lacrosse invades the northshire
The first European mention of
stickball was by a French Jesuit
missionary in 1637. It was he who
named the game “La Crosse,” for
he felt that it did, in fact, look like a
bishop’s crosier.
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For the Iroquois, lacrosse was played
as a way of teaching respect and
spirituality for nature. The same
is true today. Back then, it was
organized by the medicine men of
the village. Now, it feels like we
coaches often step in as the spiritual
medicine men.
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56 manchester life | manchesterlifemagazine.com
“Do you all know Harry Potter?” I
ask my young players. When Harry
picked out his wand, it spoke to
him. The same was true when as a
freshman at Syracuse University I
picked out my first college stick. The
Native Americans would come to
campus in a pickup truck loaded with
handmade sticks from the Onondaga
Reservation, just south of Syracuse.
Each of us players would try out
multiple sticks before choosing the
one that felt the best—the one that
“spoke” to us. There was a spirit in
the sticks that gave us strength and
courage.
In Manchester, our sport has grown
from a few players in 1992 to more
than 150 local players today. The
outdoor season starts in early April
(after the snow has left the fields) and
lasts until mid-June. The Equinox
Shootout held its first invitational
tournament at the Hildene meadows
in 2004 and in 2010, the organizer,
Equinox Lacrosse Association, moved
to its permanent home at the Rec
Park. The association now fields boys
and girls teams ranging from first
grade to eighth grade and hosts