Lacrosse gaining popularity among Sacramento teenagers

August 22, 4:52 PMSacramento Teen Issues ExaminerDuffy Kelly

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Lacrosse gains popularity among Sacramento teens

While long a mainstay at many East coast middle and high schools, lacrosse is now beginning to take root among Sacramento teenagers.

A blend of many favorite sports --- hockey, soccer and basketball -  lacrosse offers something for everyone, said Jesuit High School coach Pete Winn.

Winn believes it's gaining popularity in Sacramento because its fast pace and high-scoring thrill is a welcome alternative to the slower game of baseball, and the low-scoring game of soccer. Whatever the reason, Winn and his assistant coaches, Steve McLaughlin and Chris Tait, like it because the game requires not brawn but speed and effort.

“You don’t need to be really big and muscular to be good. But kids have to be fast and in good shape. They have to work hard on their own to develop good stick skills. If they practice on their own time, not just at practice but at home, they will develop the right stick skills and do very well,” Winn said. 

” It’s a simple lesson for the kids, if they work hard at it, they will become good players and the ones that do will become successful. If they don’t work hard, they’ll watch others pass them by. It’s a good life lesson in that sense,” he said.

Jesuit High School in Sacramento will  field it’s third C.I.F. Varsity and Junior Varsity lacrosse squads under  Wnn's guidance. 

“Jesuit has embraced lacrosse and supports the sport in every way which is wonderful ,” said Winn.

Jesuit's Athletic Director, Phil Nuxol, credits Winn’s quiet and steady commitment to the sport for bringing it alive on campus. Nuxol said he watched curiously as Winn ignited a passion for lacrosse among Jesuit students.

“Pete and the kids were under the radar for a couple of years. I’d see two or three kids walking around campus with their lacrosse sticks and equipment over their shoulders. But over the course of two years, that number started to grow and grow. Parents said, ‘Hey, come and watch these kids.’” Nuxol said.
After two years of club play on campus, Winn had about 50 kids itching to play. He was the obvious choice for varsity head coach.

“These players are so unassuming on campus, but you see them on the field and they come alive. It’s so rewarding because Winn and the boys who love lacrosse have been so humble and yet so persistent, anonymous for so many years. Now we are traveling to the bay area as a team, not just a club,” Nuxol said.

“Lacrosse has long been known to be the fastest sport on foot,” Winn said. “It’s the ultimate team sport because offensively everybody has a role in every play and defensively any time the ball gets passed, everybody yells out something so there’s constant communication, constant strategizing,” he said.

Back in 1636, Jesuit missionary de Brebeuf observed Native American tribes settling contests and honing their war skills by playing this stick-and-ball game. With as many as 1000 Native Americans on a single team, players would hash it out over a series of days on fields as long as 15 miles with no out-of-bounds. The native Americans attached baskets made of leather or animal intestine to the end of wooden sticks. They made their own balls from deerskin or carved wood. Documents from French pioneers show as many as 45 tribes participated in Lacrosse games, sometimes warring over such prizes as the hunting rights of a beaver pond. The game caught on among the early pioneers, spread to Canada, throughout the eastern U.S. and the Commonwealth while rules, regulations and clubs formed.

Lacrosse involves running long distances up and back on the field, stopping, starting and turning in quick motions to pass, catch and move the ball down the field without touching it with your hands until you score. It’s fast and furious with boy players whacking each other with their sticks and bodies which explains why boys wear full protective gear including shoulder pads, helmets, and gloves. The girls game disallows contact.

“If you watch hockey, people come off the ice every couple of minutes to get a rest. That’s the way lacrosse is. It’s very fast,” Winn said.

For more information visit www.duffykelly.com,  watch Jesuit's YouTube video, or check the lacrosse fanatic information site.