To understand the origin of lacrosse sticks, it's necessary to look at the history of the game of lacrosse. Modern-day field lacrosse is usually played on a football field. There are 10 players from each team on the playing field, and each team tries to score goals by shooting the ball into the goal. There is one goal at each end, and it is defended by the team's goalie. The lacrosse ball is carried, passed and shot with the lacrosse stick; it's against the rules to touch the ball with a hand.
Native American Lacrosse
The game of lacrosse was played in upstate New York and lower parts of Ontario by Native Americans long before the voyage of Christopher Columbus. The game was played between tribes and often had a thousand or more players on each team. The goals were miles apart, and the game could last for days. The Native Americans used their sticks to disable opponents, as many as possible, and then focused on scoring a goal.
The Name
When the French began inhabiting the area, they watched these games, which were called baggataway or tewaraathon by Native Americans. The French noticed that the shape of the sticks resembled a bishop's crosier, which is a stylized staff. The French gave the name "the cross" for these sticks, which is the translation from the French words "la crosse." This is how the modern name of lacrosse originated.
Stick Changes
Europeans began playing the game of lacrosse in the 1840s. The first modern-day lacrosse organization was founded in Montreal in 1842. In 1867, George Beers, from the Montreal club, made rule changes to the stick and ball. Instead of a ball of deer skin stuffed with hair, he directed the ball to be constructed of hard rubber. He also made changes to the stick's netting, dictating that the netting, or pocket of the lacrosse stick, needed to be flat when a ball was not in it. This change led to the modern-day mesh pocket.
College Lacrosse
In 1906, the intercollegiate lacrosse association was formed, further refining the rules of the game. The game of lacrosse was included in the Olympics in 1904 and 1908. The early sticks were made of wood and had leather straps to form the webbing. Later, as advances were made in synthetic and composite materials, the sticks evolved to be constructed with these, although mesh is not allowed in National Collegiate Athletic Association women's lacrosse.
Evolving Stick Design
Changes to the lacrosse stick by the NCAA have continued. One recent change was to set a minimum width of 3 inches for the head width. This was a result of lacrosse stick manufacturers narrowing the bottom of the head, which holds the mesh, so that it would be more difficult to dislodge the ball. One consideration for rule changes to the design of the lacrosse stick is the cost involved for teams to re-equip.
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