Originally invented by Native Americans, lacrosse is North America's oldest team sport. During the 1600's, French missionaries chronicled the game which the native peoples called baggataway. Those same missionaries called the game la crosse because the stick used to play the game resembled the cross that bishops carried.

Today, lacrosse is played by men and women, boys and girls at ages as young as 3rd grade. Upwards of 5,500 women play lacrosse at over 240 American universities and colleges. It's estimated that 125,000 children in the United States play the game in over 4,500 programs across the country.

Seemingly complicated, lacrosse rules are slightly different for women's and men's leagues. Studying a lacrosse game might remind the viewer of American football, field hockey and soccer all rolled together. Perhaps the native game of baggataway influenced these younger team sports.

Lacrosse Basics:

Players use special sticks to carry and pass a rubber ball about the size of a baseball. This special stick has a head that is strung with nylon cording to form a pocket to hold the ball. Every player has a stick which they use to throw (pass) the ball, catch and run with the ball. To keep the ball in the head of the stick while running, players use a technique called cradling.

Just like soccer, each lacrosse team has a netted goal. The goalie uses a stick with an over sized head used to stop opposing scores. Basically, each team is trying to score goals against the other during a set time divided into quarters. The overall length of the game depends on the age of the players.

Men's lacrosse requires some elaborate padding for shoulders, arms and ribs along with gloves. This is due to the fact that physical contact is allowed in men's lacrosse in a similar though not as blatant or necessary way as American football. Women's lacrosse players need no padding because contact is not allowed. Some choose to wear eye protection and/or nose guards and gloves. Helmets are not required in women's lacrosse, but are mandatory in men's.

Lacrosse games start with a face off at midfield. The team consists of attackmen, defensemen, midfielders and a goalie. Depending on whether it is a men's or women's team, there will be 10 men or 12 women on the field at any given time. Women's lacrosse games are played on a larger field than men's and therefore require more players.

Higher level lacrosse games are officiated by three people, a field judge, referee and umpire. They keep watch over the game looking for technical (holding or grabbing) fouls and personal (tripping or slashing) fouls. Lacrosse requires certain position-players to stay to one side of the midfield line and of course there can only be the required number of players on the field while the ball is in play.

All in all, lacrosse is a fast paced active game requiring good hand-eye coordination and great stamina. It also has the benefits of all team sports, cooperation and teamwork. As more colleges and high schools add lacrosse programs, it will be easier to catch a game and see why this is such a rapidly growing sport in the U.S.