History of Lacrosse

Lacrosse was first documented in the year 1636 by a missionary named Jean de Brebeuf. In the year 1867 the game of lacrosse adopted basic rules, field dimensions and number of players on each team. One of the main reason lacrosse was invented was to prepare young men for war and to settle territory disputes.

The lacrosse sticks were made out of wood with net webbing and the ball was either a rock, deerskin or baked clay. The goal was either two sticks in the ground or a big tree.

(Roll over image to see what lacrosse sticks look like now)

Some stories tell of teams of over 1,000 players playing on a field of 1 to 15 miles in length. With teams of this proportion game would last hours, even days.

(Roll over image to see changes in lacrosse)

During the 1860's lacrosse started to gain popularity and by the 1870's teams where being organized and colleges started taking up the game. On November 22, 1877 the first college game was played between New York University and Manhattan College. Since ice hockey and lacrosse are closely related games the rules for lacrosse were based on the rules of hockey.

Lacrosse Today

Today lacrosse is a fast growing sport that a lot of people play. Most colleges have a club or Division I, II, or III program. The rules are basically the same, but have been tweaked a little to fit the style of play of today. Today there are three types of lacrosse indoor lacrosse, outdoor lacrosse and chumash lacrosse.

Outdoor Lacrosse: Outdoor lacrosse is played with two teams of 10 players each. There are 3 attack, 3 midfield and 3 defense. The objective of the game is to score on your opponents goal.

Indoor Lacrosse: Indoor lacrosse is basically the same as outdoor lacrosse except a few things are changed. The field is shorter and there is a barrier of walls around the field.

Chumash Lacrosse: Chumash lacrosse is played with two teams of three people and two substitutes are allowed. The goal is 6' height by 12" wide. The objective of the game is to score on its respective side of the goal.

(Chumash Lacrosse Goal)