Lacrosse was started by the Native American Indians and was originally known as stickball. The game was initially played in the St. Lawrence Valley area by the Algonquian tribe and they were followed by other tribes in the eastern half of North America, and around the western Great Lakes. There is evidence that a version of lacrosse was started as early as the 17th Century. Legend has it that it was named lacrosse by French settlers who thought that the stick looked like the staff carried by their Bishops at church, called a crozier. In French, the crozier is called a crosse. The settlers watched the Indigenous people playing their game and called it “la crosse.” Lacrosse is one of the oldest team sports in North America.
Lacrosse was originally played with a wooden ball, which was upgraded to a ball made of deerskin and stuffed with fur. The wooden sticks were topped with a net made of deer sinew (tendons). The evolution of the lacrosse stick.
A lacrosse game has four quarters, plus a halftime.
A Men’s team is comprised of 10 players; 1 goalie, 3 defensemen, 3 mid-fielders (are free to roam the entire field) and 3 attackmen. Each team must keep at least 4 players, including goalie, in its defensive half of the field and 3 players in its offensive zone.
Women’s lacrosse is a non-contact game played by 12 players: 1 goalkeeper, 5 attackers and 6 defenders.
