Three countries, ten clubs, 19 teams, and one motivated and enthusiastic school: In October 2022 the SC JFKS Rams were proud to represent the John-F-Kennedy School with our U14 boys team at the annual Scheider Cup in Frankfurt am Main, and with it a sport that still is an integral part of the Native Americans’ and North American history and culture.
Lacrosse is one of the world’s oldest team sports. It was created in the 1100s by Native American tribes based in the northeast and plain states of present-day Canada and the USA. The original version of lacrosse involved hundreds of players, sometimes over days and territories that were miles long. These very physical games were played by the Native American tribes for a variety of reasons, including settling tribal disputes, fitness, recreation, and religious reasons among others. Since it was such a tough game the Six Nations Tribes of the Iroquois Confederacy called it „Baggataway – The little brother of war“. They also referred to it as the medicine game for its healing powers, as well as the Creator’s game. The name “La Crosse” came from a French missionary, Jean de Brébeuf, who watched a game by the Iroquois in the 1630s. He thought the stick they used looked much like a hooked bishop’s staff, or a crosier – a cross.
From as early as the 1800s, Lacrosse started to be played at Canadian colleges and universities in the northeast United States. It was an Olympic sport, in 1904 and 1908, and it is planned to return to the Olympics in 2028!
Lacrosse is fun to play, fun to watch, and is quickly blossoming into the fastest growing sport on Earth. 79 Nations, including the Haudenosaunee (How-den-oh-shaw-nee: the national team of the Iroquois nations), play the sport and have built leagues in their countries – each currently teaching and training lacrosse players of all ages. In Germany, Lacrosse has been played since the early Nineties.
We, the John-F-Kennedy School in Berlin, as a German-American school, are proud to teach teams not only the sport of Lacrosse itself, but also its history. Our vision is to build a program for all ages that can be sustained for years to come with the chance to let little players grow from Entrance Class up to high school and enjoy the game.
Our goal is to have fun, to let the players run wild on the field and challenge themselves, to learn from each other, build friendships, and build a community. We travel Germany playing against other young teams – like we did at the Scheider Cup in October! – and we are very much looking forward to the Scheider Cup 2023 – maybe with you?!
Join the girls and boys Lacrosse teams of the SC JFKS Rams!
More info at jfks-lacrosse.org
