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FEATURE ARTICLE
Andrew Muir (BHSc, PGDip), Physiotherapist, New Zealand Lacrosse Lacrosse has a long history having originated with the native populations of North America, particularly a group of tribes called the Iriquois, now an area that encompasses parts of the northern US and Canada. Although first documented by a Jesuit missionary (thus the French name) some form of lacrosse is thought to have been around for thousands of years and still holds very deep cultural and spiritual significance for certain groups in these areas. Previously played between tribes, the more modern game as it is seen now can be traced back to the late 1800’s and remains strongest in both Canada and the US. New Zealand was one of a few countries that had an active lacrosse community in the late 19th and early 20th century. However, as with many other sports, World War 1 decimated the game and it was absent from the country until 2001 at which point the game was restarted in Auckland. With numbers growing steadily, the growth of the game in New Zealand has mirrored the progress of the sport internationally, evidenced by the number of countries competing at the World Championships growing from 8 in 2002 to nearly 50 in 2018. Lacrosse Today With only 400 men’s players in NZ Lacrosse is still an obscure sport so an overview may be of value. The game is played over 4 x 20 minute quarters and involves 10 players on each team- 3 attackmen, 3 midfielders, 3 in defence and a goalie. Required gear includes gloves, arm pads, and a full helmet (similar to Ice Hockey) with few restrictions on how long or where to carry, pass and, or shoot the ball. Each restart begins with a contested faceoff, there are few stoppages and no restrictions on substitutions allowing for a rapid, fluid game with consistent changes of personnel throughout. Defence and attack have to stay in their respective half of the field, usually creating a 6v6 situation when attacking the goal except when players incur a penalty during which time the penalised player is sent from the field for up to a minute. Contact is allowed in 2 primary ways. The first is using your stick to check the ball carrier’s stick or gloves in an attempt to dislodge the ball, the second is using your body and hands in contact with the opposition player’s body (from the side or front) to impede their progress or knock them away from the ball when not in possession. The combination of speed and physical contact makes lacrosse an extremely taxing game when played well. It’s fast pace and end to end nature makes a balance
of speed, agility, and size a necessity. However, it also leaves ample opportunity for injury. The challenges as a developing sport are, I suspect, not unique to lacrosse. As the sport has grown domestically and internationally the level of physical capability and skill level has risen accordingly. Within the National team the expectation on players and support staff has increased significantly with the level of fitness, skill, game knowledge, and time commitment rising pointedly to simply keep pace with international competition. Finding a way to balance this while acknowledging that lacrosse is still an amateur sport can be difficult with the need to work around the other commitments for player’s and support staff alike including study, work, and family.
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