MARCH 18, 2016, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE B1
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Lacrosse
comes to Keizer
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
The McNary High School boys lacrosse team
has only played one game at their home school
in the more than fi ve years the team has been
around.
That’s about to change, and Ryan Bowlby,
McNary head coach, said the program is feeling
extra pressure to demonstrate the game for a new
Keizer audience.
“In past seasons, the kids have really been
focused on winning games, but the seniors
this season are really motivated to show their
understanding of the game for the new fans
who might come out and watch,” Bowlby said.
“The big thing we are focusing on is talking. I
want them talking as loud as possible, making it
known that we are on this fi eld. We want to let
the stadium know that we know the game and
we’re talking through it.”
Last summer, the McNary volunteers, boosters
and local businesses all chipped in to install a new
turf fi eld. The artifi cial turf, which can withstand
more regular usage, allows the lacrosse team to play
in Keizer rather than traveling to North Salem
High School, as was the norm, for home games. If
that wasn’t enough reason to celebrate the sport,
there’s also a girls lacrosse club at McNary for the
fi rst time this year.
An all-North American game
Imagine a game played with teams ranging
from 100 to 1,000 players on a fi eld 1,600 feet to
1.9 miles long and contests lasting from sun up to
sun down.
That’s where lacrosse is believed to have its
roots, as a ceremonial warfare to give thanks to
a higher power. It later evolved into a form of
intertribal sport with players taking on the role of
warriors seeking glory and honor for their tribes.
It was played by indigenous people of the
North American continent and fi rst documented
by Jesuit missionary priests before being described
in detail by frontiersman James Smith in 1757. In
those days, tribe members used fi ve-foot staffs
with nets on the top to move around a wooden
ball.
The sport fi rst became codifi ed around the
turn of the 20th century and it was included
in the Olympics in 1904 and 1908 with teams
from Canada, the United States and Great Britain
competing.
Since that time, the game underwent further
modifi cations and has been played at the college
level for more than 100 years. In recent decades,
the game’s popularity has grown far beyond the
Canadian and American Northeast regions where
it was most popular.
The basics
In modern boys games, teams of 10 players set
up on either side of the fi eld. Girls get 12 players
Quick
hits
Lacrosse is
played with 10
players on each
team: three
attackmen, three
midfi elders, three
defensemen, and
one goalie
Checking - an attempt
to dislodge the ball from
another player’s stick by
poking or slapping their
stick or arms with either
end of their own stick.
“There’s a
bunch who
are picking up
the stick for the
fi rst time and they’re
playing pretty well,
especially on defense”
— Jonathan Williams
on each team.
For the boys, helmets, gloves, shoulder pads,
elbow pads and crosses (the poles with netted
loops on the end) are the standard equipment
and physical contact is encouraged. In girls
lacrosse, the rules are specifi cally designed to
limit physical contact and the only required
equipment is a mouth guard and a faceguard
or goggles.
For the boys, there are three defensemen,
three midfi elders, three attackmen and one
goalie on the fi eld at any one time. The girls
get two additional midfi elders. Players can
move outside of their designated area on the
fi eld – goalies can even make runs on the
opposing goals – so long as other players
hang back.
“Our goalie (Marcus McCoy) happens
to be freakishly athletic and he’s known to
make runs like that. He’s probably our best
athlete on the team,” Bowlby said.
The crosses differ in size and sometimes
shape depending on the role of the player
on the fi eld.
“Defensive players get 6-foot poles,
while attackmen get a 42-inch stick. The
goalie’s stick can vary in length, but it
always has a larger net at the top,” Bowlby
said.
The game is played with a small, solid
rubber ball that is passed between players
using the crosse and scored in a six-by-
six goal. Players cannot touch the
ball with their hands and are
most often running with the
Please see LAX, Page 10
Crease – The circular
area surrounding the six-
by-six goal. Offensive
players are not allowed
to enter the crease, de-
fensive players are per-
mitted so long as they
don’t have possession of
the ball.
Crosse – the proper
name of the netted sticks
used in the game. There
are two sizes of sticks,
longer ones for defense-
men and shorter ones for
attackmen.
Faceoff - Play is started
at the beginning of each
quarter, and after each
point, with a faceoff at
center fi eld. One player
from each team meets at
the center of the fi eld on
all fours and tries to gain
control of the ball with
their sticks, often using
“clamping” techniques
to trap the ball under
the net of their stick or
swing it out to a team-
mate.
Lacrosse ball – A solid
rubber ball used to play
and score the game.
Man Down/Man Up
– If a team has a player
in the penalty box, they
are said to be playing
Man Down, the oppos-
ing team is considered
Man Up.
Pocket – The net on the
end of a lacrosse stick.