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 Lacrosse
in the South
by Gates Minis
April 2003
Believe it or not southerners do play lacrosse and we
are just getting started. Lacrosse is not a new sport by any means,
but to many southerners it is as foreign as cricket though gaining in
popularity and support every year. Four years ago, I hardly knew what
a lacrosse stick looked like but now every time I see one it puts a
smile on my face. I hope that lacrosse in the south will grow to be
as popular as the sport is in the North. I have a dream that one day
it will over take football; maybe that is a crazy dream but I live for
lacrosse so let me have my wish.
Georgia lacrosse has been around for about 13 years with
one team and it has grown to over 40 girls and guys teams in the state.
My school Darlington had the first guys’ team in the state so
my school has been heavily involved with the game ever since. Darlington
girls’ team had its first season three years ago but we have gained
a great deal of knowledge of the sport in the few years we have played.
GHSA (Georgia High School Association) just sanctioned the sport last
year before then team had played for unofficial state title and public
schools had a hard time getting funding for teams. The upcoming season
will have three or four new teams joining the league which is really
exciting because the more the merrier.
I had never seen a lacrosse game in my life until I was
playing in the cage looking out on to the field scared out of my mind.
I had no idea what to expect out of the next 50 minutes; I think everyone
watching could tell we were a first year team because we were all running
around the field like chickens with their heads cut off. My team has
improved greatly since that first game, but we all appreciate our humble
beginnings because we know how far we have traveled.
The best thing I ever did was come up North to camp which
was where I learned the skills a goalie must have to defend the cage.
Northern lacrosse is pretty much set in stone which means they know
what how to play the game. At camp I was shown how the game is supposed
to be played and how I was not just a goalie, but also a brick wall.
I shocked a lot people not because I was amazing but for the pure fact
that I was from Georgia. Some people thought it was funny. By the end
the week, they knew southern lacrosse was on the rise.
Lacrosse is the game I love to play and I am just glad
that I had the chance to play at all. I hope that one day soon every
person will have the opportunity to play lacrosse at their school or
on a club team.
A Glance at Our Guest: Gates Minis
Gates Minis hails from Savannah, Ga, but attends Darlington School
in Rome, Ga (1 hour northwest of Atlanta). She is a lacrosse goalie
who has been playing for 4 years; in fact, she will be one of the first
5 four-year starting seniors in her school's history. Now she's debating
where she'll to play next: on the campus of CU-Boulder or University
of Rochester.
Favorite lacrosse moment? When she saved a ball between her legs with
a minute and half left and with the score 8-7!
Her favorite moment all time was working with sea lions in San Francisco
this past summer.
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