CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – The oldest sport in the United States, Lacrosse is getting youth across Clarksville-Montgomery County off the couch and outside playing.
 
(TO SEE IMAGES OF A PRACTICE FOR THE LACROSSE TEAM, CLICK HERE.)
 
Originally Lacrosse was a sport played by Native American tribes with up to 1,100 players all considered “warriors.” Today the game is played with men’s teams of 10, and women teams of 12 and is one of the fastest growing sports in popularity across the U.S. according to Sports Illustrated. In truth, the game is brutal.
 
The game has aspects of football, basketball, soccer, and even wrestling according to Coach David Bertoldi of Clarksville Lacrosse. The action is continuous up and down the field like soccer, the intricate handling of the ball is as complex as basketball, there is head to head contact like football, and sometimes there is even the physical struggle found in wrestling.
 
Sunday afternoon ClarksvilleNow.com took a trip to the intramural sports field on Austin Peay’s campus to check out the young men of Clarksville Lacrosse. Back and forth on the field, each player tossed a small “tennis-sized” white ball to each other, but not with their hands, or even like soccer, with kicks. Instead the young men used impossibly small nets at the end of long, hokey-esque sticks to toss and then catch the balls.
 
Currently the Clarksville group consists of a team of 15 boys, but according to Bertoldi as the community’s interest grows so will the teams. The young men hale from across the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. The coach explains that currently the team is open to high school aged persons interested in a challenge.
 
The organization is also looking for coaches to help the organization expand. Coach Bertoldi explains that the Clarksville Lacrosse Organization is seeking to work in cooperation with the city to present the community with an energy intensive and fun sport.
 

Friday, city mayor Kim McMillan told the public how Clarksville is looking to expand opportunities for the youth of the city as well as gain more attention as a tourist destination through some of the local sports organizations hosing tournaments.
 
Along with the city mayor’s commitment to increasing health and exercise in the community, Bertoldi said that Clarksville Lacrosse is seeking the ability to host Lacrosse tournaments here in the city. The coach explained that there is several Lacrosse organizations across the state that the Clarksville team expects to compete in.
 
The goal, said Bertoldi, is to, “Keep kids off the couch.”
 
Clarksville Lacrosse is one organization that follows the city mayor’s community agenda on tourism, providing the youth more opportunities, and increasing the city’s commitment to health and exercise.
 
To find out how you can provide sponsorship to the Clarksville Lacrosse team, or how you can get involved, visit them on the web at www.claksvillelax.com. For more information contact David Bertoldi by calling 931-237-1133, or email the coach at david.bertoldi@yahoo.com .




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