The Multi-Sport Athlete
Lacrosse is one of the toughest sports an athlete can play. Each position on the field involves the physicality of football, the IQ of basketball, the stamina and angles of soccer, and the precision of other sports like baseball, tennis, ping pong, and even golf.
Multi-sport athletes that play lacrosse are good for three reasons.
1. Athleticism
2. Skill
3. Intelligence
Athleticism - Being a lacrosse player first and foremost means being physically tough. While you can become physically tough playing basketball and soccer, football is a great test of who can take a hit and dish one out. If you want to get tough, play some football. I think they abolished the Oklahoma drill and football practice is becoming a much safer environment.
Skill - Hand-eye coordination and footwork is what sets up an athlete to become skilled in specific sports. Sports like baseball, hockey, basketball, tennis/ping-pong, and golf will support the necessary muscle memory that an athlete needs to learn the sport specific skills of lacrosse like groundballs, catching, throwing, and shooting. The hand-eye coordination that it takes to play hockey, hit or throw a baseball, hit a golf ball, dribble a basketball, or serve a tennis ball directly correlates to lacrosse specific skills. The footwork of soccer, football, and basketball players also directly correlate to the offensive and defensive skills that a lacrosse player needs to be successful.
Intelligence - IQ is an important part of the development of a lacrosse player. The X’s and O’s of basketball are almost identical to that of lacrosse. Basketball players tend to learn the game of lacrosse at a faster pace because the strategies on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball are so similar and easily transferable from the court to the field. The defensive differences between lacrosse and basketball are that in lacrosse they allow you to be much more physical and they give you a six-foot metal stick that you are allowed to swing around, hopefully with precision and accuracy. The only differences on the offensive side are that there is a much bigger goal and someone that is allowed to stop the ball from going in, the goalie. Offensive lacrosse players are taught the same strategies as basketball players. Get to the middle where the hoop/goal is and score from as close as possible. Unless you’re Steph Curry.
Drawing from my own experience, being a multisport athlete helped me find and learn the game of lacrosse quickly. I was cut from the freshman basketball team and started training with the lacrosse team that Winter thanks to some seniors that recruited me. Shout out to Colin Davis and Ricardo Vargas!
I had never played lacrosse on an organized team before that Winter. I had played one year of football as a freshman and learned how to hit and get hit without getting injured. I had played soccer my whole life so I could run for 90 minutes straight. I had played basketball most of my life, which gave me great footwork and IQ. Lastly, I played tennis. Ping-pong, and golf, which gave me enough hand-eye coordination to learn the sport specific skills necessary to play the game of lacrosse.
Lacrosse is great, but so are these other sports.
Play them all!
It’ll make you a better lacrosse player