Spring Into Sports!

Many children in Hopkinton play spring sports such as baseball, lacrosse, softball, and track. As you may know, the fields and the baseball/softball diamonds are still wet and muddy as a result of the weather Hopkinton has been getting. This has caused the players to have to play indoors. This has not stopped them from playing though. Let's take a closer look at four of the most popular sports here in Hopkinton.

Lacrosse: This sport is played with a stick and a hard rubber ball. When you move up to the middle school, many sports are sponsored by the school, but Hopkinton lacrosse is not until you get to the High School. Hopkinton Lacrosse Club, or HLC, is the program that runs lacrosse. Both boys and girls are allowed to play in the club. The age groups for both genders are U9-U15. Though they are the same sport, there are big differences between boys' and girls' lacrosse. First of all, in boys' lacrosse, you are allowed to body check other players in order to get the ball. Whereas in girls lacrosse, until U13, there is little to no contact. However once you get into girls U13, you are allowed to stick check, though it is modified. They are only allowed to check a stick if it is below the opponent's shoulders. Another difference is the stick. In girls' lacrosse, the stick's pocket is very tight. The stick pocket in boys' lacrosse is very loose. In boys' lacrosse, this is very helpful for when you get body checked. It keeps the ball in the pocket instead ofjust letting it fall out. Lacrosse is a very intense, fast and fun sport for both boys and girls. To find out more visit www.hopkintonlacrosse.com

Track and Field: From Maple Street, only sixth graders are allowed to participate in this sport. Some events in track and field are the 100 meter dash, and the 200, 400, 800 and the 1600 meter (1 mile) runs. Other events are hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot-put, javelin and discus. The hurdles are pretty self-explanatory when you jump over the hurdles. Shot-put is when you throw a heavy ball as far as you can. It seems simple, but there is a certain technique that comes along with it that can be tricky to master. The javelin is the event where you throw a spear as far as you can. The discus is where you throw a heavy disc the farthest you can. There are also 4 by 1 and 4 by 4 relays in track and field. To learn more, visit http://www.hopkintonathletics.com/.

Baseball: Before Middle School, baseball players play for HYSA (Hopkinton Youth Sports Association), and/or a private travel team. This sport is played by boys, but if a girl wants to play a sport that is similar to this, then they would play softball. The fourth graders at Maple Street play with the third graders, who are at Harold Martin, and the sixth graders here play with the fifth graders. Teams in baseball are based upon athlete's age. These include the A team, the AA team, the AAA team and the Majors. The Majors would be the most advanced team, with the AAA team following. Sometimes, there are more than one team at a level. Baseball is a very popular sport for boys in Hopkinton.

Softball is a sport that is only played by girls and it is the "girl version" of baseball. As well as baseball, softball is sponsored by HYSA, when you are 8 years old to middle school which is when you are 12 or 13. Softball is actually played with a very hard ball that is 12 inches circumference. The pitching for softball is like a windmill. The pitcher is not on a lump like in baseball, but on a line of rubber to show where the pitcher should be. Almost the same as baseball, the teams are split by age of the athletes. They start at Rookie which is U8, then Minors which is U10. The upper age groups are Majors, which is U12. Finally, Babe Ruth is the highest level of play which is for girls from the age of 13 to 16. If you like fast balls coming at you when you are batting, then softball is the sport for you.