Some History of Lacrosse

With a history that spans centuries, lacrosse is the oldest continually played sport in North America. Rooted in Native American religion and culture, lacrosse was a way to resolve disputes, heal the sick and train young warriors.

The name lacrosse was given to the sport after French settlers viewed the sport and saw that the stick resembled a priest's cross. The sport began with the name baaga'adowe which roughly translates, 'hit with an instrument'.

The first mention of the modern game was recorded in 1636, but it took over 200 years for the game to evolve into the sport we see played today.

There are currently over 500 college and 1400 high school lacrosse teams from coast to coast. And those numbers continue to improve in the both the men's and women's game. And the sport is not limited to the US and Canada. It is growing in popularity in many other countries including: Australia, Germany, Scotland, England and Japan and, is in fact, Canada's national past time.

With is combination of speed, stick skill, agility, grace, endurance, finesse and unique history, lacrosse may be, according to basketball inventor James Naismith, "the best of all possible field sports."

Men's Field Diagram

Women's Field Diagram

For a description of Women's rules go to http://www.lacrosse.org/the_sport/womens_rules.phtml

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