Recreation
Lacrosse: Hockey with class

By Michael Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

All Jay Bloom wants to do is pass the ball but — thwack — there's the slight problem of — thwack, thwack — a dogged defenseman knocking the stuffing out of him with a stick every time he turns around.

Members of the Hawai'i Lacrosse Association go through the paces at Kapi'olani Park. The club works out every Sunday at the park and is hoping to boost interest in the sport, which was originated by Native Americans and is popular in California and on the East Coast. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

Thwack, thwack, thwack.

Stymied, Bloom finally pivots free, rears back his crosse and launches high heat to the upper right corner of the net.

Thwack back at ya.

"Lacrosse is a physical game," says Bloom's teammate Nick Masciangelo, 23. "But once you start, you develop an intense passion for it."

It's Sunday at Kapi'olani Park and 20 men — bedecked in cleats and shorts and varying levels of body armor — have assembled for an afternoon of high-skill, high-impact lacrosse.

Though wildly popular on the East Coast and in California, lacrosse has been little more than a curious patch on the Hawai'i recreational landscape, existing primarily through the efforts of stick-happy malihini.

"In Long Island, where I grew up, it's like Little League," says Harry Jackson, 40, who with Bloom helped found the Hawai'i Lacrosse Club 10 years ago. "It was the big sport to play."

Lacrosse — invented by Native Americans, adapted by French colonists and transplanted to more than 400 college campuses nationwide — combines the aggressive physicality of hockey, the quickness of basketball and the patient strategizing of soccer and ups the degree of difficulty with crosses —long sticks with nets attached that are used to pass, catch, shoot and defend.

"It's a lot more exciting than hockey," Jackson says. "And we have a lot more class."

	DID YOU KNOW ...
•	The crosse: The crosse is made of wood or synthetic material and can vary in length from 40 to 72 inches. The net at the end must be deep enough to fully contain the ball.
•	The ball: The ball is made of five ounces of solid rubber and is roughly eight inches in circumference.
•	The game: In skilled hands, a crosse can send a ball at the goalie at speeds up to 120 mph. Passing is done with slightly less gusto, but hauling in a pass in heavy, stick-waving traffic can be intensely difficult just the same.

"It's the fastest sport on two feet," says Tom Frost, a 23-year-old New Yorker studying geography at the University of Hawai'i. "There isn't a lot of stopping and starting, like in some sports, and there's a lot of strategy so it's definitely mentally challenging."

To be sure, the game requires a high level of speed, strength and coordination.

The crosse, made of wood or synthetic material, varies in length from 40 to 72 inches. The shaped net at the end must be deep enough to fully contain the ball.

The ball is made of five ounces of solid rubber, roughly eight inches in circumference.

In skilled hands, a crosse can send a ball screaming toward the goalie at 120 mph. Passing is done with slightly less gusto, but hauling in a pass in heavy, stick-waving traffic can be intensely difficult just the same.

"This is a game where quickness counts, and understanding team defense also helps," says Bloom, 41. "Basketball players can be very good lacrosse players. It's also a good cross-training sport for football defensive backs."

And the game isn't getting any easier.

"It's a very physical game and it's getting more so with stick checking and body checking," Frost says. "The sticks are getting a lot better and it's easier to hold on to the ball. It used to be you tap the person and they lose the ball. Now, you've got to really hit them."

About 40 men and 25 women participate in the Hawai'i Lacrosse Club's year-round schedule of scrimmages and events, highlighted by the Hawai'i Lacrosse Invitational, an international tournament held each November.

This spring marked the debut of the Hawai'i Youth Lacrosse Association, a four-team league for high school students.

"Based on the physical conditioning of the kids here in Hawai'i, I think they could do really well in the sport," says Masciangelo, another New Yorker. "I think it'll take a while for a local style to develop, but when it does, I think it'll be faster and more physical."

Nui Kamakea, a sophomore at Kailua High, started playing lacrosse four months ago but already he's hooked.

"It's harder than I thought, but it's fun," he says. "It's like basketball, football and soccer—but with more contact."