Introduction to Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a fast paced sport that has been played in North America since before the arrival of Europeans in the late 15th Century. The rules and reasons for playing have been modified over the years, but the object remains the same, score more goals than your opponent! To start with: there are 10 players on each team: 3 attackmen, 3 midfielders, 3 defensemen, and a goalie. Each player has a specific role to fill, but more importantly, how well the units’ work together will help to determine the success of the team. You can usually find the three attackmen around the opposition’s goal, and generally they are your most skilled players. Their job is to control the ball and “work” the offense. Attackmen use short sticks (40 inches in length) in order to have the most protection and ball control possible. Attackmen need to be highly skilled and calm under pressure. Midfielders are the two-way players of lacrosse. They are counted on to play offense in half of the field and to also play defense when the time called. There are 3 midfielders on the field at any one time, but they will rotate “lines” frequently. Some lines are more offensive in make up, while others will be used in defensive situations. Generally Middies, as they are frequently called, will use sticks that are 40-42 inches in length to get the best stick protection as well as being able to use a longer stick for defense. The most important part of a good Middie is his stamina. Defensemen will be found in the defensive half of the field; also there are 3 of them. The easiest way to tell if someone is a defenseman is by their stick. They use sticks that are up to 6 feet long. This provides them the greatest benefit for playing defense but the trade off is that the sticks are difficult to control, especially when the ball is in their possession. The defenseman’s job is to prevent the other team from getting good shots at your goal. A good defenseman will have quick feet and a solid understanding of team-defense. Finally the goalie is the lone player on the field with a wide stick. His job is to stop the ball from crossing the goal line, and then to initiate the offense from his position. Good goalies are fearless and natural leaders. Rules: Lacrosse rules are very similar to hockey rules. It is a full contact game, meaning that body and stick checks are legal. All body checks must occur within 5 yards of the ball, and contact has to take place above the waist, below the neck and in front of the shoulders of the player being hit. Anything outside of these restrictions is illegal contact and will result in a penalty. Stick checks will occur when one player is carrying the ball and the defensive player is trying to dislodge the ball from that player’s sick. Legal stick checks can only hit the stick or the gloved hand holding the stick of the offensive player. Again anything outside of this rule is an illegal play and the defense will be penalized. However, if the offensive players moves his stick to avoid contact with the defense and as a result he is hit in the chest or other part of his body, the defensive player will not be penalized for this contact. All personal fouls are penalized by a 1-minute penalty; all technical fouls are a 30-second penalty. Players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands and must move the ball by carrying it in their stick (crosse) or by passing it to a teammate. A team must keep 4 players in its defensive half of the field and 3 players in its offensive half at all times. Kicking the ball is legal. No offensive players are allowed
in the area surrounding the goal, called a “crease”. Defensive players are allowed in the crease, but you cannot have possession of the ball outside of the crease and carry it into the crease. Most rules violations are easily seen by spectators and will be made clear by the referees. Playing the game Every game starts with a “face off”, two midfielders will crouch down at the middle of the field and fight for possession of the ball. Once one team picks up the ball, they will try to advance the ball down the field and ultimately into the goal that they are attacking, the other team will try to gain possession and attack their goal. A new face off is seen after ever goal, and at the beginning of each quarter. There are 4 quarters in the game each one lasting 12 minutes. Teams get 3 time outs per game. A game with two evenly matched teams playing should result in a score of about 8-7 or in that approximate range. Also a good lacrosse game will be contested all over the field, not just in the middle portions. When a penalty occurs, one team will have an extra player and will be “man-up” the team that committed the penalty will have to defend with only 5 players and they will be “man-down” it is during these situations that you will see teams execute specific plays in order to get the best shot possible. It is one of the rare times in lacrosse where teams will run plays. A good man up unit will score on 40% of its chances. A good man-down unit will give up goals only 20% of the time. Offense: Offenses in lacrosse resemble those used in basketball. Motion, overloads, backdoor cuts and picks are all plays that will be used by the teams. A good offense will recognize how to attack a defense and use a structured offense to start from, but will improvise in order to gain the best advantage possible. Generally you will see up to 6 attackmen and 9 midfielders during the course of a game participating in an offense. Some of the keys to good offenses include, ball movement, player spacing and possession time. Defense: Lacrosse defense also resembles basketball where man-to-man defenses, zone defenses and combinations of the two will be used to thwart the opposition. However with the full contact lacrosse takes on quite a different look than a basketball game! It has been said that there are two ways to play defense, to take the ball from the man, or the man from the ball. It is very important for defenses to recognize that the play does not stop with a big hit, but rather it is crucial for the defense to clear the BALL from their defensive zone. Also a successful team will have a strong understanding of how to defend as a unit, not as six individual players. Sliding, help side, and weak side are terms that are used by defensive players. Up to 6 defensemen, also known as “long sticks” and 9 midfielders will all take part in the action on this half of the field during the course of a game. Equipment: Each player will have a helmet, shoulder pads, gloves and arm guards, in addition to his stick. The equipment is similar to that worn by hockey players except it is more flexible and lighter. Each player will wear equipment to match their position, with defensemen tending to wear heavier shoulder pads for body checking, but lighter arm pads because they don’t handle the ball. While attackmen will wear lighter shoulder pads for mobility and heavy arm protection because they need to protect against a swinging
long stick! Midfielders will wear a combination of both. Goalies are the exception to the equipment rules, they have to wear a helmet with an attached throat guard, gloves and a chest protector, much like one a catcher will wear in baseball. Frequently goalies will wear thigh pads, but that is all for their legs. It is important for a goalie to be very mobile and because of this leg pads are generally not worn. Sticks are personal choices and will vary according to the player using it. By rule, all short sticks must be 40-42 inches in total length and long sticks must be between 60-72 inches. Additionally there are rules for the pocket of the stick and the specific way to string them. Suffice it to say that each stick is tailored to the individual player. Field: A lacrosse field is 110 yards long and 55 yards wide, bigger than a football field but smaller than a soccer field. The goals are situated in the middle of the field, 15 yards in from the end line. Completely surrounding the goal is a crease that players other than the goalie are not allowed to enter. Also in each half of the field is two restraining boxes, similar to a penalty area on a soccer field. They are used for some of the technical rules in the game involving face offs and stalling. At midfield there is a Face Off X at the center of the field and two wing lines, also used during the face off. There are several spots on the field that are important to know about but they are not real places. Offensively when a team is talking about getting the ball to X they are referring to the area behind the goal they are attacking, C is the area directly in front of the goal you are attacking, but on the restraining line. And the crease is the area in front of the goal where it is legal for a player to stand when offensive players are talking about it, the crease is about 3 yards wide by 4 yards in length where a player will screen the goalie and look for rebounds. The crease is also the area surrounding the goal, but offensive players are not allowed to be there. Defensively you will hear players talking about the GLE, which stands for “goal line extended”, it is an imaginary line going from sideline to sideline through the plane of the goal. It is an important location for defensemen to know. Other terms: Clear: moving the ball from your defensive half to your offensive half Ride: preventing the other team from clearing. Sort of like a full court press Man-Ball: two teammates working together to pick up a ground ball. The first player takes out the opposition and the second player gets the ball. Release: what a player who picks up a ground ball yells to release his teammates from a hit. Goose: using your stick to flip a ground ball to a teammate, used when you are going to be checked before you can pick up the ball. Gilman: a clear where a defenseman or a goalie throws the ball from one end of the field to the other. Quick-stick: when a player shoots or passes without cradling
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