New to (playing) lacrosse.

[newbie]

Hi!

I've been a big lacrosse fan since I was little and have always wanted to play, but in each city I've lived in, there have only been boys' teams and never girls' or womens' teams. (I live in Canada.)

There's finally a womens' league in the city I'm in now - but I may be moving back to Vancouver in April or May. I haven't been able to find any female teams there! I've searched online and emailed people and have had no luck... If anyone knows of any, or where I can find any info, that would be great! Lacrosse is pretty big in BC but it seems to be mainly with the guys (I have a lot of guy friends who play lacrosse - none of whom have been any help!).

Also, I have to admit I'm a bit nervous that I won't be very good! I'm really athletic (I'm really into rowing, swimming, etc) but am also pretty small - 5'4 and 110 lbs. Is this too small to play lacrosse well?

And one more question... (Sorry if I'm being annoying!!) Are there any drills or things I can practice at home before I find a team that would help me for when I start playing? I don't have a real stick but I have this lacrosse "game" that basically has smaller sticks. As I train specifically for rowing it would be nice to have some lacrosse training tricks as well!

Sorry this was so long! Any tips, advice, etc, are really appreciated! Thanks!

[laxstar003]

i'm 5'4" + a little under 110 lbs, also. it's a little bit of a disadvantage because it's easy to get pushed around, but i definitely wouldn't say it's too small.

and the biggest thing that could help you is finding a wall or ordering the laxwall, which i've had for like a week + i can already see an improvement in my skills. having so many touches on the ball in so little time gets you really comfortable with throwing + catching.

[stanglax07]

Your not too small! small can be good...some of the best players on my team are tiny and they can menuver in and out of players. I would suggest just throwing a ball against a brick/any kind of wall. you can even use your garage door if you have one. Also, spend time learning how to cradle. If you get those down, by the time you find a team you can be ahead of the game! good luck!

[SSG31]

Hey! Where in Canada are you? (I'm Ontario)

w007! I'm not alone

Size isn't really a concern btw..i'm 5'0 112, i've found success both in the net (where i'll admit, size has hurt) and on the attack..where size has really helped

Whenever I try to teach someone else lacrosse, I start with "the 4" - catching, passing, cradling and groundballs...those are the 4 building blocks to the game, I refer you to Trish Cummings guide to Womens lacrosse written for e-lacrosse.com

http://www.e-lacrosse.com/1999/cummings/1.html

as for Vancouver lax:

http://www.fernweb.com/bclax/bcfield/womenslax.html

hope that's useful

I third laxstar and stang with the wall ball..start with just throwing at the wall and tryign to catch it again...the point of that is to get used to the feeling of the passing motions (which was really awkward to me at first) and catchign the ball (and odds are, if you are literally just starting, will probably be dropping the ball enough to get in some good ground ball pratice too, refer to Trish Cummings for proper ground technique)

once you get really used to that, try moving closer and doing quick stick with the wall, or moving around as you pratice....make up your own variations

(and remeber, what you can do with a wall, you can do with another player too, so have fun, find a buddy)

as for cradling? that can be praticed anywhere...but two bits of theory I like to use to demonstrate my point (note that I will now become unecessarily detailed, but I think I have a point, other laxers, feel free to debate and/or add on)

1) take a pen, hold it vertically in your hand, so that it's being held by your fingers (i.e. you don't have a full fisted grip on it), ring your hand up to your right shoulder (assuming you are using your right hand), place the base of your wrist on the fleshy part of your shoulder there (imagine making a gun sign with 2 fingers as the barrel and bringing it up to shoulder level, that's how your hand should be oriented, also notice how you can bring your fingers in for a full grip when you try that)....now bring your hand around and punch your other shoulder.....you will notice how the pen stayed vertical through the whole trip, and how your wrist curved in order to make that punch (shoudl be hitting with the longest flat surfaces of your fingers) and how your grip on the pen changed from a finger grip only, to a full fisted grip and the way your elbow came in front of your body .....bring your hand back to starting position..repeat and repeat again til it feels somewhat normal

Why did I just ask you to do that?

Because that's what the basic cradling motions feel like...to apply what you may have learned here to the game of lacrosse...imagine if the pen was alot bigger so that you woudl need your second hand to support that..and not cradling that close to the body

To the more experienced players out there... if you get a chance to watch someone try cradling for the first time, notice how their wrist doesn't curl up in a way yours would if you were crading, and how their fingers don't curl either, that's why it looks so awkward...also..what is this about the cradling with teh bottom hand being the power hand I hear about?

