Lacrosse began as a contest between warriors of various Indian nations in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Valley regions of the United States. The tribes played stickball as it was called at the time for religious, recreational, and training purposes.

The games were held over a period of several days and was considered a major event. Lacrosse was regarded to be much more than a game or competition. Native American Indians believed it to help in the healing process and for spiritual development made by the Creator for his enjoyment.

The playing field was any huge open area between the villages. As many as 100,000 warriors would participate at any given time. The size of the field could be several yards to many miles long. The rules were quite simple no touching the ball with your hand.

In the 1630′s French Jesuit missionaries were the first Europeans to see the game being played by the Native Americans. Jean de Brebeuf is the person who named it lacrosse after watching the Huron Indians playing it. He thought the sticks looked like bishops crozier (la-crosse) so the game was called lacrosse. George Beers is known as the father of modern lacrosse.

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