The reasons for choosing to play a sport in college are many and varied. For this crazy person though, it was simply a matter of wanting to do something different with her free time, other than laying back and bingeing Netflix and doing homework. Here are some more reasons that everyone should at least consider playing the game of lacrosse at one point in their life.

#1: The above reason of having something different to do with the spare time is a rather big one.

When we’re surrounded with the standard fare of football, soccer, and baseball—all of which are still great options—there’s something nice when you have variety in front of you to explore and challenge yourself.

#2: There’s also the cool thing of getting to meet some potentially great people.

The people you meet playing this sport are all the colors of the rainbow in their differences. You have the super sporty ones, the ones that have never played a sport before, and everything in-between. If you’re lucky, the people you meet will become friends that you can spend time playing and crying with.

#3: The ability to learn a new culture through playing the game.

The game of lacrosse has a unique and beautiful history as a Native American activity with a myriad of reasons for playing. Being able to learn about this has, for me, helped me appreciate it more and the joy that I’m able to play such an amazing sport.

#4: It encourages you to stay in shape and active.

However, this is something that can be said about all sports, there is something special about lacrosse. Since it’s known as the “fastest sport on two feet” this encourages both field players and goalies to be in their best shape. This is mostly for the fact that if you don’t stay in shape, it’s very possible you’ll get run over by everyone else during a game.

#5: You walk away from playing with some crazy and fun stories.

This is something that I feel is built off of the team relationships, because you’re spending the majority of time in a game relying on them in order to win. The number of times I’ve seen some crazy injuries happen or even goals are innumerable.

These are just five of the reasons I could come up with to show that this game is amazing and differently, fun to play. You meet some great people and get to take place with a sport with an awesome history. So go pick up a stick and go play some wall-ball to see why this game is worth the time and effort you can put into it.