Discover the Thrill of Lacrosse: Learn How to Play This High-Energy Sport Today! From the fundamentals of the game to score big, this article has got you covered. With its increasing popularity, there’s no better time than now to jump into the action of lacrosse.
What is lacrosse?
Lacrosse is a thrilling team sport that is characterized by its high speed and skillful maneuvering with a stick and ball. The game’s objective is straightforward: outscore the opposing team by shooting the ball into their goal. Each team strives to advance the ball down the field and into the opponent’s net, with players utilizing the head of their stick to carry, pass, catch, and shoot the ball.
While the game’s fundamentals may seem simple, they require considerable physical prowess and strategic thinking. Players are prohibited from touching the ball with their hands, except for the goalie, and must rely on their stick-handling abilities to navigate through the defense and put the ball in the back of the net.
Overall, lacrosse is an exciting and rapidly growing sport that demands athleticism, agility, and coordination from its players. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or a newcomer to the game, mastering the skills and strategies of lacrosse can be a thrilling and rewarding experience.
How to play lacrosse? Basic rules explained
A lacrosse game starts with a face-off. During a face-off, two players line up against one another, and get down on their hands and knees, with the sticks parallel to each other and with the ball placed between them. As soon as the referee blows their whistle, these two players try to gain possession of the ball.
Once a team gets possession of the ball after the faceoff, they try to pass the ball, or run with it, close to the opponent’s goal and try to shoot. In the meantime, the defenders try to keep the attackers from scoring. If the team shoots the ball into the goal, the team is awarded one point.
After a goal is scored, the game is restarted with a face-off at midfield. Face-offs also take place after halftime and after timeouts.
Lacrosse field explained
The lacrosse field is a rectangular field that is 110 yards long and 60 yards wide with goals at either end measuring six feet by six feet. The goal is surrounded by a circular “crease” with a diameter of 18 feet.
How long is a lacrosse game?
Generally, a lacrosse game lasts for 60 minutes. Lacrosse games are divided into four quarters, each lasting 15 minutes. Similar to the collegiate level, there is a two-minute break between the first and second quarters and a ten-minute break at halftime. Usually, timeouts add up to four minutes, which means that in reality, a lacrosse game can take up to 78 minutes.
However, lacrosse games vary in duration based on the level of play. So to be able to answer how long a lacrosse game is, you need to think about the level at which the game is played.
How many quarters are in lacrosse?
Although the duration of a lacrosse game and quarters can vary based on the level of play, the format of the game is similar for all levels, with every lacrosse game consisting of 4 quarters.
How long is a college lacrosse game?
A college lacrosse game typically lasts 60 minutes long with 15-minute quarters and a 15-minute halftime. After the first and the third quarter, there is a break lasting two minutes, and the halftime lasts 10 minutes.
How long is a high school lacrosse game?
A high school lacrosse game is not played with the same intensity as is the case for a collegiate case, so it lasts for 48 minutes, with each quarter lasting only 12 minutes. Similar to the collegiate level, there is also a two-minute break after the first and third quarters and a ten-minute break at halftime.
How long is a youth lacrosse game?
A youth lacrosse game lasts only 32 minutes, with each quarter being eight minutes, to accommodate the small age of the players and their skill levels. Similarly to all other levels, there are two breaks, each of two minutes, and a 10-minute halftime.
How many players are in lacrosse?
In lacrosse, each team consists of ten players: three attackmen, three midfielders, three defensemen, and one goalie.
Attackmen
The attackmen are offensive players., who spend their play on the offensive end. Their job is to score goals.
Defensemen
The defenders spend their time in the defensive half and their role is to try to stop the other team from scoring.
Midfielders
They play both offense and defense. They are responsible for carrying the ball up the field and also for stopping the other team from scoring.
Goalie
The goalie is the last line of defense. His/her job is to protect the goal and stop the other team from scoring.
Players score goals by shooting the ball into the opposing team’s goal. A goal is worth one point.
In lacrosse, players are not allowed to use their hands to touch the ball (except the goalkeeper). Instead, to get the ball on their offensive side, players have to carry it or pass it to a teammate, only by using the stick.
Players are not allowed to get too close to the opposing net when trying to score. A crease surrounding each goal marks the field to show the offensive players where they are not allowed to enter.
Stick check and body check lacrosse rules
A stick check in lacrosse is when a player uses his or her stick to knock the ball out of an opponent’s stick.
A lacrosse body check is when a player uses his stick to physically push the opponent off of their path, stopping the opponent from having an easy path to the goal. It is important to know a few rules in order to make a legal body check:
- A player can only body-check an opponent if that player has the ball and is within five yards of him or her.
- A body check must be initiated from the front or the side, above the waits and below the shoulders.
Lacrosse fouls
There are two types of fouls in lacrosse:
- Personal fouls: Personal fouls are penalized more severely than technical fouls, as they involve contact between players. If a player commits a personal foul, he or she will be given a one to three minutes suspension from play, and the possession of the ball is awarded to the team that was fouled. If a player accumulated five personal fouls, he or she is eliminated from the game.
- Technical fouls: Technical fouls are minor penalties that do not involve contact between players. A technical foul results in a suspension of thirty seconds for the player, if his or her team was in possession of the ball when the infraction occurs, or possession of the ball is awarded to the team that was fouled if there was no possession when the violation occurred.