Lacrosse is a game derived from a number of stick-and-ball games originally played by North American natives for training young braves for warfare, and was commonly known as Baggataway. The name lacrosse comes from the French generic term for any game played with a curved stick (crosse) and a ball. Lacrosse had been played throughout the eastern half of North America, mostly by tribes in the southeast, around the western Great Lakes, and in the St. Lawrence Valley area.
Lacrosse was a violent, aggressive game mainly because it was used as tool for training in the art of war. There were no prescribed uniforms because it was largely considered a savage game. However, as the game continued to evolve and started to gain popularity among non-natives, helmets, pad and other protective gears were introduced into the game. These components are now essential parts of the game uniform.
Lacrosse is the National Sport of Canada today. In the United States too, it has become a very popular game, especially in the northeastern regions.
Modern Lacrosse evolved from the Montreal Lacrosse Club. This club was the first to introduce a concrete set of rules in 1867 and founded the National Lacrosse Association. The Mohawk Club of Troy, NY popularized the game in the United States during the 1860's.
(Incredible Fact: In the 1900s, some Oklahoma Choctaw teams started attaching lead weights to their sticks to use them as skull-crackers. The game was immediately banned by the authorities.)
How the Game is played:
A combination of basketball, soccer and hockey, the main objective of the game is to scoop a small rubber ball and throw or kick it into the opponent’s goal, by using a stick with a net attached to one end. A team composed of a goalkeeper, three attack players, three midfield players, and three defense players. Each goal counts 1 point, and the team scoring the most goals is the winner.
Uniforms and Equipment:
Lacrosse uniforms normally comprised of jerseys, shorts and cleated shoes. Protective equipments such as helmets with steel wire face guards, light shoulder and arm padding, and heavy gloves (similar to those worn in ice hockey) are also essential components of the game uniform.
According to the National Lacrosse League, all players are required to conform to the League Uniform Standards. While conducting equipment checks, the referee is required to inspect the following items:
- Helmet, Facemask, Chinstrap, Throat guard and Mouthpiece.
- Gloves
- Shoulder /Vest and Rib Pads
- Arm Pads
- Goalie Pants / Pads
- Shin Pads
- Stick
- Any other equipment worn by the player
Additional Uniform rules of the NLL do not allow straps, strings, tie-dyed shirts etc. to hang below the hemline of the game jersey. No external objects like tape, characters, non-sponsor logos and similar, cannot be used to modify the player’s helmet and any other parts of the sportswear. Arm guards, elbow pads, wristbands, have to match team color. Even the shoestring color has to match the color of the shoes issued or NLL approved team colors. Compression shorts may be worn but they also has to conform and match the color of the uniform shorts issued by the Club.
Teams are provided with Uniforms by their clubs but for the Amateur player, Lacrosse Uniforms and related sportswear can be purchased from a number of commercial sporting goods stores, with numerous designs, materials and versions to choose from. There are different categories of Uniforms available such as Box Lacrosse Jerseys, Field Lacrosse Jerseys, Practice Jerseys, Custom Sweatshirts, Kids Uniforms, Shorts etc.
