Alan Childs’ first experience with lacrosse was watching his oldest daughter Courtney play on a field with no boundaries.

As players chased errant passes over hills and out of site, only to return minutes later to charge the net, he wondered what was going on.

Stoked by that curiosity, Childs decided to learn as much as he could about the game. After 15 years, the computer programmer not only has a full understanding of the sport but has also become a foremost expert on lacrosse's history in Minnesota - thanks to a chance encounter.

Childs spent half of a decade researching the topic and put what he found into “Minnesota Lacrosse: A History." Published in 2015 using CreateSpace, the book shines a spotlight on lacrosse's origin and significance in the state - including one team's once-forgotten National Championship. He also chronicles the sport's rules and the development of women's lacrosse while also detailing how the game is different.