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' sticks, 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"), passed, or shot. Traditional stick A wood lacrosse stick is 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 side of the stick head), permitting weaving of string, which is then hardened by dipping them 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 made by craftsmen around the world. Though modern lacrosse sticks made of plastic have become the overwhelming 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 and NCAA rules but are subject to the same size regulations as modern 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, who had been grandfathered. Men's modern stick Head 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 or composite shaft. The head is 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. In men's lacrosse, the head of the stick must be wide at its widest point under NCAA rules. The head of the goalie's stick is much larger and must be between 10 and 12 inches wide under NCAA rules or up to 15 inches