When the North American Indians played the game, they called it "baggathaway."     Mike Beaty, St. Louis junior, looks on from the sideline. Thousands of men roamed through the forest for days with net-headed sticks, throwing and catching a rubber ball. The purpose of this war-like game was to thrust the ball between two trees or painted poles. The game had few rules. Thousands of goals were scored, but legend has it that the team with the fewest casualties won the game. Today, people play the game on grass fields 110 yard long and 60 yards wide, and they call the game lacrosse. The teams have 10 players each and usually are found in high schools and colleges. The net-headed stick is still the tool of the game, and the players still thrust the ball between two poles. But the trees have become steel goals guarded by a goalie. The rules are similar to those of ice hockey, and the team with the most goals in one hour wins the game. Lacrosse is mainly an East coast sport, but Midwestern states such as Illinois and Colorado have caught on. Kansas does not have a tradition of lacrosse, but last semester, a group of students started the KU Lacrosse Club and organized three games without a coach. Now, the club has 35 members and a coach and is a recognized student organization playing in the Gateway Lacrosse League. Other teams in the league are from the University of Missouri, Washington University in St. Louis, the Kansas City Lacrosse Club in Kansas City, Mo., and the Michelob Club Team in St. Louis. Mark Glassman, Lake Forest, Ill., junior, is one of the students who started the KU club. He played lacrosse in high school and loved the sport too much to give it up in college. "I missed the game and wanted to play more," Glassman says. "I knew other guys who felt the same way, so we got a team together and played a couple of games." Lacrosse has the crash of football, the dash of basketball and the soul-stirring action of ice hockey. Some call it the fastest game on two feet.   The team works through one of many scrimmages. Left to right: Dan Grossman, Denver sophomore; Ted Nash, Wilmette, Ill., freshman; and John Armstrong, Englewood, Colo., sophomore.   Players develop speed and coordination as they run, pivot and dodge while cradling the ball in the nylon nets on their sticks. The game requires split-second timing and decision-making, so the players constantly watch both teammates and opponents. This season's first outdoor practice was Feb. 19 at the Shenk Complex field at 23rd and Iowa Streets. The players cheered and applauded each other, defying the freezing winds on their bare legs. With frenzied speed, they constantly swung their sticks to catch, cradle, pass and scoop the ball, propelling it from player to player toward the goal, all the time fending off opposing attackers. Lacrosse is a new sport not only to the University of Kansas, but also to the coach and many of the players. The coach, Richard Swartzel, is a Lawrence real estate sales manager. He had never played lacrosse before he joined the club this semester. "I discovered it two years ago in Colorado at the National Lacrosse Tournament in Vail. I fell in love with the sport," Swartzel says. Swartzel met Glassman at Kinko's earlier this year when Glassman was copying fliers for the club. He was delighted to hear that KU had a lacrosse team and quickly joined. The team needed a coach, so Swartzel stepped in. Since then, he has learned the games' principles and strategies, mostly from the experienced players. What 24-year-old Swartzel lacks in experience, he makes up for in enthusiasm and ability to organize, motivate and discipline the players. Swartzel plans to build the team into a competitive club, but he knows that the players are the key to success. "The team has some excellent people," he says. "The bottom line is that this team is going to be what the players make it." Charlie Sedlock, Kansas City, Kan., junior, is one of about 10 newcomers to the sport. "I started out of curiosity. I knew about the sport and wanted to try it," he says. Sedlock is excited about the team's first league season. "We were not too serious last semester, but we're ready to play to win now," he says. Chris Cooper, Chapel Hill, N.C., senior, is one of the more experienced players. "I played back in North Carolina. It is big there. I was glad to see it at KU," he says. Besides offering a good way to get in shape, lacrosse can be an outlet for built-up aggression. "You swing sticks at people. It's a good way to blow off some steam," says Cory Powell, the club's vice president.     Corey Powell, Evergreen, Colo., junior, goes airborne to catch a pass during a drill. "There might have been too much stick swinging at times last semester," says Powell, an Evergreen, Colo., junior who has played lacrosse for eight years. He broke his collar bone, Glassman dislocated his shoulder and a third player broke his nose. "We weren't in shape back then, and we weren't serious enough," Powell says. Swartzel thinks the KU Lacrosse Club has potential. Many of the members have played on prestigious high school teams, and they know how to teach the inexperienced players. "Hopefully, KU Lacrosse will be in the National Lacrosse Tournament in less than five years," he says. "I would love to take it there." The players also hope to go a long way, just as their sport has. Since the Indians played "baggathaway," many things have changed, including the name. When white men first played the game, they named it "lacrosse" after the town where they played, Lac Ile a la Crosse in northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Another theory suggests that the French Canadians saw a resemblance between a bishop's crozier and the stick the Indians used to play "baggathaway." Hence the word "la crosse," French for "the cross." The KU Lacrosse Club has no place in the history books yet, but only a few months after the team was formed, it became a recognized student organization and was recorded in the Student Senate's funds book. The club has received $1,600 to spend on advertising, sticks and balls, game fees and field preparation. Money for other expenses comes from the players. The team will spend five weekends on the road this spring, and the players say they each will spend about $30 a trip. The players also are responsible for buying their own blue jerseys, helmets, pads and gloves. Everything has its price, except for the coach. "This is something I do voluntarily," Swartzel says. He considers fund-raising an important part of his job. "Nike has expressed interest in sponsoring the team, and I plan to find other ways to raise money." Finances are tight, but the players' injuries are healed, and KU Lacrosse is ready to play this season. The team has worked hard this winter to get in shape. The first home game is Sunday, when KU takes on the Kansas City Lacrosse Club at the Shenk Complex. During late-night practices in Robinson Center, the players have sweated through aerobics, running and stick handling. Swartzel is impressed with them. "When 25 players show up for practice at 10 on Friday nights, you know they are willing to sacrifice a lot for the game," he says. Bente M. Dahl is a Haslum, Norway, senior majoring in journalism.

Marc Roskin, Northbrooke, Ill., sophmore, (left) shouts instructions to the defenders while tending goal.

[Steve Penrod's notes: I'm the defender closest to Marc.]

The KU Lacrosse Club braves the elements during an afternoon practice.

[Steve Penrod's notes: The people pictured are (left to right): Steve Penrod (I think, hard to see) Bill Poindexter ?? (Law professor that played goalie, used old-school wooden goalie stick.) ?? Reggie (I don't remember his list name) ?? ?? ?? Richard Swartzel (coach) If you recognize any of the unknowns, email me penrod@gpll.org.]