Lacrosse is the oldest team sport in North America, having been played by Native American tribes long before any European had even set foot on the continent. A century after European missionaries discovered the game played by Native Americans, they began to play it themselves, starting in the 18th century. From there, it evolved and grew in popularity from a very savage game that resembled war, into what it is today, a recreational sport played widely in America and other countries. As U.S. Lacrosse literature aptly puts it "Lacrosse is a game born of the North American Indian, christened by the French, adopted and raised by the Canadians, and later dominated by the Americans.”
When the first people of America started playing
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The goals were usually marked by a single tree or a large rock, and points were scored by hitting it with the ball. There were no limitations on the number of players on a team, and often there would be as many as one thousand players in a lacrosse game at the same time (Source A).
The game was especially violent when used as an alternative to war to settle intertribal disputes. One example was a game between the Creek and Choctaw tribes in 1790 (Source B). This game, which was to determine which tribe had the rights to a beaver pond, broke out into a violent battle after the Creeks were declared the winners of the game. Because of the massive attack and the savage play, lacrosse truly was the little brother of war.
The game also had important religious value to Native Americans. Especially in the Iroquois tribe, lacrosse was played to please the Creator, whom the Natives worshipped. Although the Natives were for the most part polytheistic, the Creator to whom the Iroquois referred is likely the divine leader Deganawidah, who, according to Iroquois legend, united the Six Nations of Iroquois in the 15th or 16th century.
During this period of growth and modernization, Native tribes continued to play lacrosse as they always had. The Natives' game was modernized in that it was not played so savagely (Source A). However, it had not modernized as much as the game played by whites. In the early 20th Century, the Great Lakes and
Lacrosse is an exciting and fast-paced sport with almost nonstop action from start to finish. The strategy is simple. Players move a ball down a field using sticks with nets on them. A goal is scored by hurling the ball past the other team’s goaltender into an upright net. Lacrosse is played at all levels of athletics. There are professional, amateur, and school teams, and there are scholarships for those who play it in college.
Lacrosse is defined as a ball game invented by American Indians, now played by two teams who try to propel a ball into each other's goal by means of long-handled hooked sticks that are loosely strung with a kind of netted pouch (Farlex, Inc.). Behind every shot taken in a lacrosse game, elements of biomechanics are implemented. Biomechanics is the “sport science” field that applies the laws of mechanics (movements, body angles, joint positions, etc.), biomedical engineering, and physics (gravity, forces, velocities, etc.) to athletic performance (What is 3D Biomechanics).
Secondly, the field lacrosse is played on has been drastically changed since the sport began. The original documented game of lacrosse was played on enormous field with no strict boundaries. The goals often stretched miles apart and they were just a space between two trees that one tried to throw the ball through to score . There could be many types of terrain in a game from lush forests, to tall-grass covered fields, or even rolling hills. The modern day lacrosse field has developed strict rules and regulations for the field.The game is now played on a field 110 yards long and 60 yards wide. The goals are placed 80 yards apart and are 6 feet tall by six feet wide, they are also filled in with netting to catch the ball. There is also a place
Lacrosse dates back all the way to the 1600’s when the Indians inhabited most of the North American land. What once was referred to as “stickball” by the Native Americans has changed frequently throughout the years, and is now a popular worldwide play sport. Lacrosse was first played in St. Valley, New York by the Iroquois, who were a Native American tribe. The game was originally created to praise their creator. Also to settle arguments between other tribes and to prepare for war.
