Lacrosse << luh KRAWS >> is a fast team sport played with a ball and sticks with net pockets. It is the oldest continuously played sport in North America. Lacrosse is also played in more than 50 countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Lacrosse rules vary from country to country, and according to the players’ level of expertise. Lacrosse is most popular in the United States as a college and high school sport. This article mainly discusses lacrosse as it is played at the college level in the United States.
In lacrosse, players try to score a goal by throwing the ball into the opposing team’s goal. Men’s teams consist of 10 players—3 defensemen, 3 midfielders, 3 attackmen, and a goalkeeper. Women’s teams consist of 12 players, including attackers, midfielders, defenders, and a goalkeeper. Players move the ball by throwing it with their sticks. In both men’s and women’s lacrosse, only goalkeepers may touch the ball with their hands.
The field and equipment.
Men’s lacrosse is played on a field 110 yards (101 meters) long and 60 yards (55 meters) wide. There are flexible dimensions for a women’s field, but the desirable size is 120 yards (110 meters) long and 70 yards (64 meters) wide.
The stick, called a crosse, was traditionally made of wood. Today, the crosse is more commonly made of composite or metal alloy. Composite is made of layers of carbon fiber. Alloy is a material made up of a metal and at least one other element. At the end of the stick is a net pocket. The ball is made of solid rubber. The ball for both men and women must be between 7 3/4 and 8 inches (19.7 and 20.3 centimeters) in circumference and weigh 5 to 5 1/4 ounces (142 to 149 grams).
Because men’s lacrosse is a contact sport, players must wear protective helmets with face masks, padded gloves, and a mouthpiece. Women’s lacrosse bans body contact, and so players are only required to wear protective eyewear and a mouthpiece.
Men’s lacrosse.
A collegiate game consists of four 15-minute quarters. High school games consist of four 12-minute quarters. A face-off in the center of the field starts play each quarter, as well as after a goal is scored. In a face-off, two midfielders crouch down with their sticks on the ground. The official places the ball between the two sticks, and the players try to gain possession of it at the official’s signal. The other midfielders can also move when play begins, but the defensemen, attackmen, and goalkeepers must remain in their own areas until the referee indicates possession. The ball is carried in the stick and passed between players in an attempt to get it in the opponent’s goal. Each team must have at least three players on the offensive end of the field and four on the defensive end. Violation of this rule is called offsides.
Players use stick checks or body checks to get the ball away from an opponent. A stick check is a tap of the stick to dislodge the ball from the opponent’s crosse. In a body check, the player bumps the opponent with a hip or shoulder. Body checking is allowed only above the knees and below the neck, and from the front or side. Illegal body checks are personal fouls, requiring the player to leave the game for 1 to 3 minutes, depending on how serious the official considers the foul to be. In most cases, players must leave for 30 seconds for technical fouls, such as offsides or holding an opponent. A team must play short-handed while a player is suspended for either type of foul.
Women’s lacrosse.
A collegiate game consists of two 30-minute halves. High school games consist of 25-minute halves. A game begins with a draw in the center of the field. In a draw, a player from each team holds her stick parallel to the ground about hip level. The ball is placed between the two players’ crosses. At the whistle, the players pull their crosses up and away, causing the ball to fly into the air. Each player then tries to gain control of the ball for her team. There is a draw to start each half and after each goal.
Players may pass, catch, or run with the ball in the crosse. A player can gain possession of the ball by dislodging it from an opponent’s crosse with a stick check. Checking involving body contact is not allowed. When a whistle blows, all players must stop in their places.
Fouls are classed as either major or minor. The penalty for fouls is a free position—that is, an opportunity for the fouled player to move the ball without an opponent nearby. For major fouls, the offending player is placed 4 meters (4.4 yards) behind the fouled player. For a minor foul, the offending player is placed 4 meters off, in the direction from which she approached her opponent before committing the foul. Play then resumes with the fouled player given the ball. She may run, pass, or shoot. Major fouls include blocking, charging, dangerous shooting, misconduct, and slashing.
In the critical scoring area—the area in front of and behind the goal—players are awarded a penalty shot as the result of a major foul. In this area, the official holds a flag up to indicate the foul, allowing the offense a chance to score. If a goal is not scored, the official blows the whistle again and administers the penalty shot.
History.
Modern lacrosse can be traced to a game played by American Indian tribes hundreds of years ago. In the 1800’s, French pioneers began to play the game. In 1867, George Beers, a Canadian lacrosse player, standardized the game by setting field dimensions, limiting the number of players, and providing a set of rules.
New York University fielded the first collegiate lacrosse team in 1877. The first high schools to field teams were Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts; Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire; and Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, all in 1882. The first women’s lacrosse game was played in 1890 in Scotland. The first women’s lacrosse team was established in the United States in 1926. US Lacrosse, founded in 1998, is the governing body of the sport in the United States.
