Grip 'N Rip: Henry West, University of Maryland

Darien, CT native and University of Maryland senior midfielder, Henry West drops some insight to what he has been using for fall ball this year. Henry is a 2012 Under Armour All-American who transferred from Cornell University to the University of Maryland. At Maryland he has been a mainstay on the first two midfield lines, playing exclusively on the first midfield line in 2015. In his career he has 36 goals and 15 assists.



What head and shaft are you using?

I use an Under Armour Charge Head and an Under Armour Scandium shaft.

Do you string your own sticks?

I don’t string my own sticks. My old teammate Joe LoCascio (UMD ’15) strings them for me.

What kind of pocket?

I just started using East Coast mesh. My pocket sits in the middle of the stick. I use two shooters and a nylon. I don’t think I use much whip, I would say my stick is about a five.



You had to adjust to the 2013 NCAA stringing rules, how did you go about it?

Adjusting to the new shooting string rule took a while, I need a good channel now that I can’t use Vs. I asked a bunch of people to string my sticks until I found something that I liked. My brother strung my sticks for about a year and then when I got to Maryland Joe LoCascio started stringing them.

How do you tape your stick?

I tape my stick about half way up the shaft.



Any superstitions?

I don’t like people touching my stick, and I don’t like the head of the stick on the ground, it has to be facing up or all the goals will fall out.