First Lacrosse Game

N had his first lacrosse game last week, and we played our cross-town rivals, so naturally we saw a bunch of people we knew, especially our hockey friends. Lacrosse is just the thing to do. Before I get too into it, I want to mention that N got to start at attacker, and he scored a goal. I was ecstatic.

Now I was speaking with another father whose son is a 4^th grader, and he told me that generally the younger players (i.e., 2^nd graders) don’t get to play as much, especially at the key positions, which I’ve learned are the mid-fielders, or “midis,” as they’re called. I expected as much, especially since it’s N’s first foray into the sport. He’s on the steep part of the learning curve, so he’s got a ways to go before he’s an expert, but he’s having fun. Plus, he’s surrounded by boys his age, so it’s a blast for him. He’s part of the future of local lacrosse, after all.

Anyway, I decided to be more relaxed about lacrosse, so I’m leaving the coaching to the coaches. No more annoying lectures in the car, and just let things evolve as they will. There are some really good players on the team, and they, of course, are the midis, and then the younger players play defense and attack. Interestingly, N said he likes attacker, even though in hockey he’s been leaning to defense, but in my opinion, for the wrong reasons. I won’t get into that right now.

We got to the game early and the kids warmed up. I was actually looking forward to standing on the sidelines and chatting with our friends, many of whom had children on the opposing team. The coach, JD, however, asked me if I’d help and keep time. I was happy to, even though I wasn’t sure what to do. I had to get the crash course in how the game goes, but it was actually pretty easy. A lot easier than keeping time in a hockey game, that’s for sure.

The game was a lot of fun to watch, much more so than I realized. Watching practices is pretty mellow, and it’s not that enthralling, but once you see everything click into place in a game, it sure is exciting. I found myself on the edge of my seat, and best of all, N scored a goal. I was ecstatic, he did such a great job. It wasn’t some fluke, accidental goal, he got the ball, handled it beautifully, and made his way to the net. He put in a nice hard shot, and it was fabulous. I was going crazy.

Not a bad way to start. Now I know N’s time on the field will be variable, because they have a big team, and all the kids need to get a chance to play, but I’m glad he got to feel the thrill of scoring a goal to inspire him. I think he’s pretty into it.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to woodfin for the pic.