Game On Magazine 2017 Game On Magazine - Regular Season Edition | Page 118

HOCKEY PLAYERS
SHOULD PLAY
LACROSSE
Lacrosse and hockey are very similar sports.
U.S. College scholarship opportunities
in lacrosse are available.
Hockey players excel at lacrosse.
It’s a great method to increase physical
fitness in hockey’s off-season.
Team sports build self-esteem,
respect, integrity and fairness.
Lacrosse teaches leadership skills.
It helps prevent sport burn-out by playing
a different yet fast-paced sport.
Players of all fitness levels and
abilities can compete in lacrosse.
A player can learn
basic plays and strategies quickly.
A player can learn to play both
offensive and defensive positions
and make a quick transition from
defense to offense and vice versa.
It reinforces the importance
of quickness and agility around the net.
Lacrosse increases hand-eye co-
ordination when stick handling.
It teaches players to play with their head up
and to be more aware of their surroundings.
Offensive scoring skills are
honed by shooting at smaller
targets and picking corners.
Defensive skills are taught with
individual and team concepts.
Lacrosse teaches the creativity of
fakes, back passes and shots.
Lacrosse is run in five-player units and helps the
hockey player practice playing a team concept.
It is inexpensive to equip
lacrosse players as most
hockey equipment can
be used in lacrosse.
1 1 8 | G AME ON | R EGU L AR SEASON EDITION 2018
fact, the original field lacrosse
was played by Canadian
aboriginal peoples for
hundreds of years before the
Europeans invaded America.
Box lacrosse itself was created
in Canada in the 1930s to
keep private hockey arenas
busy during the summer.
Hockey players have
certainly taken advantage of
the opportunity to play lacrosse
in the summer. Winnipeg’s
own Jonathan Toews, Steven
Stamkos and John Tavares
were lacrosse players, as were
Kyle Turris and Cody Hodgson.
On the list of the former
players who played lacrosse
you’ll find Wayne Gretzky,
Brendan Shanahan, Gordie
Howe, Bobby Orr, Joe Sakic,
Doug Gilmour, Paul Coffey,
Adam Oates, Paul Kariya,
Joe Nieuwendyk and former
five-time Montreal Canadiens
Stanley Cup winner and
Winnipeg Jets general manager,
John Ferguson not only played
box lacrosse, he coached the
game at the professional level.
If any young hockey players
would like to take up the game,
it’s quite simple get involved.
There are club teams in all
areas of Winnipeg and the
surrounding region and at
all age groups. It’s never too
early or too late to join a club
and you can do it all on-line
at redriverlacrosse.com.
“There are some community
clubs that still have face-to-
face registration for lacrosse,”
said Coach DeLaRonde.
“However, we essentially go
on line and simply complete
the registration for you.
So get on-line and get
registered. We’d love to have
any young hockey player get
involved with lacrosse.”
Lacrosse also has a
reputation as a rough sport
which can often hold parents
back from registering their
kids. Fact is, the game, when
played well, is not rough
and kids learn skills that will
benefit them in any other sport
they may choose, especially
hockey. It is also a fact that
US Colleges actively recruit
Canadian lacrosse players
because of the skills these
players learn. So if parents
dream of their kids playing
at a big US college, lacrosse is
an avenue that they should
definitely look at seriously.
“I really believe that the
most important thing for us
to recruit new athletes and
there are no better lacrosse
players than kids with hockey
experience,” said Team
Manitoba assistant coach Wade
Garriock. “We do get good
athletes coming into lacrosse
because kids who aren’t good
athletes generally don’t pick
up a lacrosse stick and give
it a try, but that means our
numbers are quite low. We
need more young players
and hopefully we can get the
word out, especially to young
hockey players, that lacrosse
is a great off-season training
activity and can really help you
become a better hockey player.”
The man who was the head
coach of Team Manitoba’s
National Championship Pee
Wee team last summer, Len
Chabluk, agreed. Of course,
Chabluk was once a forward
for the Manitoba Major
Junior Hockey League’s
River East Royal Knights.
“Most of us involved in
lacrosse have all been involved
in hockey,” he said. “I know
first-hand as a player myself
and the father of a player that
hockey is No. 1 in Manitoba.
We want every young person
playing hockey who is looking
to play a great sport in the off-
season to give lacrosse a try.” ❍