John Christmas is an American lacrosse player for the Philadelphia Wings

Philadelphia Wings

The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 of the National Lacrosse League

National Lacrosse League

The National Lacrosse League is a men's professional indoor lacrosse league in North America. It currently has nine teams; three in Canada and six in the United States. Unlike other lacrosse leagues which play in the summer, the NLL plays its games in the winter and spring. Each year, the playoff...

 and for the Boston Cannons

Boston Cannons

The Boston Cannons are a Major League Lacrosse professional men's field lacrosse team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They have played in the MLL since the 2001 season. From 2006 to 2008, they were in the Eastern Conference. From the league's inception in 2001 through 2005, they were in the...

 of Major League Lacrosse

Major League Lacrosse

Major League Lacrosse, or MLL, is a professional men's field lacrosse league that is made up of five teams in the United States and one team in Canada.- History :...

.

Christmas then played at the University of Virginia

University of Virginia

The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...

 from 2002 to 2005, where he was a two-time USILA All-American

USILA All-American Team

The USILA All-American Team is an honor given annually to the best American men's college lacrosse players at their respective positions by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association. The term All-American is derived from the same practice in American college football, in which the...

 and two-time All-ACC

Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

 selection, and helped lead the Caveliers

Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse

The Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse team represents the University of Virginia in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I men's lacrosse...

 to the 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship

2003 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship

The 2003 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament was the 33rd annual Division I NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament. Sixteen NCAA Division I college men's lacrosse teams met after having played their way through a regular season, and for some, a conference tournament...

.

Professional career

Christmas was selected by the Philadelphia Wings in the fifth round (49th overall) of the 2005 Entry Draft. In his first season he played sparingly, only appearing in two games. Beginning with the 2007 season, Christmas saw his playing time increase by being on the field during defensive situations in order to take advantage of his speed in the transition game. In Week 3 of the 2008 NLL season

2008 NLL season

The 2008 National Lacrosse League season, the 22nd in the history of the NLL, began on December 29, 2007 and concluded with the Buffalo Bandits winning the championship game over the Portland LumberJax on May 17, 2008....

, Christmas was awarded "Transition Player of the Week" honors

Christmas was selected by the Laxbro Association in the first round of the 2005 MLL Collegiate Draft. He won the MLL Most Improved Player honors in his second season in the league, and appeared in the 2006 MLL All-Star Game.

Christmas was named to Team USA in the 2007 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship

World Indoor Lacrosse Championship

The World Indoor Lacrosse Championship is an international box lacrosse tournament that is held every four years an is sponsored by the Federation of International Lacrosse . First held in 2003, the tournament was sponsored by the International Lacrosse Federation until 2008, when the ILF became...

s.

The Wings announced that John Christmas will not play the 2009 season. He will take the year to focus on establishing a non-profit organization in Philadelphia called L.E.A.P.S. (Lacrosse, Education, Attitude, Perseverance, Success).

Christmas has worked as a volunteer assistant coach at Penn

Penn Quakers

The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 27 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing.-Men's crew:-Football:...

. He also run 141 lacrosse training to handle lacrosse camp counseling. http://www.141lacrosse.com/index.html

University of Virginia

Season	GP	G	A	Pts	PPG	GB
2002	15	29	15	44	2.93	33
2003	17	36	12	48	2.82	34
2004	12	11	10	21	1.75	15
2005	14	19	20	39	2.79	21
Totals	58	95	57	152	2.62	103

NLL

			Regular Season							Playoffs
Season	Team		GP	G	A	Pts	LB	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	LB	PIM
2006	Philadelphia		2	1	1	2	3	0		0	0	0	0	0	0
2007	Philadelphia		14	4	2	6	51	10		0	0	0	0	0	0
2008	Philadelphia		13	5	20	25	61	10		0	0	0	0	0	0
2010	Philadelphia		11	8	9	17	34	10		0	0	0	0	0	0
NLL Totals			40	18	32	40	115	20		0	0	0	0	0	0

MLL

			Regular Season								Playoffs
Season	Team		GP	G	2ptG	A	Pts	LB	PIM		GP	G	2ptG	A	Pts	LB	PIM
2005	Boston		7	5	0	3	8	4	8.5		1	0	0	0	0	1	0
2006	Boston		12	21	0	16	37	22	1		1	1	0	0	1	0	0
2007	Boston		12	24	1	19	44	12	1.5		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2008	Boston		11	13	0	15	28	21	1		1	1	0	0	1	0	0
2009	Boston		7	5	0	2	7	3	1		1	0	0	0	0	0	0
2010	Chesapeake		3	2	0	2			1		1	1	0	0	1	0	0
MLL Totals			49	68	1	53	124	52	12		3	1	0	0	1	1	0

See also

• Lacrosse in Pennsylvania
  Lacrosse in Pennsylvania
  Lacrosse has been played in Pennsylvania since the 19th century. Today, there are many respected amateur programs at the club, college and high school level, as well as several respected past and present professional teams at the National Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse ...