An Awesome Sport - Lacrosse

An Awesome Sport - Lacrosse

K.L. Amadio

There is a game that has been played in east coast schools and clubs for several decades. This highly popular team sport is called lacrosse. The popularity of lacrosse has been growing across the U.S. Lacrosse is officially noted as the summer game in neighboring Canada and is actually played in more than 20 nations around the world.

Originally invented by Native Americans, lacrosse is North America's oldest team sport. During the 1600's, French missionaries chronicled the game which the native peoples called baggataway. Those same missionaries called the game la crosse because the stick used to play the game resembled the cross that bishops carried.

Today, lacrosse is played by men and women, boys and girls at ages as young as 3rd grade. Upwards of 5,500 women play lacrosse at over 240 American universities and colleges. It's estimated that 125,000 children in the United States play the game in over 4,500 programs across the country.

Seemingly complicated, lacrosse rules are slightly different for women's and men's leagues. Studying a lacrosse game might remind the viewer of American football, field hockey and soccer all rolled together. Perhaps the native game of baggataway influenced these younger team sports.

Basics of Lacrosse:

Players pass and carry a rubber ball, the size of a standard baseball, using special sticks. The stick utilizes a head at one end that's strung with cording like nylon to make a pocket that holds the ball. All the players have a stick and pass (throw) the ball, catch the ball and run with the ball around the field. When running, players cradle the ball in the pocket, a much practiced technique.

Each team has a goal, as in soccer. The goal tender or goalie has a stick with a much enlarged head to aid in stopping opponent scores. The basic point of the game is for one team to score more goals than the other during the regulation time period, which differs from high school to college.

Protective padding is required for men. They use rib guards, shoulder pads, padded gloves and arm protectors. Men's lacrosse allows physical contact like blocking, shoulder checks and the occasional tackle, not to be confused with the tackles in American football. There is no physical contact permitted in women's lacrosse therefore padding is not required. Some women choose to wear gloves, nose guards and eye protection for safety. Helmets are required for men while women do not have to wear them.

A lacrosse game begins with a face off as in ice hockey. A team consists of a goalie, defensemen, attackmen and midfielders. The numbers allowed of each differ for men and women. Women actually play on a larger field than men and require more players.

Higher level lacrosse games are officiated by three people, a field judge, referee and umpire. They keep watch over the game looking for technical (holding or grabbing) fouls and personal (tripping or slashing) fouls. Lacrosse requires certain position-players to stay to one side of the midfield line and of course there can only be the required number of players on the field while the ball is in play.

Lacrosse is a fast-paced sport that develops good hand-eye coordination and endurance. The added benefit of team sports is the development of teamwork and cooperation. More schools across the country are developing lacrosse programs which means seeing a game will become easier. Then you'll have first hand knowledge on why lacrosse is growing in popularity across the U.S.