Grow the Game®

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on reddit
Share on whatsapp

NYC Box Lacrosse Has Arrived!

LAS is back, updated, better than ever so we’re skipping ahead to pure, unadulterated, brand-new content.  Box lacrosse in NYC is here.  And it couldn’t be sweeter.

This past Saturday, the first ever ULax Box Lacrosse game took place in New York City.  We are playing outdoors on a painted Parks Dept. concrete roller hockey rink at 96th Street and 1st ave in Manhattan.  The glass on top of the boards is actually chain link fence and when you combine that with the rush of cabs going by only 20 feet away, the spot offers one of the more unique lacrosse experiences.  Most of the guys playing are field players by nature but we’ve got a couple of guys with more box experience showing us the finer points and helping us adjust.

The first faceoff ever for the league. I think the guy in sweatpants won.

The first week had a lot of up and down, transition lacrosse and for the most part, a lot of unassisted goals.  Settled offense in such a tight space is very different from the isolate and dodge approach utilized by most field players.  Keeping lefty players on the right hand side of the floor and vice versa, as well as creating space on the crease (more circle style O) are definite changes but guys seemed to pick up on the nuances pretty quickly.  Each week should show more and more improvement.

Hockey goals and no jerseys. Next week. Still awesome.

No league can get off to a flawless start and our jerseys and goals weren’t delivered (as promised) by 10am on Saturday morning so we had to use reversibles and hockey goals for week 1, but other than that, the league pretty much went off without a hitch!  With 4 teams from NYC competing, the league is still small but it’s reasonable to say it’s only going to get better.

This is what was happening before. Not quite as awesome as lax but pretty awesome.

Next week will definitely be better in certain regards as we’ll play with real box goals (4 feet by 4.5 feet) instead of hockey goals and every team will have matching hockey style jerseys.  I bet there will even be a couple more box lids out there!  The addiction to this “new” game is definitely spreading through the City.  I’m a little bruised up and battered but I can’t wait to get back out there next Saturday… and I’m pretty sure most of the other guys feel the same way.

Pushing transition with the neon wand. Lots of transition.
As a fan you're right on top of the action.
Man down D in Boxla. I'm way too far out. And not covering anyone. Oops.
Spreading the floor. We need to get guys off the crease more. More 2 man games.
This is probably one of the cooler lax floors in the country now. NYC. What up.