Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a full contact team sport played using a small, solid, 8-ounce rubber ball and stick comprised of a plastic head and a metal or wood shaft. The head has a loose net strung into it and allows the player to catch and carry the ball. more...

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Offensively the object of the game is to use the stick to catch, carry, and pass the ball in an effort to score by ultimately throwing the ball into an opponents goal. Defensively the object is to keep the opposing team from scoring and to dispossess them of the ball through the use of stick checking and body contact. There are two main versions of the game; outdoor or field lacrosse and indoor, box lacrosse,and free-play lacrosse. The two versions of the sport differ in that field lacrosse is played with ten players to a side on a field roughly the size of a soccer pitch while box lacrosse is played with six players per side in an enclosure similar to that of an ice hockey rink.

History of lacrosse

Lacrosse originated among the Native American tribes of northeastern North America. Some of its traditional names (and literal translations) are; dehuntshigwa'es (Onondaga for \"men hit a rounded object\"), da-nah-wah'uwsdi (Eastern Cherokee for \"little war\"), Tewaarathon (Mohawk language for \"little brother of war\"), and baaga`adowe (Ojibwe for \"bump hips\").

The game was named lacrosse by French missionaries. It has often been assumed that the name lacrosse stems from the resemblance that a traditional wooden lacrosse stick bears to a bishop's crosier. Jesuit missionary Jean-de-Brébeuf noted this resemblance in the Relation des Jésuites around 1640. However, the word crosse in the French of that time period was a general term used for any type of staff. The name lacrosse is simply a reflection of this and is perhaps shorthand for the phrase \"le jeu de la crosse\" (the game of the hooked stick).

In Native American society lacrosse served several different purposes. The sport was used for conflict resolution, the training of young warriors, and as a religious ritual. Games could be played on a pitch over a mile wide and sometimes lasted for days. Early lacrosse balls were made out of deerskin, clay, stone, and sometimes wood. Lacrosse has played a significant role in the community and religious life of tribes across the continent for many years. Early lacrosse was characterized by deep spiritual involvement, befitting the spirit of combat in which it was undertaken. Those who took part did so in the role of warriors, with the goal of bringing glory and honor to themselves and their tribes. The game was said to be played \"for the pleasure of the Creator.\"

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