The History of lacrosse
Lacrosse is the oldest organized sport in North America. The sport of lacrosse was invented by a Native American tribe called the Algonquian in the 1400s and was originally called stickball. The game spread from the St. Lawrence Valley area where the Algonquians played it, to other tribes in the eastern half of North America and in the Great Lakes region. Stickball was a major event that spanned multiple days. Lacrosse was used as a sport to toughen and prepare young warriors for war, and it was also a recreational and religious game. Lacrosse was considered a physical, emotional, and spiritual training ground for all aspects of life. Tribes often asked animal spirits to help them during the game. A player might wear a hawk feather to aid him in his swiftness, or a bear claw to make him strong. In some regions women played alongside the men; in other areas women had separate games; and in other regions only men played while wives, daughters, mothers, and sisters watched the competitions.
Often times, bets would be placed on the outcome of games. There were no boundaries, games were played over huge open areas and between villages. Goals were usually trees or other natural objects and could be anywhere from between 500 yards apart, or if trees in the area were not convenient, goal trees could be several miles apart. There was no limit to the amount of people on a team, as long as there were equal numbers of players on both sides, so between 100 to 10,000 players could be involved in any given game, almost exclusively male. The original rules of the game were much different from those of modern times. The only cardinal rule of lacrosse was that the ball could not be touched by a player's hand.
Early lacrosse balls were wooden and then later emerged deerskin balls filled with fur. The ball was picked up off the ground, thrown, caught, and thrown into or past the goal with the use of a netted racquet.
Women's lacrosse originated in the United Kingdom where the phys. ed. teacher at St Leonard's School for Girls in St. Andrew's Scotland, recognized the value of the sport. Many of the rules that the men played with were changed; there was no body checking and no lined boundaries. When lacrosse came to the US, it was primarily played on the east coast. However, recently lacrosse has spread to California and Colorado and continues to spread across the country, making it the fastest growing sport in America.
Often times, bets would be placed on the outcome of games. There were no boundaries, games were played over huge open areas and between villages. Goals were usually trees or other natural objects and could be anywhere from between 500 yards apart, or if trees in the area were not convenient, goal trees could be several miles apart. There was no limit to the amount of people on a team, as long as there were equal numbers of players on both sides, so between 100 to 10,000 players could be involved in any given game, almost exclusively male. The original rules of the game were much different from those of modern times. The only cardinal rule of lacrosse was that the ball could not be touched by a player's hand.
Early lacrosse balls were wooden and then later emerged deerskin balls filled with fur. The ball was picked up off the ground, thrown, caught, and thrown into or past the goal with the use of a netted racquet.
Women's lacrosse originated in the United Kingdom where the phys. ed. teacher at St Leonard's School for Girls in St. Andrew's Scotland, recognized the value of the sport. Many of the rules that the men played with were changed; there was no body checking and no lined boundaries. When lacrosse came to the US, it was primarily played on the east coast. However, recently lacrosse has spread to California and Colorado and continues to spread across the country, making it the fastest growing sport in America.