An Awesome Game - Lacrosse

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 originated with the Native Americans of North America which makes it this continent's oldest known team sport. French missionaries in Canada during the 1600's actually recorded games played by natives which they called baggataway. The missionaries renamed the spectacle la crosse for the stick used by players in the game that resembled a bishops cross.

Both men and women, boys and girls play lacrosse in official programs around the U.S. Children as young as 3rd grade and older are joining the nearly 4,500 programs around the country. Over 5,500 women lacrosse players participate in more than 240 American colleges and universities and 125,000 kids play lacrosse around the country.

Lacrosse is a seemingly complicated game to those not familiar with its rules, and those rules differ for men's and women's leagues. Watching a men's lacrosse game, one feels like they are observing part soccer, ice hockey, field hockey and American football. Perhaps all these sports have borrowed from the ancient native game of baggataway.

Lacrosse - The Basics:

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.

Men's lacrosse players wear protective padding. The shoulders, ribs and arms are covered and they wear padded gloves. Physical contact is permitted in men's games with some blocking, tackling and shoulder checks though not as hard core as American football. Women's lacrosse does not allow physical contact so no padding is required. Many female players choose to wear nose guards, eye protection and non padded gloves. Men wear helmets but women do not.

Lacrosse games start with a face off at midfield. The team consists of attackmen, defensemen, midfielders and a goalie. Depending on whether it is a men's or women's team, there will be 10 men or 12 women on the field at any given time. Women's lacrosse games are played on a larger field than men's and therefore require more players.

The field of play has three officials, a referee, a field judge and an umpire. These officials must keep track of the game as in any sport, looking for fouls, either personal (slashing or tripping), or technical (grabbing or holding). There are specific field positions and rules as to when players can or cannot cross the center line of the field and how many players are on the field during 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.

About the Author

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

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