History Of Lacrosse Essay Research Paper History

History Of Lacrosse Essay, Research Paper

History of Lacrosse

What is the history of lacrosse. It is a topic that holds interesting for me in two respects. First, I enjoy all types of history, so learning the who’s and what’s of the sport is interesting to me. Second, I play lacrosse and knowing who and how the sport was developed would help and interest me.

How the game of lacrosse was played. What they used to play with, the types of sticks and balls. Rules used to play, team size, and the basic aspects of the game. The differences between the game of old and the one I play. These are some of the things I would like to know more about.

The war aspect of the game is really interesting. How the aspects of war were incorporated into the game, and why, plus the rituals performed, were all closely interconnected.

Knowing these facts and accounts of lacrosse, before it was changed will help me to understand the game I love. It will also help me to understand those who came before me and passed the game on to me. Plus it will allow me to better understand a people whose ways have been removed and in instances put to an end.

I will be showing, to the best of my ability, an objective view of this history. But some of the information I used was not as objective, so in using their info I tamed down the language, but some of the information is still seemingly biased, but in my points and opinions I will be more objective.

Lacrosse is the oldest team sport played in North America by anyone. But beyond that it was an influential part of a society now mostly defunct. The history of lacrosse is rich in many ways, in its traditions, rituals, and ceremonies.

The game of lacrosse had many styles of play based on the area the tribe was located, it also had different names, all meaning about the same. Their sticks were how they played but more importantly it was their way of life. This was true because lacrosse trained the braves for many things, as well as solved their disputes.

The origin of lacrosse is an obscure one. There are a few ideas of how and where the game originated but no one knows. But the game of lacrosse was the American Indians own, and no others. The American Indians of the northeast and the now central states played lacrosse. There is, however, a similarity between lacrosse and the most popular ball game played by the Norse, called knattleiker. Knattleiker was played in Iceland around 874 BC, and was frequently mentioned in Icelandic sagas, but never in great detail, so an idea of the rules and the game itself can only be obtained from recorded incidents and episodes. (Boyd 14) Professor Hertzberg suggested the possible connection between the two, in that the Norse introduced knattleiker to the Indian tribes of the northeast coast of America, where it then spread inland (Boyd 14). The contact between the American Indians and the Norse occurring when the Norse explored the New World and made camps in Canada and the northeast US. This though is uncertain, where Indian games of lacrosse were witnessed and so is certain.

The early data on lacrosse is from missionaries and English explorers, and is scant and often conflicting. But they agree on one thing, there were three different forms of lacrosse. They were the southeast, Great Lakes, and the Iroquoian (Vennum 2).

Thomas Vennum JR described the three types.

The southeastern game was a double sticked version of the game. A two and a half foot stick is held in each hand, and a soft, small deerskin ball is held between the two. This differs from today’s game, in that only one stick is used, and it is about 3 feet long, plus an inch or two, depending on the player’s preference.

The Great Lake version, players used a singles three-ft. stick. The stick terminates in a round, closed pocket about three to four inches in diameter, hardly larger than the ball, which was made of wood, charred and scraped to shape. The American Indians would put a chunk of wood on a fire and let the outer portions char slightly; they would then scrape and form the wood into a ball. This differs from today’s game, where a hard rubber ball is used.

The Iroquoian or northeastern style, is the forerunner of modern sticks. In that this stick was the model for today’s sticks. Their sticks were the longest, more than three feet; the shaft ended in a crook and a large, flat triangular surface of webbing extending as much as two-thirds of the length of the stick. Today’s sticks are still about the same length, instead of the stick ending in a crook, the head is plastic and screwed onto the shaft. The head is still cover by netting; just it is not as big or far-reaching as on the old sticks.

The type of sticks used in lacrosse depended upon which style of play you came from. Once again the Great Lake style had two small sticks, one in each hand, while the southeast and Iroquois had only one larger stick. While this differed greatly, the importance of the stick did not.

Sticks were very important to the American Indians. Sticks were a symbol of triumph for the Native American culture. Rick Hill Sr., Professor of Native American studies at the State University of New York at Buffalo says that in design lacrosse sticks are descendants of war clubs (Conover 33). The sticks were elaborately carved on the butts and handles. The stic