reLAXing in Hawaii

Yes, you read that title correctly. I got to spend a weekend playing lacrosse in paradise. On a field literally a block from the beach. With this view:

Filter free on a cloudy day and it's still amazing.

 And right next to our hotel. I swear if the field weren't so close by, none of us would have made it to any of the games.

Beachfront hotel in Waikiki

We'd all be here instead:

Ok ok, I promise I'm done trying to make you jealous. Let's get back to lacrosse.

The tournament had an 18+ women's division, an 18+ men's division, a 33+ men's division, and a 44+ men's division. It was odd seeing middle-aged men all over Waikiki in too-small lacrosse pinnies clearly from their younger years. But hey, if you're going to relive your glory days you might as well do it in Hawaii with your best lax bros.

What was interesting was not only the diversity in ages of the lacrosse players (one of the women we played against even told me about her kids as we were waiting for the draw) but also the nationalities of the players.

We played three Japanese teams. THREE. I don't know about you, but I was completely unaware that lacrosse was so huge in Japan. And the teams came from different places in Japan too- one team came from Hokkaido, the large, northernmost island in Japan, and another team was from Tokyo. The third team was an Under-20 Team from all over Japan. There were also 5 or 6 Japanese men's teams.

See how far apart Tokyo and Hokkaido are?

How awesome is that? Lacrosse is spreading in Asia as well! They even have an organized National Governing Body! And the Japan Lacrosse Association happens to be celebrating its 25th anniversary. Wow. Wait what? That's longer than I've been alive.

After some further research (and my fairly scientific survey methods of Facebook messaging my lacrosse-playing friends from all over the country and one from Australia), I learned that lacrosse was brought to Japan by students who approached the American Embassy in Tokyo wanting to learn more about the sport. I also learned that most of my friends, even those who have been playing lacrosse since elementary school, were unaware of just how popular lacrosse was in Japan or how long the Japanese have been playing lacrosse. Maybe my friends just need to brush up on their lacrosse history. I know I need to. This Japan lacrosse thing blew my mind. I'm still in awe.

I guess being so separated from countries where lacrosse is more prominent (such as the US, Canada, and parts of Europe) changed their style of play in the way that Australian English evolved from British English. The Japanese teams we played were not as aggressive and did not focus as much as we did on ball control and stick skills. Instead, they utilized their speed and agility and tight mano y mano defensive marking strategy to score goals.

Oh yes, and there were noticeable height differences that definitely affected their game strategy. Now, I'm  a mere 5 foot 2 inches, but the girls on the teams we played were generally shorter than me. Some of my teammates are 5 foot 8 or 9 inches. Therefore, we frequently ended up literally table-topping some of the Japanese players if they ever leaned over to grab the ball or run around us because they could not shoot or pass over our tall players. Automatic penalty on our team. Pretty clever. I'm going to try that some time.

Another possible factor in their different style of play is that lacrosse was founded in Japan through the American embassy. Instead of it being a sort of macho, warrior-like sport like it is in Canada and to some extent the United States, lacrosse in Japan is a friendship tool that was used to promote understanding and cultural exchanges. One of the teams even brought us Japanese gifts! We got chopsticks, candy, caligraphy sets, etc. They were all very friendly, even if they could not understand our special dialect that I have dubbed "mouthguard English". And at the end of the games, instead of the typical, go-down-the-line-with-the-"good-game"-high-fives greeting of the other team, we lined up directly across from the Japanese players, bowed and said thank you/arrigato, and shook hands instead.

Shaking hands with the Hokkaido team

See their outfits? Full body Under Armour compression long sleeved-shirts and tights. It was 97 degrees on average (I looked it up) and massively humid. My team was sweating like crazy just trying to put our cleats on, much less running up and down a field. Major respect. Every Japanese team dressed like this too. I believe it is because in Asian cultures, women prefer to remain pale. Ironic, as most of my teammates spent a good amount of time tanning on the beach.

The women's division also included teams from Canada and the Iroquois Nation, both of whom could be considered founders of lacrosse. Good to see that the tradition is alive and well!

The men's division included multiple Canadian teams and an Israeli team.

Not quite lacrosse the universe, but definitely lACROSSe the globe!