The History of Lacrosse

Lacrosse was invented by the Algonquian Native American Tribe and initially played in the St. Lawrence Valley area. Lacrosse games took place over a huge field; anywhere from 500 yards to several miles apart. The only rules were that you can’t touch the ball and that there were no boundaries. Player numbers would range from 100 to 100,000, as formal positions were not yet identified.

French Jesuit missionaries working on the St. Lawrence were the first Europeans to see lacrosse being played by the Native American Indians.

Jean de Brebeuf wrote about the Europeans’ findings being played by the Huron Indians and gave the sport its name; Lacrosse.

A demonstration of lacrosse was given by the Caughnawaga Indians in Montreal.

Canadian dentist, Dr. Williams George Beers founded the Montreal Lacrosse Club and a decade later, he drew up rules. These rules reduced the number of players, introduced a rubber ball, and a newly designed stick.

St. Leonards School, in St. Andrews, Scotland claims to be the first girls’ school to have played lacrosse.

Lacrosse was played in the Summer Olympics. Winnipeg Shamrocks was the winning male team in 1904.

The Ladies Lacrosse Association was founded in England and international matches began the following year.

Despite previous attempts, lacrosse was not brought to a girl’s high school team until this date. Rosabelle began this trend at Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore.

Ahshara Edwards was a part of a team who lost in the semi-finals, but she and her teammates did not go down without a fight. Losing by one point, they were devastated… together. Ahshara’s mental and physical health were altered. She was hurt, but in love and happy all at the same time. Walking off the field dripping with sweat, she lost with her girls and that’s all that mattered.