Discourse Community Essay

Patrick Guarente and Patrick McDonald

The discourse community that will be discussed in this essay is lacrosse. Lacrosse is a
spring sport played on a field with two goals, every player has sticks with a net to hold the ball
and run their butts up and down the field to get the ball in the goal. The sport was originated by

Commented [MA1]: Dont use the word butt

the American Indians, originally known as stick ball, and they played over giant fields between
villages. Goals were anything from 500 yards to 7 miles apart. They played the game to settle
disputes for land, food and women. Over time the game changed, fields got smaller, rules were
added, and it was played more for fun. Most players start playing as freshmen and have to learn
many different things about the game. Not only the rules but the different kinds of slang players
use, and skills needed to be successful as a team.

Commented [MA2]: Reword this

The biggest thing that new players struggle with is the slang all the players use. Every
part of equipment has a different name players use, certain kinds of checks have different

Commented [MA3]: Make a period

names, and the way players also appear on the field is also very important. Yard sale is one of
the most common slang words, it is used to criticize a player that isnt as skilled as others. It is
when a player has his stick hit out of his hands and onto the ground, sometimes players pick up

Commented [MA4]: Knocked out

the dropped stick and throw it across the field. Other words such as rusty gate, which is when a

Commented [MA5]: Make a period

player reaches his stick across his back to hit another players stick. The tilt a player had was also
very essential. If it wasnt right they just look wrong playing lacrosse and get made fun of by

Commented [MA6]: Another word

Commented [MA7]: The others players
Commented [MA8]: Define tilt
Commented [MA9]: If the tilt wasnt right

other players. Tilt is how much your helmet comes over your eyes, it was originally started to
keep the sun out of players eyes but soon became a tradition everyone used.

Commented [MA10]: They would look wrong.and

would get made fun of by other players
Commented [MA11]: Define tilt when you first talk
about it

Being on a lacrosse team is much different from being on any other team. First thing that
makes it so different is the stick and the concept of throwing and catching the ball in it. No other
sport allows you to have something in your possession that matters so much and gives players
the option to express their personality in the stick. Although, in tennis and baseball players have

Commented [MA12]: Through the stick

a racket or bat, it isnt too essential to how you play. A lacrosse stick to a player would be almost
the same as a golfer and his clubs. His own items he always has a hold of that he has a personal
connection to, and the longer they play with it the better they become with it. Players also can

Commented [MA13]: Re word

customize their stick with their own colors in it. Some players have their team colors on it to

Commented [MA14]: Own colors too

show their pride for their school, or maybe some certain positions will all have their own colors
to distinguish them from the other positions. Different positions also have different sizes to their
sticks, defense has the six foot long ones so they could beat others to a bloody pulp while attack

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and mid fielders had short sticks to run around them.

Another factor that sets lacrosse apart from other sports is the running involved. It is
probably equivalent to the amount of running soccer players have. But coming from only playing
football to lacrosse is a major difference. While in practice the conditioning was one of the most
challenging things of all high school it was worth it. Constantly being told to run around the mile

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long track with suicides at the end that would get your mind set on committing suicide. But that

Commented [MA17]: use a different phrase

is the reason people refer to lacrosse as the fastest sport on two feet.
The point of being on a lacrosse team is to win the games, but there are main things
everyone on the team has to do to do that. The main way for being a successful lacrosse team is
chemistry between team mates. Players that know when they scoop a ball another man is running
open for the pass. And the player that is getting the pass already knows where the next team mate
is waiting for the next pass. When the players have that trust with each other they dont have to

Commented [MA18]: reword

Commented [MA19]: pass ready
Commented [MA20]: teammate

worry about covering for each other and they can focus on the things they need to do to win the
game. A team needs team mates that like each other so that during game time there is nothing
else on their mind except pulling together to win the game.
The most exciting part of being on a lacrosse team is playing in the games. The build up
to them is one of the best/most nerve racking feelings in the world. The morning of the game
every player knows it and has his mind on it all day long. Throughout every class theyre
watching the clock waiting for the school day to end, ready for game time. As they come to the
game field and see the lights on and people in the stands all there to watch them and everything
that they have practiced for. The tension on the field during the pre-game warm ups with one
team on half and the other on the other half is unreal. Watching and analyzing every player to
pick up on who has skills to watch out for and who doesnt. Before the game starts the starters

Commented [MA21]: and to watch out

stand in two lines facing each other in silence as the referees tell them their names and main
focus of that game. As the keepers come through to acknowledge each other the other players

Commented [MA22]: common after each other

cheer them on and then get to their starting spots. Two face off men get down towards the ball,

Commented [MA23]: two men face off

the ref calls down, ready, face!, and the game is on.
In conclusion a lacrosse team is one of the most positive discourse communities someone
could be involved in. Through the friendships you make with your teammates, to the utter hatred
you have for the other team. A lacrosse team teaches young men discipline, responsibility, and
teamwork, which prepares them to be grown men in the real world.