An Amazing Game - Lacrosse

by 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.

Lacrosse is well documented all the way back to the 1600's by French missionaries who witnessed Native Americans playing the oldest team sport in North America. Native Americans called the game baggataway. The stick used to play the sport resembled the bishops cross; and so a new name was given by the missionaries. They referred to the game as la crosse.

Lacrosse is played by boys and girls, women and men from post college age down to grammar school. More than 5,500 women actually play lacrosse at upwards of 240 universities and colleges across the U.S. Estimates of as many as 125,000 kids around the country are participating in lacrosse. 4,500 programs are documented around the U.S.

Lacrosse rules are different for men's and women's clubs and on the surface seem quite complicated to anyone unfamiliar with the game. A men's lacrosse match might remind an observer of a combination of field hockey, soccer and American football. Maybe these younger sports borrowed some aspects of play from the native sport of baggataway.

Lacrosse - The Basics:

Lacrosse players use a stick to pass and carry a rubber ball that is around the size of a standard baseball. On one end of the stick is a head with nylon cording strung to create a pocket for the ball. Each player carries a stick and uses it to throw and catch the ball, carry the ball while running and displace the ball from an opponent. Cradling is the practice of keeping the ball in the pocket while running.

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.

There are three officials in the field of play, an umpire, field judge and referee. The officials follow the game watching for personal and technical fouls and general adherence to the rules of play. As with most team games, there are strict rules about how many players can be on the field, and which players are allowed to cross the mid-line.

All in all, lacrosse is a fast paced active game requiring good hand-eye coordination and great stamina. It also has the benefits of all team sports, cooperation and teamwork. As more colleges and high schools add lacrosse programs, it will be easier to catch a game and see why this is such a rapidly growing sport in the U.S.

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To see more about the great sport of lacrosse, visit K.L. Amadio's website, Lacrosse-Information for comprehensive insight to this rapidly growing game. Parents, get more info on lacrosse positions for your child.