Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
May 18, 2001, Washington Post

Stick to It: Lacrosse Is Red Hot

These days, I see kids playing catch with lacrosse sticks almost as often as I see kids playing catch with baseball gloves. From grade schoolers all the way up through the college ranks.

You don't believe me? Listen to this: The number of players in the third- to eighth-grade bracket in the Northern Virginia Youth Lacrosse League has nearly tripled in the last four years, says commissioner Frank Hill. More than 4,000 boys and girls are playing on more than 180 lacrosse teams all across Northern Virginia. That's a lot of kids playing catch with lacrosse sticks.

High school lacrosse is the same story. More schools are adding boys and girls lacrosse to their list of varsity sports. The high school playoff season is in full swing. Check out the lacrosse scores in the Sports section. The list runs as long as the scores for more traditional spring sports such as baseball and softball.

And today, hundreds of high school lacrosse fans in Montgomery County will watch Georgetown Prep play the No. 1 lacrosse team in the area, Landon, in what has become one of the fiercest sports rivalries around.

Believe me, lacrosse is plenty hot.

The sport is cool, too. First, lacrosse has a cool history. It started as a way for North American Indians to train for battle. Early lacrosse games covered miles of ground and were played by thousands of warriors. Some players were even killed during the games.

Nowadays, lacrosse games are not so crazy or so crowded. It's a team sport that is attracting lots of kids who have played other sports and want to try something different. Hill says, "Our best players are skateboarders, hockey players and wrestlers."

Maybe lacrosse is for you. Tired of 1-0 soccer games? Lacrosse has loads of goals. Scores such as 15-14 are not uncommon.

Think baseball or softball is too slow and boring? Lacrosse games are one hour of full-tilt, running action.

Like the passing and team play of basketball and hockey? Lacrosse has plenty of passing. And players do it with really cool-looking sticks. Daylyn Finnegan, who coaches an under-14 girls lacrosse team for the Fairfax Police Youth Club, says that lacrosse is like "field hockey in the air."

So check out a lacrosse game. The NCAA women's lacrosse championship is being played at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore this weekend. The men's tournament is at the University of Maryland.

Or just get a lacrosse stick and ball and run outside and play catch.

Believe me, you won't be alone.

FRED BOWEN is the author of sports novels for kids. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company