FAQ

WHY LACROSSE ?? 

Why Play Lacrosse?

Lacrosse is a great way to build cardiovascular endurance, coordination, agility, and strength. Kids who are tired out from running around sleep better, and those who have slept well have more energy to run around, be creative, and solve problems.

Fun
Lacrosse is fun to play and exciting to watch. It is characterized by intense action, strategy, finesse and power. It is a game with long, looping passes and short bullet-like shots: to catch a pass over the shoulder while running at full stride, to hit the top corner of the net while in full flight, or to stop a shot aimed low through a maze of players requires a range of skills unsurpassed in any other sport. The wide open-nature of the game makes it a great spectator sport.

Fitness
Lacrosse is a game of speed and stamina - there’s no standing around in lacrosse. With its back-and-forth nature, all lacrosse players, even goalies, are kept active.

Player Safety
Lacrosse is a contact sport, and with all contact sports, parents and players are concerned about injuries. The Wheat City Lacrosse Association stresses fun, fair play and a safe playing environment.

Teamwork
Team sports are an excellent way learn how to come together and work towards a common goal. The players work, sweat, plan and play together. Overcoming obstacles within a team is also a good way to develop lifelong friendships.

Cross Training
The promotion of speed, stamina, sportsmanship and team play in lacrosse provides excellent cross-training for other sports like hockey, basketball and soccer.

Why lacrosse is so popular among young people

A few observations in no particular order as to why lacrosse’s popularity has soared among youth:

• Most young people can play the game. despite what their physical framework happens to be.  
• One doesn’t have to be extraordinarily tall or have a large frame to be a competitive player.
• Lacrosse is fun to play and watch

“It (lacrosse) is characterized by intense action, strategy, finesse and power. It is a game with long, looping passes and short bullet-like shots to catch a pass over the shoulder while running at full stride, to hit the top corner of the net while in full flight, or to stop a shot aimed low through a maze of players requires a range of skills unsurpassed in any other sport. The … nature of the game makes it a great spectator sport.”

• Lacrosse is safer than most contact sports; a fact that appeals to parents and youth alike. Statistics on injuries from the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP) estimates lacrosse players have about two thirds the injuries of soccer players; one half the number of hockey players, and about one-tenth the injuries of football and rugby players.
• There are abundant opportunities to play the game, not only as a regular high school or
  College varsity sport but in after-school, summer, and club competitions.

 Is Lacrosse really the fastest game on two feet? 

Lacrosse has long been referred to as the fastest game on two feet. The sport is characterized by intense action, strategy, finesse and power. To make long looping passes at one end of the floor or field and short bullet like shots at the other end; to catch a pass over the shoulder while running at full stride; to hit the top corner at the net while in full flight; or to stop a shot aimed low through a maze of players requires a range of skills unsurpassed in any other sport. The promotion of speed, stamina, sportsmanship and team play in lacrosse provides excellent cross training for other sports like hockey, basketball and soccer. The wide-open nature of the game makes it a very good spectator sport.

From Gretzky to Tavares, Shanahan to Stamkos, Canadian-born NHL players recommend playing lacrosse in the summer to improve hockey skills.  

Hockey and lacrosse are very similar sports. 

Hockey players excel in Lacrosse and, in turn, they become markedly better hockey players.  

Both hockey  and lacrosse are high tempo, physical team sports that have similar elements to the game.  Both sports utilize 5 players and a goalie, three periods and strategy of developing odd-man situations to create scoring opportunities.  

Comparatively, lacrosse is a much less expensive sport than hockey and uses much of the same protective upper body equipment.  

Hockey players benefit from lacrosse by developing:

• develops stick handling creativity
• develops creativity in tight areas
• reading the play offensively
• develops strong, dynamic defensive tactics
• builds up strength and endurance
• helps prevent sport burn-out by playing a new, fast-paced sport
• increases hand-eye coordination
• teaches players to play with their head up and to be more aware of their surroundings
• reinforces the importance of quickness and agility around the net
• builds self esteem, respect, integrity and fairness
• teaches leadership skills
• learn to play both offensive and defensive positions and make a quick transition from defense to offence and vice versa
• scoring skills are honed by shooting at smaller targets and picking corners
• teaches the creativity of fakes, back passes and shots
• develop the use of both hands

 Why Hockey Coaches Should Coach Lacrosse...

• Hockey coaches teach similar strategies of team play and special teams.
• Its a great way to keep your hockey team together to help grow chemistry.
• Hockey coaches and players only have to look at players such as Gretzky, Sakic, Shanahan, Ronning, Kariya, Nieuwendyk and Oates as these great hockey players have one thing in common...they have all played lacrosse and have used the experience to enhance their hockey skills. You can share in their experience by playing lacrosse.

Don't Take Our Word for it.....

It is interesting to note what hockey great Wayne Gretzky wrote in his National Post column in March, 2000:

"If sport has a high point of the year, it must be the first week of spring."

"...When I was growing up, I used to love this time of year. It was when I put my hockey equipment away and I was absolutely ecstatic to see the end of the hockey season. One of the worst things to happen to the game, in my opinion, has been year-round hockey and, in particular, summer hockey. "All it does for kids, as far as I can tell, is keep them out of sports they should be doing in warmer weather. I could hardly wait to get my lacrosse stick out and start throwing the ball around. It didn't matter how cold or rainy it would be, we'd be out firing the ball against walls and working on our moves as we played the lacrosse equivalent to road hockey." "All the good hockey players seemed to play lacrosse in those days and everyone of them learned something from

the game to carry over to the other - things athletes can only learn by mixing up games they play when they are young."

Wayne Gretzky