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Long before lacrosse became popular at private schools and colleges across the U.S., it was played by the members of various indigenous tribes throughout much of the U.S. and Canada.

Long before.

The game got the name by which people now know it from French fur trappers, who thought the sticks the Indians were using looked like the crooks carried by French bishops.

Among many members of the Iroquois Confederacy, the game is not just popular, it’s fundamental.

Born With A Stick In The Crib

"We’re given a traditional wooden stick when we’re born, to sleep with in our crib," Jerome Thompson says. "So, that’s when I got my first stick."

Jerome Thompson, like many kids on the Onondaga Nation Reservation in New York state, got the earliest possible start in the game around which he’s built his life.

Jerome’s younger brother, Miles, was likewise introduced to the game as an infant by their father, Jerome Sr., who played professionally. Miles remembers step two of his education in the game.

"The first memory that comes to mind with my wooden lacrosse stick, is playing catch with my father," Miles says. "And, you know, he always tells us that he would never take it easy on us. He would give us a nice, hard pass. You know, he was my favorite player. That’s who I watched, growing up."

Miles (left) and Lyle (right) along with their cousin Ty at the University of Albany in 2014. (Mike Groll, File/AP)

Lacrosse has a significance for the Thompson brothers — there are four of them: Jeremy, Jerome, Miles and Lyle — that goes beyond a warm and fuzzy connection to a dad, even though he’s slinging high, hard ones at them.

"There’s always a story that we were told as kids, that this game has been played since the beginning of time, that it began with the animals," Miles says. "And those animals brought a different perspective. And we were taught that these animals played to show that every child can bring something different to the game of lacrosse. Because, you know, no matter if you’re fast, you’re strong, you got good hands, you’re gonna bring something different to this game. Every child can play this game."

Maybe so. Maybe every child can play. But when Miles and Jerome were growing up, they didn’t have a lot of options beyond lacrosse.

"We didn’t have electricity or running water until I was probably about 8 years old," Miles says. "You know, we didn’t have PlayStation or Xbox. We had our brothers. We had our lacrosse sticks. You would drive down the rez, and you would at least see one kid with a lacrosse stick, and some of the days that could have been us."

College, Pros, Legacy

For the best players among those children with sticks, there could be practical, material advantages — something in addition to the satisfaction found in following in the paw prints of those variously-talented animals. There could be college scholarships. Several of the Thompson brothers got them. There could be something to hold on to while recovering from addiction. Lacrosse performed that function for one of the Thompson brothers. And there could be professional careers. All four Thompsons are currently playing pro. And, as Miles Thompson explains, there can be something more important than all that.

"My father, he taught us that the game of lacrosse, you know, we gotta respect things," Miles says. "Respect the game. Respect others. Respect the people watching. Because that wooden stick was once a living tree. It’s a hickory tree. That tree was living. We give thanks when we take that tree."