Lacrosse

Lacrosse

Lacrosse, sometimes referred to as “Lax”, like most sports has a history. Early explores of North America found different forms of lacrosse widely played by the Indians. Lacrosse was a mass game, played not only for recreation but also as a means of training warriors. The teams where made up of 100’s of players and sometime with 1000’s of players. The distance between goals was anywhere from 500 yards and a half mile, with some goals a mile apart. At times the goals were several miles part. Games could last as long as three days, starting at sunup and ending at sundown.

In 1861 a Montreal Dentist, by the name of Dr. W. George Beers formed the Canadian National Lacrosse Association and drew up the first set of written rules for the game. In 1868 the English Lacrosse Association was formed.

The game was introduced in 1867 at the Sarasota Springs New York fairgrounds during a race. Here the first mention of lacrosse was in the Americans newspapers and soon there were club teams in the Midwest, North and East. In 1877 intercollegiate lacrosse began when New York University played Manhattan College. The intercollegiate Lacrosse Association was formed in 1882 and the development of the game in the United States was under way. It was not until the 1950’s when lacrosse took great strides forward.

Development of the Women’s Game

In the 1870s lacrosse was transported to England where the rules were modified to eliminate roughness and body contact and in 1890 St. Leonard’s and St. Andrews Schools of Scotland played the first women’s game. The game continued to expand in popularity on both college and high school and in 1932 the United States Women’s Lacrosse Association (USWLA) was formed. In the 1970’s the Association for the Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) and continues today through the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) with tournaments for Divisions 1, 2 and 3.

This year Greenbrier High School is starting its 15’s year of Girls Lacrosse. Over the past fifteen years Greenbrier High School has had a number of Female Lacrosse players graduate and play at the collegiate levels. Regardless whether the girls who played for Greenbrier with in the past fifteen years went on to play at the collegiate level, club level or even for fun on the weekend, they are a part of history. We are proud of all of them! Go Pack and Team #15!