• The most famous player ever probably was NFL rushing great Jim Brown, who was an All-American in the sport at Syracuse.

• Ex-University of Hawai'i football coach Bob Wagner also handled the stick with skill, making the All-Midwest team twice while also playing football at Wittenburg (Ohio) University.

• Legend also has it that the Mississippi River city of La Crosse, Wisc. (pop. 51,003), was named after ... lacrosse, the sport. It was played in the area by 18th century French traders.

• Lacrosse is one of the oldest sports in North America, believed to have been played by Native Americans in the 1400s before the arrival of Europeans.

Of course, none of that is what drew Kapolei's Shanon Arnold, 15, to a lacrosse clinic last Sunday afternoon at Central O'ahu Regional Park.

"I like whacking people," said Arnold, who plays defensive back for Kapolei High School's football team. "You need hand-eye coordination, too, but it's pretty easy to catch on. It's a fun game."

That is what dozens of kids are discovering in free Sunday clinics at Central O'ahu and Kapi'iolani parks. Most popular in the Northeast and Midwest sections of the country, lacrosse finally is taking a foothold here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Two non-profit organizations, Hawaiian Islands Youth Lacrosse and the Aloha Youth Lacrosse Association, are offering free clinics to introduce kids to the sport and generate interest for league play.

Both groups eventually would like to see lacrosse evolve into a school sport.

Rudie Schaefer IV, president of AYLA, said lacrosse is attractive because it doesn't require athletes to have an abundance of size or experience.

"It's something another kid can play," Schaefer said. "And whoever starts now in Hawai'i can already be one of the best in the state."

Brown, Schaefer and others leading the youth charge here have lacrosse roots in hotbeds like upstate New York and Long Island.

Brown grew up playing the game in Waterloo, N.Y., a town halfway between Syracuse and Rochester. Schaefer also learned to play as a youth in New York.

Both thought of starting youth lacrosse here about a year ago because of their sons.

"My son (Chase) saw some sticks in the house and said, 'Hey, I want to play,' " said Brown, who proceeded to round up some other kids and equipment.

Schaefer's son, Rudie V, had played in Maryland and his parents wanted him to continue after the family moved here a year and a half ago.

Now they want to spread the game and make it available to all of Hawai'i's youths. Brown has done presentations at Kapolei High School and Kalakaua and Mililani middle schools, and members of AYLA have visited Iliahi Elementary, La Pietra, Iolani, Mid-Pacific and Hanahauoli.

But the best advertising appears to be word-of-mouth.

Arnold said he came to Sunday's clinic at the urging of his best buddy, Kainoa Enhada. Matt English, a sophomore at Mid-Pacific, took an interest after hearing about lacrosse from his friend Andrew Miyashiro, who had learned about the Central O'ahu clinic from another friend.

"I like the teamwork, and it's good because you can get a little aggressive," said Miyashiro, a sophomore who paddles for MPI.

English, a defensive end for Pac-Five's football team, likes the fast pace of lacrosse.

"In football, you only run plays (one at a time)," English said. "In this, it's all continuous until you score."

Schaefer calls lacrosse "the fastest growing sport in North America," and the clinics' popularity here shows that Hawai'i might be following that trend. About 40 boys and girls turned out at Central O'ahu on Sunday and roughly the same number participated at Kapi'olani Park.

Both organizations plan a spring league, and a continued push for the sport in schools.

Kiki Fordham Schaefer, Rudie's wife, said AYLA will make a presentation at the Keiki Fair set for Jan. 25-27 and at a physical education workshop in March.

Chad Jones, a teacher at Kapolei High School, gave a clinic there and said 30 kids showed up.

"I saw the athletes over here and said, 'Man, we gotta have lacrosse,' " said Jones, who grew up playing the game in New York.

Jerry Balaker, who helps with the Central O'ahu clinic, said youth lacrosse "was like Little League baseball" where he was raised in Long Island, N.Y.

"It's a great way to get into sports, and a great game for camaraderie," Balaker said. "It's something you keep playing even after you're out of school. It's fast, fun and action-packed. And the weather here is so conducive to lacrosse. It's just a matter of motivating the kids to try something new."

He won't get an argument from Arnold, English and Miyashiro.

"If they made it a school sport, I would play," Arnold said. "I think plenty people would."