The NSMLA invites hockey players from North Vancouver Minor Hockey (NVMHA), West Vancouver Minor Hockey (WVMHA), Hollyburn Country Club (HCC) and the North Shore Winter Club (NSWC) to come play the fastest game on two feet! Lacrosse is a fun, safe, rugged sport and because it is a lot like hockey it has been recommended by many of great NHLers as a great cross-training sport for hockey players.
From Gretzky to Tavares, Shanahan to Stamkos, Canadian-born NHLers recommend playing lacrosse in the summer to improve hockey skills.
“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, two-time World Junior Hockey Champion
“If a sport has a high point of the year, it must be the first week of spring. When I was growing up, I used to love this time of year. It was when I put my hockey equipment away and I was absolutely ecstatic to see the end of the hockey season. 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 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, The Great One, National Post, March 2000
Lacrosse - Its like hockey with balls.
Both hockey and lacrosse are high tempo, physical team sports that have similar elements to the game. Both sports utilize 5 players and a goalie, three periods and a strategy of developing odd-man situations to create scoring opportunities. Hockey players excel in Lacrosse, and, in turn, they become markedly better hockey players. Comparatively, lacrosse is a much less expensive sport than hockey and uses much of the same protective upper body equipment.
Hockey players benefit from playing lacrosse by developing:
develops stick handling creativity
develops creativity in tight areas
reading the play offensively
develops strong, dynamic defensive tactics
builds up strength and endurance
increases hand-eye coordination
teaches players to play with their head up and to be more aware of their surroundings
reinforces the importance of quickness and agility around the net
teaches leadership skills
learn to play both offensive and defensive positions and make a quick transition from defense to offence and vice versa
scoring skills are honed by shooting at smaller targets and picking corners
teaches the creativity of fakes, back passes and shots
develop the use of both hands
helps prevent sport burn-out by playing a different fast-paced sport
Not only did the “Great One” play lacrosse in hockey’s off-season, but there is also a long list of NHL players who have polished their hand-eye coordination and physical endurance by playing lacrosse in the summer. Here are some other NHL’s who also participated in lacrosse:
