Most local youths had no idea what those weird contraptions were that young Jim Farrar and his younger brother, Scottie, were using to fling what appeared to be a Superball on steroids against any wall, ceiling, or floor they could find in the early 1960s.

But it wasn't hard to see that the more flinging they did, the better they got.

The contraptions were lacrosse sticks — not the sleek, aerodynamic, flashy conglomeration of exotic metals that would appear to require a second mortgage to purchase. No, theirs had wooden handles and heads and leather thong netting.

"It's addictive. Once you pick up a stick and get the feeling of throwing and shooting the ball, you're hooked," he said Monday from his office at Washington and Lee.

A member of the W&L Athletic Hall of Fame for both his prowess on the gridiron and on the lacrosse field, there has never been any doubt that he has always held lacrosse a notch above his beloved Washington Redskins (well, maybe not so beloved in recent years).
During his W&L career, he was a defenseman on teams that accrued a 51-7 record and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the national Division I semifinals.

After graduation in 1974, he returned to his high school alma mater, Episcopal High School in Alexandria, as a teacher, coach, and administrator. Since his 1986 return to Lexington, he has been deeply involved in the Lexington Lacrosse Club program. For many years, he was the head coach of the middle school team, which sent many players on into the collegiate ranks. And anybody who ever played for Farrar will tell you that he accepted only one way of approaching the game: with maximum effort and solid fundamentals built through repetition.

"It's not unusual to hear folks in the lacrosse community emphasizing 'giving back to the sport.' I have always felt like I have an obligation to return something to the sport that has given my family and me so much. I have enjoyed having the opportunity to pass the game along to younger generations.

I think a lot of the love of lacrosse in this community began with W&L and VMI. The two institutions provide so much to the community; local folks have the opportunity to follow and become involved in all sorts of sports, arts, and academic programs.

In terms of lacrosse in particular, I think the sport has found a home here because of W&L and VMI, but the appeal to youths all over the world, and particularly in North America, has some parallel to the rise of soccer's popularity in the U.S. back in the 1970s."

He further notes that "lacrosse has many characteristics found in soccer, basketball, and to a limited extent, football. It is increasingly becoming accepted as a mainstream sport. It is exciting to watch; it's the fastest game on two feet."

Farrar continues his involvement with the Lexington Lacrosse Club as a member of its Board of Directors and also offers his keen insight into the game as a color analyst on radio broadcasts of the W&L men's lacrosse team.

Those strange sticks the Farrar brothers received could have quickly become just another Christmas novelty, but rather they sparked a lifetime love affair that has touched the lives of so many others.

by doug Chase