Lacrosse here at Air Academy High School is off to a great start with a 4-1 record for the girls and a 4-3 for the boys.

This year the Girls Lacrosse team has two new amazing coaches Kali Maxwell and Emily who played together at a top ranking Division 2 school, LIU Post. These two elementary school teachers have a die-hard passion for lacrosse. Hartley Conforti, one of the JV captains, said that these two amazing coaches “make practice fun for everyone. Even when they make us run, they somehow find a way to make us smile at the end of practice”.

Not only are the Air Academy High School girls lacrosse coaches the best, but the team is full of kind-hearted girls. The lacrosse team for the 2016 -2017 school year has at least two girls from each grade. The differences in age and grade allow the team to open up and meet new people from our student body.

Aside from our outstanding coaching staff and an extraordinary team of girls, the team also has some pretty fresh uniforms. They are the same uniforms that the Syracuse Women’s lacrosse team has, with the exception that the team’s are navy blue and white. The team also has Nike jackets that have our team logo embroidered on the chest, along with warm-ups, which consist of a shooter shirt with the AAHS logo on the front. Although many of the girls on the team think that the best item we wear for our warm ups are the “swishy pants”.

If nothing said so far entices you into playing lacrosse next year, listen up to these interesting facts about lacrosse.

1. Both men’s and women’s lacrosse are the fastest growing sports in America.
2. Not only is lacrosse a fun way to get to know people from all over the world but it is a fun way to learn about history.Lacrosse was originally played by Native Americans. There are many different folk tales about the sport and why it was created. Liam Gasser, a lacrosse enthusiast at Illinois State University,  wrote the most popular legend which states: “Legend has it that while the birds were preparing to play the four-legged animals, a mouse and a squirrel both asked to join the birds. The birds questioned them, wondering why they didn’t join the four-legged animals. Legend says they were laughed at for their small size. The birds felt sorry. The birds wondered how the animals would be able to play with them since they lacked the ability to fly. Together the animals played with their new found friends, against the animal who had mocked them for their small stature. They worked as a team. The eagle passed the ball to the squirrel, who flew it high into the clouds before dropping it to the bat who was waiting at the goal. This ensured victory for the winged animals. The deeper meaning of the game can be derived from this legend.”
3. As lacrosse became more and more popular, the sport was adopted into three summer Olympic games. The 1904 and 1908 were the only games that involved lacrosse. It was taken out because only Canada, The United States of America, and Great Britain participated.

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Hopefully this article has influenced you to get out on the field and play the great game of lacrosse. Go check out Reagan B’s story for more information on Air Academy lacrosse.