A Closer Look Into the Increasing Popularity of Lacrosse

The sport of lacrosse has a long history with the modern game having its roots in a tribal drill utilized by Native Americans many centuries ago. Native Americans played a game similar to modern lacrosse for one of two reasons – as training before battle or to settle differences with neighboring tribes. It could quite literally be described as America’s first sport.

Many US sports fans would not know this. Their understanding of the sport is only steeped in the modern history of the sport. They see lacrosse as the elite sport of America’s northeast. A sport played by private school students attending colleges in New York, New England, Pennsylvania, and Maryland

While there may be truth to this description of the modern history of lacrosse, the popularity of the sport has been growing since the 1970s and has skyrocketed over the last decade. 

Charting the increasing popularity of lacrosse

The last decade has seen significant research completed showing the increasing popularity of lacrosse – both in participation and as a spectator sport. All of these studies have charted massive growth. Some of these studies have shown a doubling of participants playing the sport over the decade to 2017, with a nearly 40% increase in players between 2011 and 2016 alone. 

This is in stark contrast to the decades prior to that where lacrosse often struggled to fill a team at many schools and colleges. Students were attracted to the more popular sports of basketball, football, and baseball. Lacrosse players were often relegated to unsuitable training times and underprovided with regards to equipment. 

Accessible Lacrosse helped fuel growth

Increased access to affordable equipment is a large reason for success. Throughout much of early modern history, as we’ve mentioned, lacrosse was traditionally associated with private schools and private colleges. There was only one real source of lacrosse sticks. They were hand-crafted wooden sticks out of Ontario, Canada. These sticks were expensive. 

From the 1980s onwards, lacrosse equipment became more commercially accessible and affordable. Lacrosse sticks were mass-produced and made from synthetic materials. These cost-effective lacrosse sticks made the sport more accessible to many. Further, this combined with an increasing number of companies (like Victorem) manufacturing affordable lacrosse training gear to help players build their skills. 

Unleashing the shackles of lacrosse

To enable the meteoric rise of lacrosse over recent years, participants had to first shake the shackles of their history. As an “elite” sport, lacrosse was controlled by a small community of participants that held specific beliefs and ideas about the game and how it should be played, and the culture around it. These players, coaches, and fans wanted the sport to be a “gentlemanly” amateur game. They didn’t want it to be a “professional” sport.

Cost-effective equipment meant more high school students took up the sport including those not from elite prep schools. Media networks recognized the value of lacrosse as a spectator sport. It had the speed and hits of hockey, it was on a field similar to a soccer field and the players wear padding like in football. Teams move the ball downfield as fast as a basketball team.

For many decades, the sports power was concentrated in the elite colleges of the northeast – Syracuse, Princeton, and Virginia. Whilst still strong, this power base is waning as the sport’s popularity grows. There are NCAA teams across the country and an increasing number of professional leagues. Women’s participation at elite levels is growing too. 

While the last few decades have seen phenomenal growth in the sport, many still believe the growth has only just begun. College programs have grown and professional programs have grown across the country. There’s talk of lacrosse becoming an Olympic sport within the decade. Lacrosse players are also finding newfound celebrity and social media platforms have given them the opportunity to better brand themselves. 

A final word on lacrosse’s popularity

Those who have been around the sport for a long time would suggest that the last decade has been phenomenal growth. Others who have a more positive outlook suggest the best is yet to come. They think that with the new foundations in place lacrosse will experience further growth that no one thought possible. 

The perception of lacrosse has changed. No longer an amateur sport of elite colleges, lacrosse is now a professional sport with massive interest. It’s a popular sport for participants and spectators and this should only grow further in the coming decades.