Hold the shaft of the lacrosse stick just below the head. You will slide this hand up and down the shaft to catch and throw the ballso think of your cradling position as an intermediate step between those actions. You should feel the weight of the ball in the stick. Always cover the butt end of the stick with your bottom hand so another player cannot hit it and knock the ball out of the stick. If you leave your "tail" hanging out, you are giving another player the perfect opportunity to disarm you. Keep your stick at a 45 to 60 degree angle with the ground, and try to keep the head of the stick about a foot in front of your face. The open side of your net should face forward. The motion is neither full twist nor full rotation. Twist the shaft by curling your wrist while rotating the whole stick about your elbow. The centripetal force created by the rotation of the stick will keep the ball inside the pocket. Try to keep your technique as tight and efficient as possible. Do not cradle widely or wildly. Be conscious of how stable your cradle is, and try not to leave the head of your stick hanging for a defender to strip the ball away. You will need to run the ball down the field at some point, so it is important that you are able to cradle in motion as well as when you are standing still. The most important aspect of running with the ball is to cradle in cadence with your natural running motion. Say you cradle at a rate of 7 times in 10 seconds, but you take another running step at a rate of 10 times in 10 secondit will be much more difficult to control the ball in the pocket. Since you'll need to be running at varying speeds, you'll need to be able to cradle at different cadences to match your body's motions. Make sure that whenever you run at practice, you run with your stick cradling. If you run around your neighborhood, consider cradling a lacrosse ball as you go. Practice this until running with a stick is just as natural as running without. At first, practice cradling while you are standing still. As you improve, try to cradle while you run. Learn to switch sides, cradle the ball one-handed, and perfect the shooting cradle to become an even more effective player.
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One-sentence summary -- Use your dominant hand to control the stick. Use your non-dominant hand to loosely support the bottom end of the shaft. Hold your stick parallel to your body with your shaft resting near your hip and the head near your ear. Use your dominant hand to curl the stick toward you, then back, in one smooth rhythm. Practice cradling while you run.

Ensure that the water supply is off before removing the valve. Affix a pipe wrench to the 6-sided nut that holds the valve body in place. Rotate it counter-clockwise to loosen it from the valve body. The compression nut is a ring that fits around the pipe. After loosening it from the valve body, you can slide it down the pipe shaft and remove the valve. You'll follow this step only if your existing valve uses a compression fitting. If you're replacing a threaded or sweat valve with a compression valve, you'll need to cut the soldered or threaded end of the pipe before you install the new valve. With the compression nut loosened, simply pull the old valve off of the pipe. Locate the compression sleeve, which is a ring that fits snugly at the end of the pipe. Use pliers to carefully rotate it and remove it from the pipe, then slide off the compression nut. Don't use too much pressure with the pliers. If you warp the pipe, it won't receive the new valve. If you can't remove the ring with pliers, cut it carefully with a small hacksaw. Insert a flat-head screwdriver into the slice you made in the ring, then twist the screwdriver to widen the ring. Pull the ring off the pipe, then slide off the old compression nut. Cut with finesse and make sure you don't cut through the ring into the pipe. If you're replacing a sweat or threaded valve with a compression valve, use a hacksaw to cut off the soldered or threaded end of the pipe. Cut slowly and carefully to avoid warping the pipe. Sand away rough edges with emery cloth when you've finished cutting. Make sure you leave enough pipe to hold the new fitting. Depending on the size of your new valve, you'll probably need at least 2 inches (5.1cm). You'll need to remove piping at both ends if you're replacing a 2-way valve (as opposed to a pipe that comes out from a wall and feeds a faucet or toilet). If the pipes are old, corroded, or soldered onto the valve, cut each pipe just past where they connect to the valve. If the pipes connect to a 2-way valve with compression fittings, just loosen each compression nut. Make sure the threaded end of the new nut faces out so it can receive the new valve. Slide it all the way down the pipe so you have some room to work. Then place the new compression sleeve over the end of the pipe. The compression sleeve, or ferrule, needs to fit snugly. It creates a watertight seal between the valve and the pipe. If you purchased a valve that matches your pipe's diameter, the compression sleeve will be snug. Place the valve on the end of the pipe, then pull the compression nut down the pipe's shaft to the threaded end of the valve body. Rotate the nut clockwise by hand, then use a pipe wrench to finish tightening it. If you're replacing a 2-way valve, tighten the compression nuts on both ends. If your valve feeds a faucet, toilet, or other fixture, replace the supply lines that lead from the valve to the fixture. Start them off by hand, then finish tightening them with the pipe wrench. Make sure they're not so tight that it's impossible to remove them in the event that they need service in the future. Make sure you've turned off the faucets you turned on to drain the system, then turn on your home's water supply. Head back to the valve you replaced and check for leaks. If you spot a leak, tighten the compression nut.
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One-sentence summary --
Loosen the compression nut by turning it counter-clockwise. Remove the old valve and compression sleeve. Cut the old compression sleeve if it's stuck. Cut an old soldered or threaded supply pipe, if necessary. Loosen or cut the pipes on each side of a 2-way valve. Slide the new compression nut and sleeve onto the supply pipe. Thread the valve into the compression nut. Reattach supply lines, if necessary. Turn on the water supply and check for leaks.