By Kriztja Marae G. Labrador
LACROSSE HAS BEEN added to the Silliman University’s physical education sports roster, making it the first university in the Philippines to offer such.
A field game originating from North America, lacrosse is played by two teams with ten players each using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick
All lacrosse classes in SU are taught by Prof. Manolito Saldivar, who used to teach Futsal in the second semester.
According to him, people from the Philippine Lacrosse Association visited the university last semester and conducted a clinic to introduce the sport. They also donated funds for promotion.
“The offering of lacrosse is an answer to the said clinic and of course this is something that interests me even if I wasn’t able to join the clinic,” he said.
He also said that he had played hockey before, which has a similar concept with Lacrosse.
There are currently two sections available for Lacrosse one for Tuesday-Thursday and Wednesday-Friday schedules.
Stephanie Colinco, a sophomore psychology student said that she enrolled in the class because it is “being played by prestigious universities in the US.”
However, according to Saldivar, one problem that they currently face is the lack of equipment since lacrosse gears are not manufactured in the country. This means they have to buy them abroad.
This is why Saldivar came up with a temporary solution of making their own equipments.
“I have learned that we have only 19 sticks so we have to modify. I have to teach my students how to make their own sticks,” he said.
Saldivar has also been experimenting with a chemical solution to inject into tennis balls to make them as heavy
as real lacrosse balls.
“When the donors see that we are trying to work on what they have taught, I hope they would be more than happy to send more donations and probably we can have our own lacrosse team,” he said. At the same time, Saldivar said he is also hoping for the university to appreciate the sport so it can garner enough support from the administration. Lacrosse is currently played inside the gymnasium but would later be transferred on the field outside.
