The Sport of Lacrosse in the U.S.

Lacrosse and Soccer: How are they alike?

Close your eyes. Imagine yourself being the best soccer or hockey player in the world. Open your eyes. Now combine the sports. It’s called Lacrosse. It has the positions of hockey and the field of soccer with different sized goals and completely different sticks.

First, there are 10 players on the field at one time. 1 Goalie, 3 Defenders (While Soccer usually has 4 defenders on the field), 3 Midfield, and 3 Attack-men (Strikers). Substitutions are during the game, which means no timeout, or when the ball is out or even after a goal, so you have to manage it right. The ball is in continuous play until a penalty, a timeout, when the ball goes out, or when a goal is scored. Next is the time spent playing lacrosse. The game has 4 quarters that are 15 minutes long. If the score is tied at the end of the game, unlike soccer, which has extra time, there is an overtime period and the first to score a goal wins.

While Soccer has the cleats and the ball, Lacrosse has a stick with a metal shaft (The shafts are two different lengths, about 3 feet for offense and about 6 feet for defense) and an oval hard plastic head with nylon string through it. With the stick, we throw and catch the ball while running and shooting so your stick can mean a lot to you. The ball we use in Lacrosse is a completely rubber ball weighing about 5 ounces and being 2.5 inches in diameter. There is also a helmet, shoulder pads, gloves, and elbow pads.

For me, Lacrosse is the best sport I’ve ever played. It’s my passion. When you go down the field and score, it is the best feeling ever when the crowd is screaming and you’re getting high fives from your teammates. You want to play forever. There are lots of different components to prepare for the games. Stringing your stick: I like to string my own sticks, which are fun and also give me a connection to it. Practice: Practice is the most important part of the game; this is where you improve your skills and work on becoming the best. Wallball: I like to do this to help with my passing. What I do is go to a brick wall and just throw the ball against it to practice.

Smithsonian Image

In addition, Lacrosse was believed to be created as a sport. The Native Americans played it as a pastime while not working and it evolved into what it is today. There were different kinds of sticks that the Natives used but the stick from the Iroquois nation was the most advanced and it evolved to what it is today. There are still Native American tribes today that still play. In fact, The Iroquois nation has a professional team composed of only Native American Players. Also, I got the opportunity to see the Iroquois Nation play in the World Cup of Lacrosse.

Alex Ignatiev

#21 Pershing Boys Lacrosse Team

8^th Grade/Pershing Middle School/ Ms. Aguilar

My efriend/pen-pal is Alejandro Santiago from Zafra.

Note: Alex is sharing part of our culture with students from Spain. Here in the U.S., Lacrosse is a very popular sport and part of our heritage. Incidentally, Pershing's boys lacrosse has a very good team! R. Aguilar