Lacrosse For Dummies

Lacrosse is a sport with a rich heritage, and is played in many parts of the world. It contains the physical hitting of football, the speed and quickness of hockey, and the passing and shooting ability of basketball. Anybody can play this game, from the little guy who has speed and quickness to the big guy who has strength and power. Make no mistake; once you have thrown a lacrosse ball with a lacrosse stick, the game has got you!

Lacrosse For Dummies is for anyone interested in lacrosse, from the “peanut” player (four or five years old) to the old-timer, from the new fan to the fanatic, from the beginning coach to the experienced coach, from the parent who’s a novice to the parent who has been through the “wars” of lacrosse. Whatever your association to the sport, this book is an interesting and exciting read.

Lacrosse For Dummies covers what you need to know to get the most out of this exciting sport, whether you’re a fan, coach, player, or parent of a player. From the fundamen tals of passing and catching to equipping yourself for the game, this book has everything you ever wanted to know about lacrosse, but were afraid to ask. Lacrosse For Dummies opens with the basics of the game, and familiarizes you with such things as the ball and the stick, the position of the players on the field, the equipment used, and the way the game is played. The other parts of the book illustrate how you should watch the game for maximum enjoyment, how you can become a better player, and how you can become a better coach.

This book also explores:

• The fundamentals of playing lacrosse
• The rules of the game
• How to develop offensive and defensive skills
• Preparing yourself for a game

Lacrosse has had a hectic history of ups and downs, probably more than any other sport, but it is still the most exciting sport around. Lacrosse For Dummies can show you how to enjoy this game from any perspective—fan, coach, or player.

Jim Hinkson has been involved in the game of lacrosse since he was 19, his first season of play coming under the tutelage of legendary coach Jim Bishop in 1962. Hinkson played lacrosse for 11 more years, participating in 9 national minor championship games and winning 6 tittles. He also played for a season in the 1970s version of the National Lacrosse League, and represented Canada as part of the national team competing in the 1974 World Lacrosse Championship in Melbourne, Australia.
Hinkson has coached at every level in lacrosse from house league to professional, participating in two Canadian junior championships, winning one. His coaching stints have included teams in Toronto, Whitby, and St. Catharines, Ontario; and the New York Saints and New Jersey Storm of today's National Lacrosse League. And he is the author of four books on lacrosse and coaching.
Hinkson grew up on a farm in Oshawa, Ontario, and he still lives in nearby Whitby, Ontario, with his wife Cynndy and their three children, to whom he dedicates this book. Lacrosse is an all-Hinkson family activity. Daughter Maggie, a first-year teacher in Whitby, played women's field lacrosse at the University of Western Ontario; daughter Kate attends Brock University in St. Catharines and plays for its women's field lacrosse team; and son James, who attends St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, has played box lacrosse for the Darlington Green Gaels, who just won the Founder's Cup emblematic of junior B lacrosse for Canada.

John Jiloty is the editor-in-chief of Inside Lacrosse magazine and a 2000 graduate of Syracuse University, where he covered men's lacrosse as the sports editor of The Daily Orange. John was recognized in The Best American Sports Writing 2002 for a story he did in 2001 on fighting in the National lacrosse League.

Robert Carpenter is the founder and publisher of Inside Lacrosse magazine. He played lacrosse at Duke University, from which he graduated in 1996. Inside Lacrosse is the sport's only media outlet that has been honored for coverage by both the men's and women's college coaches associations. Inside lacrosse also publishes Face-Off Yearbook, an annual glossy preview of men's college lacrosse, and operates a lacrosse camp Web site call USLaxcamps.com.