Brandon High School varsity girls tennis and hockey coach Brian Moore is helping to introduce a rapidly growing sport to the community.
Each Wednesday behind the high school, several community members gather for lacrosse, a sport that Moore said ‘combines the best elements of soccer, football, basketball, and hockey.?
Moore, who has taught four years at the high school, said ever since he arrived at BHS, students have been talking about playing lacrosse.
‘Finally, Joe Turcsak (a 2004 BHS graduate) and I decided to put an announcement out there this year (to get students together to try out the sport),? he said. ‘The first time we had it, about 40 kids came out and it was a blast. We did it again and got another 40 kids to come out.?
This spring, the Brandon club decided to test their skills against some neighboring schools. Even though they lost to the Clarkston junior varsity 8-5 and to the Davison JV 4-3, Moore said the students really enjoying playing the sport, and so he decided to start the summer lacrosse club.
Moore said that while he and the students involved in the club are still learning about the sport, he said the turnout so far has been very positive.
‘It’s a case of a group of kids who wanted to start something new,? he said. ‘We’ve had a bunch of kids rotating through, and some kids show up each week.?
The roots of lacrosse date back to the 1630’s, when the game was played by Native Americans. According to the U.S. Lacrosse Web site, uslacrosse.org, lacrosse was ‘one of many indigenous stickball games being played by American Indians at the time of European contact.?
Early data on the sport from the French Jesuit missionaries are sketchy and conflicting, according to Thomas Vennum Jr., author of ‘American Indian Lacrosse: Little Brother of War.?
On the U.S. Lacrosse site, Vennum said those reports talk mostly about equipment used, the duration of games, and length of playing fields, but very little about game strategy or the rules of the sport.
In 1876, New York University became the first college in the United States to establish a team. In 1904, lacrosse was played as an exhibition sport at the Olympics in St. Louis.
Today, men’s lacrosse is comprised of ten players per team, according to LaxRules.com, a Web site which details the rules of the sport. Each team must keep at least four players (including the goalie) in its defensive half of the field and three in its offensive half. Three players (midfielders) may roam the entire field.
In addition, high school lacrosse games are generally 48 minutes long, with four 12-minute quarters. Each team is given a two-minute break between the first and second quarters as well as the third and fourth quarters, with halftime lasting ten minutes.
The sport has grown so fast that the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) is sponsoring a championship tournament for the spring of 2005, Moore said.
To his knowledge, Moore said there are no other Flint Metro League schools who have a lacrosse club. He said while he can’t speak for the Brandon school district or the athletic department, he expects more schools to adopt lacrosse as an official varsity sport in the future, especially since the MHSAA is now sponsoring a state championship in the sport.
‘I think schools are going to have it sooner rather than later,? he said.