Why Play Lacrosse?

 

At Quinte Minor Lacrosse, you’ll find many players and parents who are fanatical about the sport. Here are a few reasons why…

Fun

Lacrosse is fun to play and exciting to watch.  It is characterized by intense action, strategy, finesse and power.  It is a game with long, looping passes and short bullet-like shots: to catch a pass over the shoulder while running at full stride, to hit the top corner of the net while in full flight, or to stop a shot aimed low through a maze of players requires a range of skills unsurpassed in any other sport.  The wide open-nature of the game makes it a great spectator sport.

Fitness

Lacrosse is a game of speed and stamina – there’s no standing around in lacrosse.  With its back-and-forth nature, all lacrosse players, even goalies, are kept active.

Lacrosse is a great way to build cardiovascular endurance, coordination, agility, and strength.  Kids who are tired out from running around sleep better, and those who have slept well have more energy to run around, be creative, and solve problems.

Teamwork

Team sports are an excellent way learn how to come together and work towards a common goal.  The players work, sweat, plan and play together. Overcoming obstacles within a team is also a good way to develop lifelong friendships.

Like other team sports, lacrosse offers opportunities to develop leadership skills, social interaction skills, a sense of belonging and camaraderie, as well as physical skills, friendships, and respect for teammates, coaches, and officials.

Cross Training

The promotion of speed, stamina, sportsmanship and team play in lacrosse provides excellent cross-training for other sports like hockey, basketball and soccer.

If hockey is your main sport, the QMLA invites hockey players from Belleville, Trenton and surrounding area to come play the fastest game on two feet! 

HOCKEY PLAYERS BENEFIT FROM LACROSSE:

  • stick handling creativity
  • creativity in tight areas
  • creativity of fakes, back passes and shots
  • use of both hands
  • reading the play offensively
  • strong, dynamic defensive tactics
  • builds up strength and endurance
  • prevents sport burn-out by playing a new, fast-paced sport
  • increases hand-eye coordination
  • teaches players to be more aware of their surroundings
  • reinforces the importance of quickness and agility around the net
  • leadership skills
  • scoring skills are honed by shooting at smaller targets and picking corners

TORONTO MAPLE LEAF JOHN TAVARES ON LACROSSE:

“It’s lacrosse that helped teach me to spin off checks, take shots and protect the puck under pressure. My stick skills, the way to read the play quickly comes from lacrosse. The hand-eye coordination, is just one of the little things that helps you in hockey.” — John Tavares

 

 

THE GREAT ONE WAYNE GRETZKY ON LACROSSE:

Wayne wearing the “C” and Walter coaching… circa 1971.

“One of the worst things to happen to the game, in my opinion, has been year-round hockey and, in particular, summer hockey. All it does for kids, as far as I can tell, is keep them out of sports they should be doing in the warmer weather. I could hardly wait to get my lacrosse stick out and start throwing the ball against the walls and working on our moves as we played the lacrosse equivalent to road hockey. All the good hockey players seemed to play lacrosse in those days and everyone of them learned something from the game to carry over to the other – things athletes can only learn by mixing up the games they play when they are young.”  —  Wayne Gretzky