Lacrosse
"The fastest sport played on two feet"
An Identity
In Iroquois, when the baby of a lacrosse player is born, a small, wooden lacrosse stick is placed on their blanket. Freeman Bucktooth (lacrosse legend) passed down his love for this sport to his two sons, Drew and Brett Bucktooth. Ever since this gift was given to his sons, Freeman became a coach and taught his sons, as well as a team, how to play lacrosse. "Lacrosse is something that has been played for centuries among our people," Bucktooth said. "There is a lot of pride that goes into this game."
America's First Sport
Native Americans have been playing stick-and-ball games since before recorded times. The ones that lived in the Great Lakes region used a stick with a wooden pocket to transport a small, deerskin ball to a goal. These Native Americans played lacrosse for four main reasons: 1) just for fun, 2) to celebrate births and deaths, 3) to do physical training for hunting and war, and finally, 4) to settle disputes between tribes.
Lacrosse Legends
There have been so many amazing lacrosse players in human history, but here are a few that were the best of the best. First off the men: Scott S. Bacigalupo (Princeton and USA), Paul Gait (Syracuse and Canada), Ryan Powell (Syracuse and USA), Jim Brown (Syracuse and USA), Oren Lyons (Syracuse USA), Leroy Shenandoah (Onondaga Tribe), Mike French (Cornell and Canada), Dave Pietramala (Johns Hopkins and USA), Doug Turnbull (Johns Hopkins and USA), Gary Gait (Syracuse and Canada), Casey Powell (Syracuse and USA),and Jack Turnbull (Johns Hopkins and USA). Secondly and Fially, the women: Jen Adams (Maryland and Australia), Cherie Greer (Virginia and USA) Kristin Kjellman (Northwestern and USA), Jane Diamond Barbieri (USA), Valerie Houston (Scotland), Cheryl MacNeill (Canada), Danielle Gallagher (William and Mary and USA), Vivian Jones (Wales), and Sue Mellis Sofarnos (Australia). These are all of the "Legends of Lacrosse."