History of The DSOC Lizards
Early January, 2005:
The Ocala Men’s Lacrosse Club captain, Paul Balboni, was in the office of Brick City Park and The Discovery & Science & Outdoor Centers director, Yvonne Smith, to secure field usage for the Men’s Lacrosse Club’s upcoming season. Yvonne told Paul that she was interested in starting a Youth Sports team to use the field during the winter. She said that Lacrosse had interested her as it’s ancient North American Indian roots and history, it’s feel of comraderie and brotherhood, fit in with her ideals as a sport to represent The Discovery Science & Outdoor Center. She asked if he would be willing to start and coach a Youth Lacrosse team. He accepted the offer and both agreed that, in conjunction with the Ocala Men’s Lacrosse Club, they would form the DSOC Lizards Youth Lacrosse Club!
With an initial investment of $1,000.00 by Lacrosse enthusiast and long time Men’s Club player, Marshall White (soon to be Assistant Coach of the Lizards), equipment was purchased, and with backing from The City of Ocala, the ball was rolling.
After much preparation, the first informational meeting and sign up was held at DSOC on March 1st of 2005. It was a success! Over twenty kids had signed up that first day and practice dates were set up.
Although it was too late in the season to get any scheduled games in the West Florida Lacrosse Leaque that the program had joined, by the end of March the Lizards were invited to a Jamboree in Wesley Chapel. The team played two games, the first against the host team Wesley Chapel Warriors and the second against the Freedom High School Patriots.
The Lizards official “first goal ever”, was scored by Anthony Dennis, who is the nephew of current Middle School Head Coach, and former Johns Hopkins Lacrosse Team member of the 1987 NCAA Dl lacrosse championship team, Greg Kelly.
Other milestones have since been recorded such as first official win, first Playoff game and more; but during those first two games, although outmatched, outnumbered, and outscored, the smiles never left the kids’ faces. Everyone wanted to know when they could do it again.
Fall Teaching Clinics were set up for September in order to get ready for the next season which was to start in January of 2006. The team played their first official game in the WFLL on February 4th against Citrus Park.
Marion County Youth as young as 3rd grade have participated in the clinics. The Coaches are mostly current and former players from the Ocala Men’s Lacrosse Club. The Lizards base has grown to over 60 players forming two teams, middle school and high school age. A girls team is in the near future, as many young women have played on the team and continue to show up at Fall Clinics and play at the Middle School level.
The Lizards are annual participants in the Ocala Christmas Parade and Light Up Ocala Celebration, representing 16 different schools throughout Marion County, the club continues to grow and expand each season.
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A Brief History of Lacrosse:
Known as the oldest sport in North America, lacrosse has it's roots in the Native American religion. Often played to resolve conflict amongst tribes, heal the sick and aged, and develop strong men out of boys. The Native Americans referred to it as "the Game of the Creator".
Originally, lacrosse served as preparation for war. Pitting hundreds of braves per side from different tribes on fields that were miles long in a violent contest with the games lasting for days at a time. A single pole, tree or rock was used as a goal and the ball was made of deerskin, baked clay or stone. The sticks were carved out of a length of Hickory and strung with leather and gut, sometimes a warrior would use two crosses at the same time. If a brave was tired and slow or injured, the squaws would run after them and strike them with switches.
In the early 1600's, a Jesuit priest documented a contest of the Huron Indian tribe in Ontario, Canada and his report to his elders is what brought about the modern game of lacrosse as he described their curved, basket topped sticks as a "crosse". French pioneers picked up the game as sport and by the 1800's began to civilize the game and standardize the rules. Field lengths were established, number of players and other basic rules such as two opposing goals and time frames were set.
New York University fielded the first college lacrosse team in 1877. The first high school team was Phillips Academy in Andover Massachusetts in 1882. Today there are more than 400 college teams and 1,200 high school lacrosse teams from coast to coast. Lacrosse is the fastest growing Youth Sport in America. The governing body of the sport, US Lacrosse, indicates that High School level lacrosse has tripled since 1999 when 40,000 participants played the sport, up to 170,000 at this time.
Lacrosse is a fast paced, high powered game full of action, precision passing through the air, quick dodges and hard hitting to put the ball into the six foot square goal. The field of play is 110 yards long by 60 yards wide with the goals set in from the end line 15 yards to allow for play around and behind the goal. Offensive and defensive zones are set up with the midfielders traditionally being the only players allowed to run the full length of the field. With ten players per side, including the goalie, the game is a combination of basketball, soccer and hockey. All players are equipped with a lacrosse stick, full pads including a helmet, elbow pads and shoulder pads.
A players ability to excell is not determined by their size but by the mastery of the "crosse", or stick used to catch, throw and scoop the ball. Attackmen play closest to the goal and use a short (3 foot) stick. The defensemen guarding the goal utilize a 6 foot long stick and the goalies stick is a wider, bigger stick (4 foot) used, along with his body, to keep the ball out of the goal. The midfielders stick is similar to the attack with a deeper "basket" or pocket as the midfielder plays on both the offensive and defensive field of play.
The game is started with a face off between two midfielders at the center of the field and again after each goal scored and to begin play at the beginning of each quarter of play. The time of play is four 15 minute quarters with established penalties enforced by a period of time in the penalty box, much like hockey. The womens game prohibits body contact and therefore uses very minimal protective gear and, although very similar in style, it is more a game of quickness and speed than power and finesse.
