Lacrosse and hockey are very similar sports. Hockey players excel in the sport of lacrosse and it is a great method to increase physical fitness in hockey’s off-season. Since most hockey equipment can be used in lacrosse, it is an inexpensive sport to play in hockey’s off-season as well.
Wayne Gretzky is a huge supporter of the sport of lacrosse. He is quoted as saying...
“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 of 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 every one 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.”
Not only did the “Great One” play lacrosse in hockey’s off-season, but there also is 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 NHL players who also participated in lacrosse:
Dave Andreychuk
Brian Bellows
Paul Coffey
Sam Gagne
Mike Gartner
Kingston's Doug Gilmour
Paul Kariya
John MacLean
Steve Larmer
Joe Nieuwendyk
Adam Oates
Bobby Orr
Mike Ridley
Gary Roberts
Cliff Ronning
Joe Sakic
Brendan Shanahan
Steve Stamkos
John Tavares
Jonathan Toews
Kyle Turris
Why Hockey Players Should Play Lacrosse?
- It helps prevent sport burn-out by playing a new, fast-paced sport.
- Players of all fitness levels and abilities can compete in lacrosse.
- A player can learn to play both offensive and defensive positions and make a quick transition from defense to offence and vice
versa.
- It reinforces the importance of quickness and agility around the net.
- Lacrosse increases hand-eye coordination when stick handling.
- It teaches payers to play with their head up and to be more aware of their surroundings.
- Offensive scoring skills are honed by shooting at smaller targets and picking corners.
- Defensive skills are taught with individual and team concepts.
- Lacrosse teaches the creativity of fakes, back passes and shots.
- Lacrosse is run in 5-player units and helps the hockey player practice playing a team concept.
Wayne Gretzky is a huge supporter of the sport of lacrosse. He is quoted as saying...
“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 of 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 every one 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.”
Not only did the “Great One” play lacrosse in hockey’s off-season, but there also is 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 NHL players who also participated in lacrosse:
Dave Andreychuk
Brian Bellows
Paul Coffey
Sam Gagne
Mike Gartner
Kingston's Doug Gilmour
Paul Kariya
John MacLean
Steve Larmer
Joe Nieuwendyk
Adam Oates
Bobby Orr
Mike Ridley
Gary Roberts
Cliff Ronning
Joe Sakic
Brendan Shanahan
Steve Stamkos
John Tavares
Jonathan Toews
Kyle Turris
Why Hockey Players Should Play Lacrosse?
- It helps prevent sport burn-out by playing a new, fast-paced sport.
- Players of all fitness levels and abilities can compete in lacrosse.
- A player can learn to play both offensive and defensive positions and make a quick transition from defense to offence and vice
versa.
- It reinforces the importance of quickness and agility around the net.
- Lacrosse increases hand-eye coordination when stick handling.
- It teaches payers to play with their head up and to be more aware of their surroundings.
- Offensive scoring skills are honed by shooting at smaller targets and picking corners.
- Defensive skills are taught with individual and team concepts.
- Lacrosse teaches the creativity of fakes, back passes and shots.
- Lacrosse is run in 5-player units and helps the hockey player practice playing a team concept.