Lacrosse and It's Future Impact on National Sports By: Lukas Hein

    Most people can't say they know that lacrosse was the first sport ever played on the soil we live on. Native Americans used this game as a contest between tribes, but after being forced away, the sport essentially died, and the newcomers failed to acknowledge it. Sports like baseball, football, and basketball took over, and even nowadays dominate national television. Meanwhile, lacrosse is struggling to gain national recognition even though it is the fastest growing sport in the world right now.
     Just recently, lacrosse was introduced to the Olympics, and will be in Tokyo in 2020. To add on, ESPN, a worldwide known sports channel has taken the sport under it's wing and airs multiple college games every week. Like anything, recognition is key, and once people see what the sport is and it's potential, it will be receiving the looks football and baseball get.
     All over the east coast, colleges have teams that compete at all different levels. Whether its Division 1 or Division 3, the competition is like no other. Even at the high school level, One state champion per state makes the race for a ring unreal. The problem is though that without programs bringing in as much money as the football program would, recruiting and offering good scholarships becomes hard. Not many schools can pack a stadium to the brims for a lacrosse game.
     By gaining recognition, lacrosse will become a powerhouse within the sport world. As of now, the sport revolves around the east coast, but once other parts start to pick it up as well as different colleges, stadiums will start to fill up, ticket prices will rise, and kids that work so hard every day will be able to receive the scholarship they deserve. High school lacrosse players work just as hard as any other athlete, and working the same as a football player, but that person receiving a full ride is unfair. Lacrosse's future is bright, and from here on out, it can only work upwards.