A Short History of Lacrosse.

The fastest game on two feet ... a combination of the speed of basketball and the contact of football ... a game in which a scoring opportunity on one end of the field can be transformed into a goal at the other end in a matter of seconds ... skill, power, speed, endurance and intelligence ... This Is Lacrosse.


Lacrosse is steeped in tradition, and though today's participants use sticks of plastic and titanium rather than wood, the lacrosse stick symbolizes the historical significance of the game.


Originally called baggataway, lacrosse was played by Native Americans as early as the 15th century for a variety of purposes: religious rituals, training of warriors, or to settle inter-tribal disputes.


Games were played by as few as 100 and as many as 1,000 men and lasted two or three days, with play beginning at sunup and ending at sundown each day. Often the games were played without any boundaries and with goals separated by many miles. It was not unusual to have players injured or killed during baggataway contests. The game acquired its present name because the sticks originally resembled the staffs, or croziers, carried by the French Jesuit missionaries who first observed the game. Thus, we have lacrosse.


White men - Jesuit missionaries from France - first encountered the game in the 17th century. They wrote home about a game played by the Huron Indians with sticks reminiscent of the crosier (la Crosse) carried by bishops as a symbol of their office.

Today, lacrosse is played at home and in international competition by England and Australia, as well as the United States and Canada.


For the uninitiated, lacrosse is a combination of football, hockey and basketball. It has been called the fastest game on two feet and is a grueling test of stamina.


There are 10 positions on a team (one goalie, three attackmen, three midfielders, and three defensemen). The object: put a 5 oz. hard-rubber ball into your opponent's net with a long-handled stick with a triangular pocket at the end, while keeping your opponent from doing the same to you.


Goalie: The goalie uses a wider stick and wears a chest protector, as his job is to stop the opponents' shots, which may come flying at him at over 100 mph. The best goalies are either brave or crazy ... or a little of both. After making a save and gaining possession of the ball, the goalie is allowed to stay in the crease for only four seconds. During that time, no one is allowed to touch him.


Defensemen: Defensemen use a longer stick (72 in.) and generally stay on the defensive half of the field. Their job is to guard the opponent's attackmen and take the ball away from them. Defensemen need to be quick, aggressive and tough.


Midfielders: Middies, as they are also called, play both offense and defense, thus, they must run the length of the field. They are usually substituted frequently in units so as to keep them fresh. Speed and endurance are essential for middies.


Attackmen: Attackmen use the shortest stick so as to limit the chance of losing the ball. They generally stay on the offensive half of the field and coordinate the offense. They are usually the best stick handlers and must be quick and agile.


Like soccer, lacrosse is played on an open field with goals at both end; like hockey, the player carry sticks and can roam behind the net; like basketball, the offensive players set picks and run patterned offenses and fast breaks, while the defenses are man-to-man or zone; in fact, basketball inventor James Naismith was a lacrosse player in the late 1800's.


Glen (Pop) Warner, famed football coach, substituted lacrosse at the Carlisle, PA, Indian School for baseball because, "Lacrosse is a developer of health and strength. It is a game that spectators rave over once the understand it," he said. He undoubtedly had an ulterior motive. Lacrosse, a contact sport, helped prepare his grid warriors for the fall season.


In 1956, the game got a boost when a superior athlete from Syracuse University, Jim Brown, scored six goals for the North in the North-South Lacrosse game. Brown, one of the greatest running backs in the history of the National Football League, admitted he would rather play lacrosse than the grid sport.

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