Why Lacrosse is a Safe and Great Sport For Kids of All Ages

As a kid growing up on Long Island, I loved to spend time after school playing sports with my friends. We would play football, baseball, hockey, but mostly the sport of lacrosse. Since we grew up in one of the centers of the game, we thought all kids played lax. We had no idea that kids in California or Texas really had never heard or seen the game. To us, it was second nature to carry our stick to school, learn new tricks and shoot around after the 6th period bell sounded... and we all loved it.

Lacrosse was a sport all kids of all sizes could enjoy. Unlike football, the best players were often smaller athletes who had great eye hand coordination and were super fast. This made it fun for kids of all sizes! We would compare sticks and our basketball courts were often transformed into mini-lacrosse fields with balls flying all over. We all loved the game and it was very cool. I have never heard a single kid say lacrosse is not fun.

This brings us to the safety of the sport. Would I let my child play lacrosse?

One of the beauties of the game of lacrosse is that it is very physical, so many tough kids love the game. You will be hit, slashed, and punished by defenders who have longer sticks with which they use to try and dislodge the ball from your stick. Lacrosse is clearly a contact sport.

Unlike football though, it is very rare the athlete will take a hit on the knee or suffer a really bad injury. Overall, participation in lacrosse is safe and the injury rate among young athletes is actually very low.

I played lacrosse for over 15 years, including playing in the much more physical professional lacrosse league, and only suffered minor injuries. I never hurt my knee. I had many a nasty bruise from getting hit by a shot and slashed but nothing serious. While it is not tennis, you will most likely be able to pick yourself up after the hit and go home.

Some of the legends of the game are about 175 lbs and less than 6 ft tall but lightening fast and strong. Unlike basketball, height is not a huge advantage in the sport of lacrosse.

So yes, I would let my kid play lacrosse.