Lacrosse

The Growing World of Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a quick action sport for teams that will consist of ten players for the men’s version and twelve players on each team for the women’s version. Each player in this game will use a crosse (the stick) that will carry the hard rubber ball up and down the field. The aim of doing this is to get the ball into the goals, with each giving a one point credit for doing so. The team with the most points at the end of four quarters is declared the winner of the match. Being the largest summer sport in the country of Canada, lacrosse is also the fastest growing competitive sport in the United States.

The version of this sport that is known today is played on a large field of grass or artificial turf. Within the group of ten players, there are three attack men, three midfielders, three defenders, and the busiest person on the field, one goalkeeper. There is protective equipment worn on player’s heads, shoulders, hands/arms because the hitting of the body with another, called checking, is completely legal in this game. The difference in the men’s and women’s version of this game is that there are two extra midfielders in women’s, bringing the total to twelve.

Lacrosse is a game that has its origins with the Native Indians of North American. It was observed by French observers and given its current name around the early 1700s. Within the Indian playing of this game, it was done so as a part of pride for the players. This means that the players were taking part in this game in order to bring pride to their villagers and to their chiefs. Today in the United States the most popular places for this sport are in the New England states and those that surround it such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. A reason for the rising popularity of this sport in these areas is due to the increase of this sport being added as a team sport at high schools and colleges.

The basics for a game of lacrosse play out in such a manner that players can scoop the ball off the ground and then pass it through the air to their teammates. The players have full permission within the rules to run with the ball in their stick down the field. Play is extremely fast and quick during this game. For collegiate games in the NCAA there are four periods of fifteen minutes each. There are typically more goals scored in this game than in hockey or soccer, the two sports from which the game can trace its routes. Most of the games will have a combined twelve to twenty points. Players are permitted to hit each other with their sticks and gloves and deliver body checks throughout the game.