Lacrosse- THE Best Spring Sport OUT There

After watching the story about Canandaigua and Onondagua, I had been convinced. This sport is one of the best ever made.

Lacrosse is similar to every sport. It’s just like Hockey because each player has a stick, a third “limb” of the body, just like in Hockey. Another thing that makes it just like Hockey is the space behind the net for confusing the defense. The way substitutions work, a player comes off before the next comes on, and the general workings of the Face off at the middle of the field. I’ll be honest, I’ve deflected about 3-4 shots as a Midfielder, because when I’m out there I’m a defender. JUST LIKE THE GOALIE. (Just my mindset.)

Lacrosse is just like Soccer due to the insane footwork that is required, as well as endurance, and ball handling skills. Not to mention how you can kick the ball during a ground ball to get it to a teammate, similar to a pass in soccer. I’ll be honest, it doesn’t happen often, but every now and then you’ll get a deflection into the net. One time during summer travel team practice I was on the crease (right in front of the net), and a pass came to me, but it was a little too fast and I tensed up because it was coming right at my face. So I tried to head the ball in. It just missed the net; I was like “COME ON!!” That would have been the coolest goal ever! Another amazing thing that I’ve seen is the ball get deflected of someone’s stick or body and go into the net.

Lacrosse is a warped form of Football during ground balls, everyone’s vying for the ball, ready to deck anyone of the opposite team in their way, similar to a crazy fumble in football (except you can’t jump on the ball). There’s some crazy long passes, just like in football, and tons of sprinting, and settled play, even if it is a whole lot less settled with stop and start breaks than football is.

In Lacrosse there are also picks, much like the way Basketball is played with backside picks, outside shots, inside shots, and lay-ups. Last off-season in the fall, North Carolina and Ohio State scrimmaged with a 60-second shot clock in order to see what it is like to play the game in an up-tempo pace and try to make things better for those watching the game speed-wise. Many professional coaches are advocates of this change because they believe it will keep the fans on their toes and put more shots on the goals for a better game while bundling a visual clearing count and anti-stalling mechanism into one package.

I could keep going. Lacrosse requires the skills of a bunch of other sports combined, so when I go out there, I think of the rich history of the sport and how I’m part of the development of one of sport’s earliest development in an art from. Regardless, you have to love Lacrosse.