Keep Your Eyes on the Ball: Young Lacrosse Player Shows Off His Tricks (VIDEO)
1,251 views   /  27 Feb 2016
Lacrosse might not be the first thing that comes up to mind when one thinks about Russia, but turns out the game is slowly but surely gaining popularity in the country.
By Afanasiy Pervomaisky
Lacrosse is an incredibly exciting contact team sport in which players use long-handled sticks with a net (known as the pocket) designed to hold, catch, pass around and shoot a small rubber ball. The objective of the game is to get the ball into the goal of an opposite team using the stick. Although the rules of the game seem pretty straightforward, in reality it could be a tough task to accomplish, considering that players of the opposite team can use rough body checks and tackles to defend and sometimes even swing a stick right at you.
North American Aboriginal nations were first to play lacrosse and to this day the game has remained a popular sport both in Canada and the United States. Throughout the past couple of decades lacrosse has been gaining popularity around the world, including Russia.
There are a few lacrosse teams in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and even a youth team based at one of Moscow’s schools. Russian Accent spoke with Simon Chislov, a 12-year-old lacrosse talent, who plays for the Bulldogs Moscow Youth Lacrosse Club.
Russian Accent: How long have you been playing lacrosse and who’s your coach?
Simon: I’ve been playing lacrosse four-years now. We train three times a week and our coach is Dmitry Khamin.
Russian Accent: How did you learn about lacrosse?
Simon: My friend brought me to a practice one day and I fell in love with the game.
Russian Accent: You stand out from other players on your team because of your incredible skills and fascinating tricks with the stick. How did you learn them?
Simon: I practice tricks every day. I use one of the walls in my house to throw the ball against it and I catch it using my stick. I once even broke a window! After a while, I learned a great deal about the trajectory of the ball. I know it might seem crazy, but sometimes it seems to me that I can feel where the ball will go next.
Russian Accent: Your tricks sure look flashy, but are they effective in real-game situations?
Simon: Tricks are very helpful. When I do tricks during games, fans always cheer me up. [Simon’s coach Dmitry, however, disagreed – he said flashy tricks don’t really help in a real game. It’s better to use less flashy and simpler tricks that are easy to execute and are more effective]
Russian Accent: Do you play any other sports except lacrosse?
Simon: No! Lacrosse is literally my life and it’s the only thing that I do. All day and every day.
Russian Accent: So then you must see yourself playing lacrosse in the future?
Simon: Definitely! I dream about going to the United States and playing in one of the lacrosse teams over there for several years.
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