Creative Non- Fiction 8 Page

Creative Non- Fiction Draft

Lacrosse is becoming a dominant sport throughout the world and everyone is trying to expand their programs. I played lacrosse from first grade up until my senior year of high school. The program in my school is not at the best it’s been in the past. In order to have a legitimate program, you must have commitment. This is a very big part in starting or trying to improve your program because you can’t play only during the season. You need guys who will come out during the winter, spring, summer, and fall. You need guys who want to play and love the game in order to be a successful program.

Lacrosse has its origins in a tribal game played by eastern Woodlands Native Americans and by some Plains Indians tribes in what is now Canada. The game was extensively modified by European immigrants to North America to create its current collegiate and professional form. There were hundreds of native men playing a ball game with sticks. The game began with the ball being tossed into the air and the two sides rushing to catch it. Because of the large number of players involved, these games generally tended to involve a huge mob of players swarming the ball and slowly moving across the field. Passing the ball was thought of as a trick, and it was seen as cowardly to dodge an opponent.

Lacrosse has had the highest growing rate since 2009. Lacrosse is being developed as a gender neutral sport. It is a very similar game between men and women. Also, this game is not a traditional game with set plays. The game of lacrosse is unique because you can make plays by yourself of where people can just play and ball out. The sport is continuing to grow surprisingly in the south, and has the opportunity for a lot more growth in all states and even countries around the world. Lacrosse is mostly the biggest in upstate New York and the Baltimore area for the past 40 years. The growth of lacrosse to the collegiate level has shows how fast this game is growing and 64 colleges started new programs in 2012-2013 seasons according to the NCAA.

In the game of Lacrosse, you don’t have to be 6 foot-4 and 200 pounds like you do for most other contact sports. You need to be quick, have good stamina, and you must be enthusiastic about the sport. Lacrosse is a fast game and that’s what kids are interested in. Its fast paced, and there’s always a lot of action going on. According to US Lacrosse, their were 750,000 men and women athletes who played lacrosse last year. This was a 25,000 difference from the year before. This is the fastest growing NCAA sport and the numbers are proving it to be. There are more than 36,000 students playing at a college level, including 60 new programs in 2013 and another 40 in 2014.

Native American tribes had pre-game rituals were very similar to rituals associated with war. Players would decorate their bodies with paint and charcoal. Players also decorated their sticks or stick racks with objects representing qualities desired in the game. Strict taboos were held on what players could eat before a game, and the medicine man performed rituals to prepare players and their sticks. The night before a game, players wore ceremonial regalia and held a special dance. Sacrifices were held, and sacred expressions were yelled to intimidate opponents.

While playing High School lacrosse, my teammates and I had many pre-game rituals which would take place before a game. One ritual the team had on the night before games was we would all get together, hang out, just talk and really just try to stay focused like we were going to war that next day. On game day, myself and a few teammates, who are close friends, would go for the same breakfast before every game. We would all meet at this place and discuss the game plan that is going to need to be executed. After breakfast, we head down to the locker-room where we got taped up and prepared for our big game. The same music would be played in the same order before every game, which the team could always rely on to get focused and amped up.

http://www.abc2news.com/sports/popularity-of-lacrosse-growing-at-all-levels

http://www.uslacrosse.org/Portals/1/documents/pdf/about-the-sport/2014-participation-survey.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/20colct.html