Why YOU Want to Play Lacrosse

Maybe I'm a bit biased, but I think lacrosse is the greatest men's sport in the world. Lacrosse is a fast-paced, action-packed, adrenaline pumping sport where you can be successful if you're mentally tough. Playing the game involves a combination of speed, strength, and finesse. It combines the gracefulness of basketball, the speed of hockey, and the physicality of football into one exciting, high-scoring game. People without much knowledge of the sport may believe the game to be rough and dangerous, believing players are likely to be hurt because opponents hit them with a metal pole, but more experienced fans realize the game is in fact not as barbaric as it may initially seem. US Lacrosse has placed a strong emphasis on safety and the injury rates are comparatively low for a contact sport.

You don't need to be a big, strong athlete to be a good lacrosse player. You can be a successful lacrosse player no matter what shape or size you are. For example, defenders are typically thought of to be large, slow athletes who are strong and like to hit people. Some defenders are physically and mentally like this, but many others are not. In fact, you can be an incredible defender if you're small, weak, and not very good at hitting people. You just need to be a bit quicker than other players. Attackmen are traditionally thought of as small, fast athletes who are great at scoring, although some of the best attackmen are heavy and slow. These attackmen are great despite their fitness level because they are great at getting open and great at shooting the ball. In each of these cases, the bottom line is that it doesn't matter what size, shape, or speed you are; any player can be successful at any position with the right coaching.

Lacrosse games tend to be high scoring (each team usually scores between 8-12 goals per game) so lacrosse players have lots of opportunities to showcase their individual talents and to be heroes by scoring goals. Relatively high scoring sports are more fun than low scoring games like soccer, as there's constant action and excitement. However, the game isn't too high scoring, which makes scoring a single goal relatively meaningless-like making a basket in basketball.

The lacrosse stick makes lacrosse a unique sport. Players are allowed to whack other player's hands, arms, and sticks (don't worry, your hands and arms are well padded) to try and get the ball away, and while you can't "wrap up" a players with your arms like a tackle in football, there's always an opportunity to lower your shoulder into an opponent to knock them on their back.

Try the sport to see for yourself. If you like action and are mentally tough, I guarantee you're going to love lacrosse.