[IMAGE — NEW/BEGINNER OR YOUTH PRACTICE PHOTO, IF YOU HAVE A STRONG ONE]
Lacrosse Has a Place for Different Kinds of Athletes
Lacrosse is one of the reasons the word "athletic" doesn't have to mean just one thing.
Speed helps. So does coordination. Strength matters, but so do agility, vision, communication, decision-making and persistence.
And because the game has different positions and responsibilities, players can discover where their particular strengths fit.
A player who loves to run may find themselves flying down the field. A player who sees the game well may become an important playmaker. A player who loves defense may discover they enjoy shutting down an opponent. And some players find that standing in goal is exactly where they belong.
There is room for every player to grow into the game.
A Great Sport for Multi-Sport Athletes
Playing more than one sport isn't just about keeping options open. Different sports challenge athletes to move, think and react in different ways, and those experiences can complement each other.
A basketball player is constantly reading space, changing direction and making decisions while moving. A soccer player develops field vision, endurance and an understanding of where to be before the ball gets there. A football player learns acceleration, agility and body control. A tennis player develops hand-eye coordination, footwork and the ability to track a moving ball. A cricket player develops hand-eye coordination, timing, reaction skills and the ability to read how a ball is moving.
Lacrosse uses many of those same skills, but in a different environment.
Players sprint, cut, change direction, accelerate and decelerate. They track teammates and opponents, recognize open space and make decisions while moving. They develop hand-eye coordination while handling a stick and ball, and they learn to transition quickly between offense and defense.
Those skills don't belong to just one sport. They are building blocks of athleticism that can move with a player from one sport to another.
There is also a good reason not to rush young athletes into choosing just one sport.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has raised concerns about early sport specialization and intensive year-round training, including increased risk of overuse injuries, overtraining and burnout. A systematic review published in Pediatrics found that highly specialized young athletes had a higher risk of overuse injury than athletes with lower levels of specialization.
Playing multiple sports doesn't automatically prevent injuries, and a multisport schedule can still become too demanding if an athlete isn't getting enough recovery. The important part is variety, moderation and adequate rest.
For young athletes, that variety can mean developing different movement patterns, using different muscles and solving different kinds of problems while still building skills that transfer from one sport to another.
And there is a mental benefit to variety, too.
When every season becomes another version of the same sport, the pressure to perform can eventually take some of the fun out of playing. Trying different sports gives young athletes opportunities to learn new skills, meet different teammates and simply enjoy being an athlete.
At FMLA, we don't believe your child has to choose one sport too early.
We want players to have the opportunity to play lacrosse
and
basketball, soccer, cricket, tennis, football, volleyball, baseball, gymnastics or whatever else they enjoy. Those experiences don't have to compete with each other. They can help young athletes become more adaptable, coordinated and confident, while giving them more chances to discover what they love.
Sometimes the sport you play in the spring makes you better at the sport you play in the fall.
And sometimes, you discover that you love both.
