Lacrosse Lacking Love

Even though the West Coast is gaining a larger lacrosse fan basis and rising in popularity, the East Coast is still on top knowing more about the history, competitiveness, and the entertainment all involved in the sport.

Kylee Golden, Editor of Sports

When you think about high school sports most people think football, baseball, softball, basketball, and a few others – these are the main sports of our corner of the world. Here on the West Coast, people don’t usually think about lacrosse. The only thing many know about lacrosse is that one very attractive werewolf and his best friend play it on a TV show. That is because high schools will not fund a lacrosse program since it is not a major sport that they believe will bring in money. Lacrosse players have to form a club at the local high school and fundraise on their own in order to get the money to play. They have to pay for refs, fields, uniforms, etc. Lacrosse teams cannot even use their high school´s fields. They have to play and practice at a local park. One example of a high school who has to deal with these struggles is Desert Vista. Their players have to work hard and fundraise just to get enough money to pay for things that are provided for sanctioned high school sports.

Now lacrosse on the East Coast is a completely different story. It is one of the most common sports played there. The teams are often funded by the schools and are, in some places, equivalent to football in a sense that the entire school and people in the community will come out and support their team.

Why has lacrosse always been bigger on the East Coast? Lacrosse has roots from the Native American Iroquois people who inhabited what is now New York, Pennsylvania, and other parts of the northeastern United States, including lower parts of Ontario and Quebec. In the 20th century, teams in high schools, colleges, and universities in Canada and the United States began playing the game.

Lacrosse is a growing game that is making its way across the country, and although the West Coast has not yet caught up with the East Coast’s officiality and popularity, it is rapidly rising.