Somewhere between fun and profitable, there is a chasm that exists in sport that must be filled by a variety of properly allocated responsibilities.
Taking that sport and transforming it into a well-oiled machine, which will one day be sanctioned by a governing body and become widely popular in the process, is a long, hard road.
Just ask members of the Neuqua Valley girls lacrosse program.
"I think we're bridging a gap right now," Neuqua coach Lauren Rippy said. "There's a lot of people playing [lacrosse] and it's catching on like wildfire. With the younger generation, we have a lot of people that want to play it, but we don't have the coaches or refs that have experience with the game. That's holding us back."
Lacrosse will be sanctioned by the IHSA in the 2010-2011 season, having been an emerging sport this year, but some schools in the Upstate Eight Conference and DuPage Valley Conference -- St. Charles, Metea Valley and Wheaton all have a co-op -- may not be able to participate any longer if not operated at an unsanctioned level due to insufficient funding.
The sport of Lacrosse has been absolutely catching fire recently in America. More high schools are making it part of their regular sports program. A combination of soccer and hockey, it is fast paced, great exercise, and a whole lot of fun. Here's how to play!
Step 1
Learn the basics. In Lacrosse, every player has a stick with a net on the end of it. This is called the "crosse." Each team consists of ten men on the field at a time. A goalie, three defensemen, three midfielders and three attackers. The defensemen and attackers must stay on their respective ends of the field, while the midfielders are free to roam. There are two goals on each end of the field. Lacrosse is played with a hard rubber ball. The object of the game is to score by placing the ball in the net as many times as possible during the course of the game. Sounds simple enough to play, right?
Step 2
Buy the proper gear. Lacrosse has gear which is imperative for the safety of the sport. The crosse (which comes in different sizes depending on your position), a helmet and mask, mouth guard, gloves and shoulderpads (except the goalkeeper). Arm pads and rib pads are also strongly recommended when playing the sport.
Step 3
Understand body contact rules. Body checking is allowed if the opponent has possession of the ball, is within five yards of the ball or there is a loose ball. When making body contact, it must occur from the front side. Also it needs to be above the waist, and no contact is allowed above the shoulders. You are permitted to use the crosse to check your opponent if he is within five yards of the ball or you are both going after a loose ball. Like in hockey, overly aggressive body checking in looked down upon and can possibly result in an infraction!
Step 4
Have fun! Now that you know the basics of how to play the sport, get a group of guys together and being learning how to play. Like with any sport, it's best to practice the basics first, like passing the ball and cradling (cradling is running with the ball and moving your stick side to side which protects the ball and uses the laws of physics to keep it tucked safely in the net away from your opponent.) Games are divided into quarters. College is usually 15 minute quarters and high school into 12 minute quarters.
