glance of disgust. Being a newbie to this sport, you might not know the concept of a “greaser.”
Lacrosse players use the word greaser to describe a smooth, glossy ball that has lost virtually all of its textural grip on its surface. Greasers throw substantially higher than conventional lacrosse balls. This is because the pocket cannot grasp the ball effectively. As a result, players tend to throw inaccurately.
Have you ever wondered how lacrosse balls become greasers?
Lacrosse balls are made from vulcanized rubber, with components to tender them. Over time, the oils and plasticizers start to flow toward the ball’s floor, developing an oily coating and hardening it, resulting in a greaser.
Continue reading to learn more!
How Do Lacrosse Balls Become Greasers?
Greasing becomes a problem in Lacrosse because the oil on the ball obstructs the shot’s accuracy. Typically, the loss of accuracy is a heightening threat to the player.
The ball can get up to 90mph; then, you’ve what was known as a sports ball emerging into a dangerous projectile. Now you understand why lacrosse players often have a terrible response after they accidentally pick up a greaser.
How To Fix A Greasy Lacrosse Ball
Dirt, dust, and ordinary wear and tear may make a lacrosse ball slick or “slippery” and cause it to lose its “grippy” surface, resulting in a greaser. This makes the ball less reliable and more prone to slide off a player’s stick, leading to unexpected results.
Solving this hassle isn’t hard and may be done in several approaches. You can clean discarded lacrosse balls and rejuvenate their gripping surfaces with a little elbow grease and a few household items rather than throwing them away.
If you love playing Lacrosse and are tired of getting a greaser, you want to identify which to avoid or purchase your balls in bulk. Also, you can hire any of the two options below to increase the durability of your ball(s).
- Take them through a showering technique to clean the oils off. While this method will assist with the loss of accuracy, it also prevents the ball from hardening. The ball hardens because those oil seepings are supposed to keep it soft and elastic.
- Shop for balls produced from other substances. That’s an exceptionally new aspect, which might be realized in the near future, as underground research is already being carried out.
How To Wash Lacrosse Balls
Degreasing the rubber in a greaser is simple and not time-consuming. The process can take less than 40 minutes. All you need for this procedure is warm water, dish soap, and a bucket or sink, and follow these steps.
Step 1: Add dish cleaning soap to your warm water, and allow the lacrosse balls to soak for about 30 minutes. Rinse them with clean water, ensuring that you get all the soap off. You may do that manually in a bucket or the sink.
Step 2: Once this washing system is complete, dry them off very well and wipe them using 70 percent isopropyl alcohol or disinfectant wipes, ensuring to do away with all the grease and dirt.
Step 3: If you discover that the balls are still slick, you could rub them down with sandpaper. This should restore a number of the grip misplaced from the ball’s chemical breakdown.
Notes – When you’ve degreased them and their grip restored, the way you store them can affect the ball’s lifespan. If you store them away in dry surroundings, far away from the sun, you could substantially boom your ball’s lifespan.
Other Ways To Clean Lacrosse Balls
If you don’t like washing your lacrosse balls, another alternative is to employ the resurfacing device. It’s easy to apply and may quickly resurface your lacrosse balls keeping them in use only a little longer.
The Greaser Griper can be obtained on Amazon and is a brilliant little device to get your ball back to its playing form. The device is a drill bit, so you will want an energy drill available.
The following steps will help you easily go through the process.
Step 1: Position the tool into the drill’s chuck and put the ball into the end of the Greaser Griper. As the ball is spinning, apply light strain with an abrasive floor like sandpaper at the same time.
Step 2: Pass the ball to and fro, ensuring to get the entire uncovered floor of the ball. You’ll need to rotate the tool’s interior, which allows you to make sure you’ve resurfaced the entire structure of the ball.
You could take a tennis ball tube and line the interior with sandpaper as a substitute. Toss the ball or greaser in there, cap it, and vigorously shake it. This process may be a lot more labor-extensive, but it’ll save you some money.
Conclusion
To conclude, greasers are certainly an irritating part of Lacrosse. But, the future appears brilliant for all of the new improvements which might be popping out to eliminate this plague from Lacrosse forever.
Every ball you use must fulfill a performance standard set by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, or NOCSAE. The wording “Meets NOCSAE Standard” must be visible on the ball itself.
Thanks for reading to the end. We hope you learned!