About Lacrosse
Inigenous Roots to Olympic Games
HISTORY
Roots: Exploring the History of Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a contact team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century.
The lacrosse stick has two parts, the head and the shaft. There are three parts to the head: the scoop, sidewall, and pocket. The scoop is the top of the stick that affects picking up ground ball as well as passing and shooting. The sidewall is the side of the head that affects the depth of the head and the stiffness. The pocket is the leather or nylon mesh attached to the sidewall and scoop.
Alf Jacques | The Stickmaker
YOUTH LACROSSE
World Series of Youth Lacrosse 2023! I Mic'd Up Player Scores 3 Goals in the World Championship
Boys and Girls Youth and recreational programs playing both field and "soft" lacrosse are estimated at about 100,000 participants, 76,000 boys and 27,000 girls. Over 4,500 programs span the United States. Programs range in size from 50 to 15,000 children. Players range from 5 to 15 years of age. These programs are staffed by current college and high school coaches.
COLLEGE LACROSSE
In the U.S., as of the 2021–22 academic year, there were 74 NCAA-sanctioned Division I men's lacrosse teams, 75 Division II men's lacrosse teams, and 247 Division III men's lacrosse teams. There are 120 Division I women's lacrosse teams, 114 Division II women's lacrosse teams, and 291 Division III women's lacrosse teams.
Notre Dame vs. Maryland: 2024 DI men's lacrosse championship highlights
PROFESSIONAL LACROSSE
THE FOREVER GAME | 2023 PLL Championship Mini Movie
In October 2018, former MLL player Paul Rabil branched away from the MLL and created the Premier Lacrosse League. The PLL focuses on being a traveling lacrosse league that will bring the best players in the world to different cities in the United States.
OLYMPIC LACROSSE
Field lacrosse was a medal sport in the 1904 and the 1908 Summer Olympics. In 1904, three teams competed in the games held in St. Louis. Two Canadian teams, the Winnipeg Shamrocks and a team of Mohawk people from the Iroquois Confederacy, plus the local St. Louis Amateur Athletic Association team representing the United States participated. The Winnipeg Shamrocks captured the gold medal. On October 16, 2023, lacrosse received approval from the International Olympic Committee for inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
