Lacrosse traditionally fast, furious game of endurance

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I remember sitting in my grandma's room when I was about 12 years old and her telling me stories about the great North Shore Indians lacrosse team in the 1940's. She told me that the Forum, an arena located near what is now called Stanley Park in the heart of downtown Vancouver, used to pack in 11,000 screaming fans every game.

The main sporting event and the hardest ticket in town at the time was the North Shore Indians. Not only did the team have support of the surrounding community, it had the support of the Squamish Nation. She told me that many people from the community used to come to her house to listen to the game being broadcast over the radio.

The game of lacrosse was invented by the Indigenous people of North America, and at times it was used for settling territorial disputes among the neighboring tribes. It was played in large open areas and was played by hundreds of warriors.

It was not uncommon for games to last for several days. It was actually a French explorer who observed the game and labeled it lacrosse.

In modern times throughout Canada, box lacrosse is played in a hockey arena and consists of three 20-minute periods and a roster of 20 players. However, only five players and one goalie are permitted to participate on the floor at any given time.

Lacrosse is comparable to many different sports - it takes the endurance of soccer, the physical play of hockey, and skill level of basketball to play the game.

The stick is in the shape of a walking cane and at the hook of the stick is a leather mesh. The ball is a hard rubber composite about the size of a baseball, and when thrown, can travel up to speeds reaching 95-100 miles per hour.

Pads are worn on the upper body, with no pads on the lower extremities. Two hand cross checking with the stick is permitted on the front side of the body, when the opposition has the ball to help prevent the opponents from scoring on the four-foot by four-foot mesh goal.

Field lacrosse is played on a soccer field and consists of nine players and one goalie. Through the years field lacrosse has gained world-wide attention. It is played in Canada, United States, Australia, England, Japan, Czechoslovakia, and of course by the Indigenous peoples of North America.

In fact it used to be part of the summer Olympics, back in the early 1900's and has since been re-introduced as a demonstration sport in 1984. Furthermore, the 1994 Commonwealth Games will have field lacrosse as a demonstration sport.

Although, one cannot make millions of dollars playing the game of lacrosse, there are some opportunities one can take advantage of. One in particular, is the U.S. post-secondary school system.

Field lacrosse scholarships are offered throughout the United States by many different schools. Some of the big-name powerhouses in the game of field lacrosse are Syracuse, John Hopkins, Cornnel, North Carolina, and Maryland. With each scholarship being worth approximately $20,000, what better way to get an education than to play a game you love and have someone else pay your way?

With the right promotion and exposure, the game of lacrosse could become the next major sport in North America. Lacrosse has everything a sports fan could ever want - speed, tough physical play, high scoring, and a high level of intensity. If the North Shore Indians of the 1940's are any indication of how popular the sport can become, lacrosse has a bright future.