The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-04-18

have fascinated most Americl of lacrosse has it's roots dee recent years that it began bls high school boys.
 The present-day game lacks none of theudash and color of the old, and withsfnany of our leading colleges and secondary schools lav- ing teams,a particularly along the Canadian border and Atlantic. sea board, lacrosse: is makinK q, strong bid for favor in other parts Of the United States. 2Sle9 rsi
 To Accompany Olympic Team
 The planned exhibition tour of a F icked team of college players, with an itinerary of games throughout the middle west. will, no doubt, do; much to- stimulate still greater interest in the game. This team will accompany the Olympic lacrosse team to the Olympics at Los Angeles. playing games on stop-overs sefl route. r [
 The Intercollegiate Lacrosse as- sociation has really formed to fos- ter lacrosse in the schools as well ss in the colleges. Where the best school teams are found, there the college game has had its healthiest growth. The state of; Maryland iis known as the hotbeds Of lacrosse. Many years ago Johns Hopkins un- iversity decided to encourage the game, which its had been playing for years, among the schools of the Baltimore district. To day the game is generally popular Amcns the schools in Maryland. sand the Maryland Scholastic Lacrosse as- sociation conducts shy ip leagues. The entire state hass become la crosse se-conscfous and you see youngsters on the school fields and in the playgrounds, tossing lacrosse balls around,
 New York Going For It
 Scholastic lacrosse has become well established in other centers, too. Boston, Philadelphia, metro politan New York, Syracuse and places along the Canadian border have seen a rapid development of the game. ess
 One of the first questions asked Dy school men who talk to me about lacrosse is: Is not the game too rough for scfool-boys? There .s the erroneous impression abroad that lacrosse is slashing, head chopping game, in which life Cor at least limb) is sacrificed with every stroke. Of course this is an entirely false impression Lacrosse Is not too rough in any way for schoolboys. Those who know the game, including the medical men. will say the same thing. zH.a,
 Lacrosse is an active, virile game, but the rules are so fashioned as to make the factor of danger a negligible one. Photographs of the game also give the impression that the players are bent on whacking each other with their sticks. but what they want is thes ball. and while an occasional, storke does land on a players head, that head is well protected to stand the blow. which has usually been drawn, anyhow.
 Bodily Contact Minor Part
 The officials at high school SGmes have been able to open up the game to g great extent by their strict application of the rules. thus making the game one where run ming. lodging and passing are pre- dominant, with bodily contact re- duced to minor part.
 It is the speed and enthusiasm with which the boys take to and rlay the game which make 1t ap- pear so strenuous and rough to the cesual onlooker. During the final tryouts for the last Olympic la crosse team I recall that I had very few penalties to call even though the games were between spirited rivals. As matter oi fact, have observed that the harder the games are fought the fewer penalties it is necessary to impose. '
 It requires comparatively little expense to equip boys for lacrosse The main items are the lacrosse stick and the gloves. The cost oi the sticks ranges from three dol. lars to five dollars, and the gloves which are the same as those worn ty ice hockey players. can abe bought within the price range oi the sticks. The other parts of the
 
 other sports teams; the shirts and Helmets from football; the shoes from basketball, etc. Nsi
 Use Football Field
 The game can be played on the football field. Lacrosse goals are placed at the ends of the field, 11l yards apart. They are similar tc hockey goals and are~ssixss feet square. with the net coming Nto a pcint in the ground stx rect from the iron supports. Tha Ecai T is placed in the center of an area eighteen feet by twelve feet, known as a ''crease". gs,
 The field is 20 or more yards wide. Across the lateral center oi the field is drawn the center. or Qif- side line, and In the center 6f tlit line Is d circle twenty feet ins df, ameter, from which play Is started There are twelve players to a teais. five attack men, i've defepst men, oneAcenter and one goaikeep- CT.
 Play is started by draw oi the centers In the center circle The draw corresponds to the face cff in hockey, the center-tip in basketball. It is executed by play. ing the ball, which is of solid white live rubber, between the backs oi the sticks of the opposing cehters At the sound of the referees whistle each center tries to direct the ball towards one of his team mates. The player receiving ii scoops it up and attempts to carry 1t toward thc ,opponent's goals The ball may eaa1y be caught carried oi thrown in the mesh of, the stick. and the players may TUT with the ball Tn hjs stick. When overtakefi by afl opponent he pass CT the ball to teammate. and In a series of well-coached maneu- vers, the ball is advanced to within shooting distance of the goal.
 The five defense men attempt tc keep the five opposing attack men from advancing the ball or scoring by overtak . 2 the player with the ball and forcing him to paAs 1t. Q, cause him to lose possessIon of t or intercept | pass. Checking and blocking can only occur where q player either has possesrion of the ball or is within reach of ft.