Now there are 10 people on each team on the field and there are more rules, equipment and diversity in the game. For instance you can get a stick made for defense which has a wider head and its stick six feet long, the normal stick that is used for offense is lighter, smaller and the head it smaller and skinnier. They changed the rules because of a number of things, like space, what players believed in, it is now more of a recreational sport than now than a religious act, and safety. I have been playing since 4th grade and there have been major rule changes in the time I have played like you had to change how you hit someone else because it was dangerous. People every year die in a way that cannot be stopped, it is called commotion cordis and it is the most popular in lacrosse. I one hundred percent agree with not dying in a sport that I love and even with the changes to rules and pads or equipment I still love it. Although here are some people that like the idea of leather stringing on their stick like the Native Americans did. It is very difficult to keep up with the maintenance of the leather and stringing a traditional head is very hard and takes someone who knows what they are doing. People still do like to stick to the roots of lacrosse while still playing in today’s game. I don’t really like that kind of stick so I don’t agree with what they do because I do now know enough to change it when it gets wet and work on it a lot. I do wish there were leagues where you could learn and play traditional lacrosse around here because it was a big part of Native American religion and life (“Origin of Men’s Lacrosse”) and I think more people that play it should respect the game, where it came from, and how much it meant in Native American
The Iroquois nations, one of the oldest and most prestigious tribes in the history of all Native Americans. In this paper I will be showing why the Iroquois ended up siding with the English through the French and Indian, and Revolutionary wars through factors of colonization. I will also be showing some features of their culture, considering the iroquois are not well known in the western United States, and discussing the fall of the once great tribes. The main reason I 've chosen the Iroquois is because of my own prior knowledge of the Iroquois, and their relationship to lacrosse. I started playing lacrosse my freshman year of highschool. The very first thing I learned, before any stick skills or any basics of the game, was the history of it. Our coach insisted that we knew the history and the culture of the game, and that we respected it. I was intrigued by how interesting the game was. The game was made as a form of war. Lacrosse was sometimes even referred to as “Little brother of war”. It would be called this because injury, even death were common during a lacrosse game. When two tribes had a disagreement, but didn 't feel the need to have a legitimate war, the opposing tribes would send their best warriors to the battlefield and play a lacrosse game. Games would be played to a score of 5-7, but considering how long the fields could be, these games could take hours, days even, however long it took for one of the tribes to win,
Apart from the recreational use of Lacrosse, Lacrosse was more of a serious Indian cultural sport the
Both Lacrosse and Ice hockey are two sports that share similar aspects. One example would be that they both require plenty of athletic prowess, as well as countless hours of training and practice to master. The high amount of contact in both sports enables a player to become both physically and mentally "tough". Lacrosse has grown to its highest level of popularity it has ever reached over the last ten years. Ice hockey has seen a steady climb in its popularity over the past 25 years making it one of the most popular sports in not only Long Island, but all across the U.S. However, there are many differences as well, and we should not overlook the fact that there are plenty of distinctions between the two
Imagine the sun bursting through the trees for the first time of the new day, the smell of freshly cut grass still potent to your nose as you tee the ball up for a round of golf in the cool mist of a spring morning. "That is what brings you back every time, the smell of the air, the coolness of the whether and the beautiful surroundings that make every shot enjoyable." (Suess, PI) This is the game of golf in its finest and most exquisite time to many people and many people it has touched in its long history. Golf is a lifestyle and not just games to people that are avid in playing. The game of golf has a history that is rich in technological advances and personal accomplishments, which through time has shown to shape
Baseball is a game of skill that is played with a hard ball and a bat between two teams of nine players each at a time on the playing field at once. Although many different people play Baseball all over the world it is most popular in the United States. It is so popular in fact, it is referred to as the national pastime of the United States because of the tradition and popularity associated with the game. Baseball consists of many complicated rules. It also has a very elaborate history. One can not fully understand the game America has grown to love until learning about not only the rules but also the history.
Lacrosse has been around since the 1400’s, and is coming back today as one of the U.S.’s most popular sports
The lacrosse field has certain measurements and lines on it. The field is played on a 110 yd. (100 m.) long and 60 yd. (55 m.) wide field. There are five lines or areas of the field, one of them is the midfield line, which divides the whole field into two, so the sides are 50 m. on each side. Another area of the field is the defense and attack area. The lines are marked 35 yards from the end of the field. Theses markers and areas of the field are very important to the game because that's how you play the game and where you're supposed to
Sports have been and will continue to be an influential factor on cultures around the world. Soccer is influential in Europe, Football influences The United States and for Canada it would be hockey. It was created in Canada and continues today to be a dominating part of Canadian culture as “the sport and national identity are inextricably linked” (Brunt). You could ask almost anyone in Canada if they knew who Wayne Gretzky is or if they have ever played any form of hockey, and undoubtedly you would hear them say yes more often than no. Hockey influences all ages, from youth signing up for minor hockey, to adults taking their children to a game or even the older generations sitting in front of their television in hopes that the Toronto Maple Leafs will beat the Ottawa Senators. The examination of these cultural influences allows the argument to be made that hockey can in fact be deemed “Canada’s game” (Holman 153).Through investigation of the amount of youth that participate in minor hockey, the statistics involving the amount of professional Canadian hockey players and the success that Canada has achieved in the world of professional hockey, such as the Olympics, NHL and IIHF World Juniors, it will become evident that hockey is and will continue to be viewed as “Canada’s game”. (Holman 153)
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