Normally you don't cradle THAT close to the body, but as i stated, these are exercizes in THEORY

and

2) place your hand on your belly like you are rubbing it after a good meal...turn your plam face up, place one Canadian penny on your palm where your middle finger meets the rest of your hand (.76 cents to our american friends out there) ....now quickly give me a military salute (i.e. flip your hand upside down as you bring it up towards your forehead), and return your hand as is...if you do it fast enough, the penny will still be in your hand.......repeat this over and over...and note how the penny doesn't fall out

Why did I ask you to do this?

To demonstrate how centrifugal force can keep a penny from falling, despite the fact that for a split second there, it was upsideown, without anythign to support it....if the law of gravity is in effect...shouldn't the penny have fallen out? nope..because of our friend..Intertia an by extenstion, Centrifugal Force. (if you are REALLY interested in this...I suggest you go have a chat with your nearest physics studnet/teacher/prof)

What does this have to do with lacrosse?

Because cradling IS the use of intertia/centrifugal force to keep the ball in your stick...what's happenign everytime you cradle, is that you catch the ball as it is falling out of our stick...but it's done in one smooth motion, so that it's not noticeable


(DISCLAIMER: theory 2 is a half formed theory...so i'll admit my explaination for it really sucks right now....do the experiment, draw your own conclusions as well)

out of curiosity...does anyone actually read to the end of my long winded posts?

*edited to say that the whole bit about the penny is also found in Trish Cummings Guide under the behind the back section, just noticed it after I posted my version of it....so credit where it's due

[LatinBabe]

out of curiosity...does anyone actually read to the end of my long winded posts?

not sure... do yall?

yes.. like SSG31 said, go to a wall and start throwing with yourself.

I recommend though that if you have any friends that play softball ask if they will play catch with you. (i dont know if yall play softball in canada so I will leeave that to you) I say this because you will learn where to put the ball better and actually hitting a target as well as keeping you company. If you dont have any girls to playt catch with, beg one of the guys to help you out, im sure someone will be willing!

Run Run Run, you say you are athletic, but running uses different muscles. You need to train these muscles the most because you will need them in the game.

Play some basketball, pay special attention to the footwork in picks and rolls, this will help a whole lot in the field.
work on cradling like SSG31 said also.. VERY important.

hope this helps. Dont be afraid, im just a pinch over 100 and am quite good at the sport. Just dont worry about it and you will be fine.

[laxstar003]

i read the whole post! :grin

[laxbabe2121]

i uhhh read the last sentnce beucase latin babe quoted it, but don't take offense. i hate reading long articiles, i usually read the first paragraph, and i'm like done. i got the jist of it.

[Paul_Gait_RULZ]

well....newbie....... There's definitely no size factor in girls field, you actaully have an agility advantage from your small size..... If you mean boxlax for girls, good luck there's ONE houseleague in toronto and local area like ajax and etc..... i think 3 in total in ONTARIO!!!!!! Keep on the lookout because I am sure there is girls field lax in vancouver, there is in victoria why not in vancouver!

[LatinBabe]

if i quote the whole thing will you read it laxbabe? :agree

umm... really size doesnt really matter unless your defense. our defense team is filled with the "manly", "burly" girls that dont really fit in anywhere else. for defense you need to be able to hold them off with strength, so if your small i say middi or offense.

really, the best things you can do is what i already mention... aka.. running, playing catch, and watching/trying footwork from other sports (namely basketball).

[SSG31]

newbie : are you looking for boxla, or field? if you are in ontario and field...we should really have a chat

latin babe : the big strong defense? oi....i never really appreciated the strength factor in playign defense, until i bounced off off my defender after accidently roll dodging into her...owwwww.....

lax star: *hands you a cookie* :D

laxbabe : no offense taken, i know it's an abnormally long post, trust me, you didn't really miss anything important *rolls eyes*

[newbie]

Thanks everyone so much for your replies!! I really appreciate it and you all gave some great tips.

SSG...

First, I read to the end of your posts! :o) If the topic interests me, I don't mind reading long posts at all.

Also, I prefer boxla to field but am open to playing either one. Field in BC isn't easy to come by so I've never actually watched a game. The girls league in Victoria that just started up is field though.

So yeah, I live in BC but used to live in Ontario. There's actually a chance that after moving to Vancouver, I may end up moving back to Ontario... (Yeah, I move A LOT!) So if you're up for that chat you said we should have.....