Box Lacrosse

Since the first game by Native Americans in the 15th century, the popular field sport Lacrosse has received several modifications that included the evolution of its name from a former Mohawk term which meant “little brother of war” to its variation in the number of team players. In 1930, a group of hockey promoters in Canada decided to put a spin on lacrosse. To make use of hockey rinks during summer, this group of people opened the very first indoor lacrosse and became the most popular sport in Canada to date next to Ice Hockey.

The name box lacrosse was then coined since the sport was played inside a hockey rink often referred to as the box. Sportscasters and enthusiasts later added nicknames like boxla or boxcrosse. Box lacrosse is played with six players in a team, contrary to the field version of the sport which has 12 players in it. Although some rules from the field lacrosse are still applied in boxla, major modifications are very noticeable. The goal is smaller than in the open field lacrosse. The goalkeeper is unusually bigger in box lacrosse and wears a considerable huge padding making it more difficult for the opposing team to hit a goal.

A game in a Canadian arena, typically consists of three periods each with twenty minutes of time allotment. The two contesting teams will change ends after each period. A team is only given 30 seconds to take a shot. And the box lacrosse’s permission for crosschecking makes the sport even tougher. This means that a player can hit another using his stick or crosse as an offensive move.

Despite its allowance of crosschecking, box lacrosse continues to grow its popularity with its penetration in the U.S. and Australia. Its tremendous growth even outshined the traditional open field lacrosse making it the less popular. Outdoor players have found their way enjoying the new sport. It even became a favorite in countries where open field lacrosse was never played particularly in Czech Republic where they associate box lacrosse with ice hockey.

Another variation of the box lacrosse is the indoor lacrosse, which was initiated by the National Lacrosse League or NLL. The sport follows most of the standard rules except for a few major revisions. The indoor lacrosse is strictly played during winter. Instead of three periods, both teams play in four 15-minute quarters. They also do not use solid wooden crosse sticks. The NLL designed and intended the sport to be less violent than the box lacrosse. However, its consent for crosschecking made the sport all the more ironic to its true intention.

Today, many fans in Canada and in the United States love box lacrosse. It was even called the official summer sport in Canada. It may have transformed into a tougher sport and made the field turn into almost bloody field, but this is proof that a sport can only grow more exciting and more popular.