New Players Guide to Lacrosse
Confused? You Needn't Be. Here's a Quick Overview
Lacrosse has many similarities to both basketball and hockey. Simply put, the lacrosse team that ends the game with the most goals wins. A game clock dictates the length of the game, and scoring goals is the sole determiner of who wins and who loses. The following list offers a few of the technical essentials that you need to know to better understand the game.
The Basics
Four quarters equals a game: The length of a field lacrosse game is approximately 60 minutes.
Two halves do make a whole (game): Depending on the age of the teams playing, variations on the length of a lacrosse game do exist. Game times in youth league lacrosse offer a wide variety from 8-or 12-minute quarters with stop or running clock. High-school field games have 12-minute quarters with a stop clock. Depending on the score, a running clock could be implemented mid-game (commonly called a 'mercy' rule).
Whatever the length of the game, each individual contest will include a half-time for players to recoup and receive instruction from their coach.
Facing down the opposition: In boys lacrosse, a faceoff at the center circle starts each game and each quarter, and it begins play after every goal scored. Girls’ games begin with a 'draw' as well as after every goal scored.
A faceoff is one of the many areas where lacrosse resembles both hockey (the only other sport with faceoffs) and basketball (with its jump-ball set-up at the beginning of games). Essentially, a faceoff is an organized, if sometimes frenetic, way to initiate play at the beginning of a game, or to restart play that has been stopped for some reason (opening a new playing period, after a scored goal, in a dead-ball situation, and so on). Any game can present many faceoff opportunities, so you better be pretty good at it to have a chance of controlling the ball and therefore giving your team more scoring opportunities.
Faceoffs in field lacrosse come at the start of each quarter and after each goal. They consist of two players at the center X and two players from each team perched on the wing area lines (20 yards from the middle of the field and 20 yards long, parallel with the sideline). Once possession is gained by one of these eight players, the rest of the players can cross the restraining lines that are perpendicular to the sideline and 20 yards from the midline.
A draw is a complicated process that starts each half and restarts play after a goal. It takes place at the center of the field with the ball placed between two horizontally held sticks at the center line. When the referee blows the whistle, the players pull their sticks up and away while flinging the ball into the air. The two centermen then try to direct the ball to their teammates on the circle.
Games don't end in ties: Well, at least not generally. Depending on the age of the teams, when games end regulation play with the two teams tied, a sudden-death overtime period determines the winner. In sudden death, the first team to score a goal wins.
Stay out of the crease: Offensive players must stay out of the crease area in front of the goal. The crease is a 9-foot semicircle that arcs from goalpost to goalpost.
The crease in field lacrosse is a 9-foot radius, and it sits farther away from the end line (15 yards from the goal). Much of a team's offense starts behind the goal, so management of the crease from defensive as well as offensive standpoints is very important. Players are not allowed to step into or land in the crease, unless they are forced in by a defender. If this violation occurs, goals are waived off and possession is given to the defense.
Stay in your own backyard: Field lacrosse defenders always stay in the opposition's offensive zone, and the offensive players (attack) always stay in their own offensive zone. Only midfielders can run the entire field without restriction. Some exceptions to this rule may apply.
Penalties regulate the game's physical aspects: Referees monitor the physical play to help prevent injuries and control too aggressive play.
Boy’s vs. Girl's Lacrosse
Girl’s lacrosse is exploding in popularity — there are three times as many women’s collegiate lacrosse programs today as there were in 1990. The women’s field game differs from the men’s field game in some critical ways:
Physical contact: The main difference between boy’s and girl’s lacrosse comes down to contact. Depending on the age of the team, in the boy’s game, body-checking is legal, while in the girl’s game, it is not. As a result, there is far less protective equipment in the girl’s game. Boys wear helmets, mouth guards, gloves, shoulder pads, elbow pads, and often ribs pads, whereas girls wear mouth guards, protective eyewear, and girls lacrosse helmets (which are optional), but (except for goalies) no padding.
Number of players: In the boy’s game, ten players are on the field — three attackmen, three midfielders, three defensemen, and a goaltender. In the girl’s game, there are 12 players on the field — offensive players (first home, second home, third home, and two attack wings) and defensive players (center, two defensive wings, point, cover point, third man, and goalie). Small-sided competitions are incorporated into our youth divisions following the USA Lacrosse LADM model. Each division is designed specifically for the age of the player and builds in complexity as the player ages up.
Sticks: The standard stick length in boy’s field lacrosse is 40 to 42 inches from the top of the head to the end of the handle; sticks for defensive players (and sometimes one midfielder called a 'long stick' middie) can measure 52 to 72 inches in length, and the goalie’s stick can be 40 to 72 inches long. Girl’s lacrosse sticks must measure 35½ to 43¼ inches in length; the goalie’s stick must measure 35½ to 48 inches in length. A girls stick head is wider at the top and the pocket is flatter than a boys stick with a much deeper 'pocket' in the head.
Field size: In boy’s lacrosse, the field measures 110 yards long and 60 yards wide. In girl’s lacrosse, the field is a bit bigger: 120 yards long and 70 yards wide. Small-sided competitions utilize half field (two fields in one turned sideways).
Player Positions
The easiest way to know the positions on the field is to know the responsibilities that come with them. In a nutshell, players have three main assignments that come with their positions: score goals (attack players), prevent the other team from scoring goals (defenders), and stop the ball from entering the net (goaltenders). In addition, in lacrosse, one set of players — known as the midfielders — are regularly assigned the task of playing both offense and defense.
That said, the names of the positions and their precise responsibilities do vary in boy’s and girl’s lacrosse. Here are the boy’s lacrosse positions:
Attackmen: The attackmen are the primary offensive weapons looking to feed and score. They create most of the offensive plays. They are the three players kept on the opposite side of the midline while the ball is in play.
Midfielders: Midfielders play offense and defense, following the flow of the game and getting involved at both ends of the field. Midfielders, or “middies,” are crucial to a team’s transition offense and defense.
Defensemen: The role of the defensemen is generally to stop the opposing attackmen from creating offensive plays or scoring. Occasionally, a defenseman will be dispatched to cover a dominant opposing midfielder.
Goaltender: In addition to stopping shots and getting the ball out of the defensive end, goalies are also responsible for directing the defense.
Here are the women’s lacrosse positions:
Attack: The attack positions are made up of first, second, and third homes, and two attack wings, all of whom are responsible for scoring goals.
Defense: Defensive assignments are broken down into these areas: center, two defensive wings, point, cover point, and third man. Wing players move the ball from defense to offense.
Goaltender: The only player on the field wearing a helmet and pads, her job is to prevent goals from being scored.
EQUIPMENT FITTING GUIDE
Click HERE for a complete listing of required equipment for lacrosse. In addition, boys are required to have a solid-color mouthguard and athletic cup. Girls are required to have a solid-colored mouthguard. All players are required to wear cleats (no steel spikes).
USA Lacrosse Membership
For information regarding your USA Lacrosse membership or to look up your member number, please contact USA Lacrosse directly.
General Questions - www.usalacrosse.com
Member # Lookup - https://memberlookup.usalacrosse.com/usl/index
To Contact by Phone - 410-235-6882
Mobile App
Click HERE for detailed instructions on how to use the LeagueApps Play mobile app!