This Is "Howe" We Do It
Serena Mueller
Staff Writer
WHS offers a fair amount and wide variety of sports, but Seth Howe has a talent that takes him off campus.
Box lacrosse and field lacrosse keep Howe busy all throughout the year.
“It’s hard work, but I have a passion for them,” Howe said. “It’s worth every minute of practice and conditioning to go out on the field and do what I love.”
Howe started playing the sports in 8th grade, but took an interest in them early in his life. He’s had a desire to compete in lacrosse for his entire life.
Although a person may hear the names of the two sports and think they’d be closely related, more than a few differences set the two competitive games apart.
Box lacrosse is an indoor version of lacrosse played during the winter season. It is played in an arena dedicated specifically to box lacrosse. In playing box, there are six players plus the goalies on the field at one time. Box lacrosse is a modernized version of the original game that was established in Canada during the 1920s and 30s.
Field lacrosse begins right after winter sports finish up and the weather starts to warm up, ensuring that players have a nice field to compete on. In field lacrosse, there are nine players plus the goalies for each team on the field at a time. This sport originated among American Indians in 1867. American Indians once believed that playing lacrosse was a spiritual act that heal and gave thanks to their creator. It was also played between tribes with conflicts that weren’t problematic enough to go to war for.
While there are small points to set the two apart, the object of both games remains the same. All players attempt to score a solid rubber ball into the opponent’s goal using a lacrosse stick. In both games, the size of the sticks may vary, especially based on what position a player holds. The team with the most goals by the end of the game, wins.
Field lacrosse -- in comparison to box lacrosse -- has a much larger playing area, hence why there are more competitors playing at one time. It is often called “the fastest sport on two feet,” and Howe considers field lacrosse to be marginally more difficult than box lacrosse.
On top of all the lacrosse, Howe plays tennis for Waverly during fall sports and finds himself greatly enjoying that.
“Tennis is more of a battle with yourself to stay collected; lacrosse is a family of brothers at war,” Howe said.
Tennis doesn’t have too many similarities to lacrosse, but running of some sort is necessary in both sports. So, in playing tennis, Howe is conditioned for lacrosse year-round. He goes from playing field lacrosse in the spring and summer months, to dedicating to tennis in the fall and moving from that point to play box lacrosse during the winter season.
Howe plays in the Nebraska High School Lacrosse League, open to all students in grades 9-12. He specifically plays for the Lincoln Rampage at Abbott Sports Complex. Students from schools all across Lincoln are invited to play.
Even playing only one sport can cause stress for students. Students already have homework to take care of, add testing onto that and maybe a few clubs here and there can cause enough stress. It’s safe to say that adding a sport to that can get overwhelming.
With the right amount of dedication and passion, students all around find the time to do it.
