Lacrosse

For the younger reader, the Thunder Bay Public Library (TBPL) has a variety of materials available about the sport of lacrosse.

For children not that familiar with the game, both For the Love of Lacrosse and Lacrosse in Action have good summaries of the basics. For the Love of Lacrosse is a great starting point, detailing the game basics, the equipment you need, positioning, rules, and penalties. Lacrosse in Action is a slightly longer work that has a good discussion about the differences between the boy’s and girl’s games of field lacrosse. This book also includes more tips and techniques and has many helpful diagrams throughout.

For young adult readers Lacrosse: rules, tips, strategy, and safety is a good source of information on the game. Starting out with the history of lacrosse, from its aboriginal origins to the modern organized amateur and professional game, it then delves into the difference between men’s and women’s field lacrosse looking at field size, rules and regulations, and player positioning. The book then details what opportunities exist for U.S. college lacrosse players, along with professional and world lacrosse. Finally, there is a chapter on what equipment is required to start playing lacrosse.

For young readers interested in biographies, TBPL has Martin Parnell’s work Running to the Edge; this book tells of Martin tackling a number of extreme sporting challenges called “Quests for Kids” to raise money for his children’s charity Right to Play. The 3rd quest in his book was to set up and to partake in the longest game of box lacrosse. He talks about his crash course in learning, training and preparing for the game.

Lacrosse:  the National Game of the Iroquois is a well illustrated book on the indigenous history of the game. It begins by chronicling the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, concentrating on the Onondaga nation; it goes into their history, government and oral traditions. The book then explores the changes from the game as it was originally played through to modern field lacrosse. The basic rules, equipment, and techniques of both field lacrosse and box lacrosse are explained. One chapter details a member of the Onondaga Territory’s step by step process for making traditional wooden lacrosse sticks.

If works of fiction are more your style, Matt Christopher has a book in his sports series for kids about lacrosse. Lacrosse Face-Off has the tale of an out of shape boy joining his brother’s lacrosse team as his choice for doctor recommended exercise. We get to see how he and his brother react to team dynamics and personalities, and learn where their true loyalties lie when faced with adversity.

And if you and your children would rather watch a DVD about lacrosse then Crooked Arrows (PG-13) is available at the library in the Indigenous Knowledge Centre. In this movie a rag-tag aboriginal high school lacrosse team pits itself against prep school teams. In the past this has resulted only in humiliating defeats, but a former star player, now the team’s reluctant coach, sets out to turn this underdog team into champions.

Will Scheibler – www.tbpl.ca. If you have a comment about today’s column, we would love to hear from you. Please comment below!