 The Relationship Between Hockey and Lacrosse
“… Lacrosse was the key in the development of the greatest scorer in hockey history.” ~ Quote from Walter Gretzky on his son Wayne Gretzky 
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 to play in hockey’s off-season. 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 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.” 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 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 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 quicknes and agility around the net. Lacrosse increases hand-eye cordination when stick handling. It teaches payers to play with their head p and o be more aware of their surroundings. Offensive scoring skills are honed by shooting at smaller targets and picking corners. Defensive skills are tught 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.
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