The Game of Lacrosse

A Team Sport for Boys and Girls

Feb 23, 2009 Kelly Pfeiffer

What is lacrosse? Played mostly outdoors, but indoors as well, the game of lacrosse is one of the fastest growing team sports in the United States.

A fast paced game, lacrosse is played with a ball and a racquet, called a lacrosse “stick”. At the head of the racquet is the “pocket”, strung with netting and used to catch and pass the ball. With different variations for boys and girls as well as a co-ed version, the game of lacrosse is rising in popularity in high schools and community sports programs. Because lacrosse requires speed, coordination and agility rather than brute strength and brawn, lacrosse is a great team sport for any sized player.

The Basic Game of Lacrosse

Similar to scoring in basketball, hockey and soccer, lacrosse players score points by launching a ball into the opponent’s netted goal. The 2.5” wide lacrosse ball is made of rubber and is passed and caught using a lacrosse stick that has a netted pocket on one end. A goalie from each team guards the goal with a special racquet that is longer and has a larger net than what field players carry.

The Game of Lacrosse for Boys: A Contact Team Sport

For boys, lacrosse is a medium contact sport. Male lacrosse gear includes a helmet, a mouthpiece, padded gloves and padding for shoulders and arms. Players are allowed to contact lacrosse sticks and “check” other players above the waist within specified guidelines. At the high school level, ten team members play four twelve minute quarters with a ten-minute break between the second and third quarter. Boys’ lacrosse game lengths vary according to player age.

The Game of Lacrosse for Girls: A Non-Contact Team Sport

Girls lacrosse is considered a non-contact sport although game rules allow lacrosse sticks to touch. Gear for girls’ lacrosse consists of a set of eye goggles and a mouthpiece. General high school guidelines allow twelve players on each team to compete for two halves consisting of twenty-five minutes each.

Boys and Girls Playing Lacrosse Together: Co-Ed Lacrosse

Co-Ed lacrosse, often called “Intercrosse” has a strict no contact rule. Boys and girls play lacrosse together, usually with rubber racquets and a hallow ball. Intercrosse may have rules that limit the amount of time a player may keep the ball or require a certain number of passes before making an attempt to score.

Watch the Game of Lacrosse

US Lacrosse, a non-profit organization created to unify Lacrosse in the United States offers a web-based video called “This is Lacrosse”. The free video shows clips of the contact and non-contact versions of play as well as simple facts and rules about lacrosse. Both boys and girls are featured playing the fast paced game of lacrosse.

Rising in popularity, lacrosse is a fast paced team sport with a variety of game options for both boys and girls. The main difference in boys' lacrosse and girls' lacrosse is that lacrosse is a contact sport for boys and a non-contact sport for girls although field size, game time and team size are slightly different as well.

References:

US Lacrosse website

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