Living in Colorado, there is a lot of exposure to the sport of lacrosse, yet 10 years ago, it was mainly focused on the East Coast. In the recent years, lacrosse has grown tremendously to include more players and span across more locations.

Lacrosse originated in the early 1600’s from the Native Americans. The Native Americans believe that their creator sent them this game for his enjoyment, and they used the sport for healing and to aid in their spiritual development. It was first played as a male-only sport, and there were no distinct rules.

The first modern game of lacrosse was played in the mid-1800’s by the Montreal Lacrosse Club. An article was written about the game in a local newspaper, and people outside of native tribes took interest in the sport of lacrosse. Many people began to learn how to play. By the late 1800’s, the sport had many teams forming in New York and surrounding areas. During the next 50 years, colleges on the East Coast began adding club lacrosse teams.  In the 1930’s, gear started to become part of the game, which led to the distinction between the women’s and men’s game. The men’s game involved more gear and contact. The sport of lacrosse continued to become more modernized during the 1960’s when the plastic lacrosse head was made.

Throughout the past 10-15 years, lacrosse has grown tremendously.  According to Laxpower.com, from 2001-2014, there was a 170% increase in boys high school lacrosse players and almost a 200% increase for girls high school lacrosse players. Another website, Laxworld.com, states, “621 [high] schools added boys lacrosse programs and 588 added girls programs between 2008 and 2012.” In addition, lacrosse is a sport for both boys and girls, which helps how fast it grows.

While lacrosse is not the most popular sport, it is the fastest growing. Lacrosse used to be isolated to the east coast, but it has recently spread to the Midwest and West Coast. Each year, more and more children are wanting to try the sport. Numerous amounts of colleges have started lacrosse programs, including Division 1 teams, because many high school students want to continue lacrosse in college.  Some colleges are also adding club teams. Due to the popularity of lacrosse, ESPN covers approximately 100 professional and college lacrosse games. This exposure creates more publicity for the sport and many people continue to join in the fun.

Lacrosse has also started to travel to many different countries including Canada, United Kingdom, and Australia. Lacrosse is still growing throughout the United States and into different countries. Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in America, so if you want to try a new sport, try lacrosse!