First Tournament!

http://www.e-lacrosse.com/2005/spin/cc8.jpg (the only information provided)


This weekend is the first lacrosse tournament of the year! We are playing at A&M on Saturday, and I am very nervous. I have never seen a game of lacrosse before, and I don't really know how to play. Despite practicing hard, I haven’t been able to visualize what I am actually supposed to be doing. Since we have never really scrimmaged, the plays don’t make sense to me. The positions and rules are much different than soccer, which is what I have always played. In lacrosse, once the whistle is blown no one on the field is allowed to move at all. Also, the rules for out of bounds, as well as fouls are completely different. I’ve been practicing a lot outside of scheduled practices, since we only practice twice a week. Also, we are only going to have two subs at the tournament, which is not good. We have to play UT and A&M, the first and second place teams in the state.
Despite being very scared for this weekend’s games, I am also excited. Being on a team is something that I have missed since coming to Trinity, and I am glad that I have been getting to know all the other girls. Hopefully this weekend is going to be a good learning experience for me, as well as the rest of the team. Since most of the girls who are going to the tournament this weekend are inexperienced, I am less nervous about making mistakes that cost our team goals, or penalties.

Practice Practice Practice!

I have been on the lacrosse team for a couple weeks now, and still feel like I haven’t gotten the hang of it. Catching, throwing, guarding, running, scoring: the list of skills to acquire goes on and on. Despite this, the game is fun to play. The first two weeks of practice revolved around ball handling. We learned how to do line drills, which is when we throw the ball in a variety of ways while running. This is a very hard thing to do, requiring accuracy of throwing as well as placing yourself in front of the ball in time to catch it with the stick. The stick consists of a handle, called a shaft, which is made from a light alloy metal, and is usually about three feet in length. The head is the portion of the stick used for catching, and has ten to twelve leather thongs tied together to form the pocket, which is where the ball is held. The ball is a solid rubber ball about two inches in diameter.

I am not sure what all the rules are, because there are so many! I also don’t really know the positions involved with an actual game since we have just practiced basic stick and ball handling skills so far. I have learned the basics of defending however, so I am hopeful that I will get to play in our first tournament, which is held in College Station in two weeks. I am excited to play my first lacrosse game ever, and I am very happy that I decided to join the TU Women’s Lacrosse Team! (Picture from Smarter N.p., 2009. Web. 6 Oct. 2009 .)