Lee said his sons have benefited from playing ' and living ' the sport. His oldest son recently was recruited and is committed to play lacrosse at Assumption College in Worcester.

But others worry the identity exudes a preppie/frat-boy image that glorifies elitism and wealth, and values flash over hard work. Some youth lacrosse leagues discourage any association between players and the lax bro lifestyle.

'We are anti-lax bro,'' said Dan Chouinard, program director for the Boston club team Laxachusetts. 'We push character and academics.'

To reinforce that philosophy, Laxachusetts prohibits its elementary school and high school athletes from wearing flat-brim hats and baggy shorts to club functions.

For decades, lacrosse was largely played among East Coast preparatory schools and in affluent communities. The reasons for such exclusivity are unclear, but some trace it to the 1800s, when Queen Victoria attended an exhibition game in England and pronounced it 'very pretty to watch,'' according to the Federation of International Lacrosse.

Enthusiasts of the sport are working to make it more accessible, and their efforts appear to be paying off. Last year, 361,275 children under the age of 15 played lacrosse nationwide, a nearly 64 percent jump compared with 2006, according to US Lacrosse, a nonprofit based in Baltimore that regulates the sport. In Massachusetts, the number of high schools with boys and girls lacrosse teams expanded to 384 this year, compared with 268 in 2006, adding thousands of more players, according to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, based in Franklin. The Boston nonprofit MetroLacrosse coordinates teams in Brockton, Dorchester, Roxbury, East Boston, and Chelsea.

And a recently released Massachusetts-made movie, 'Crooked Arrows,'' features a storyline about a Native American team battling a rival prep school.