Lacrosse is an outfield sport full of techniques, physical clashes, and unique rules. Yes, unique rules, lacrosse rules are pretty much confusing. In this article, you will find out how to play lacrosse, the basic rules of lacrosse, and how to become a pro in this game.
Lacrosse Basic Game
The objective of this game is simple: you have to score more goals than your opponent. The height and width of the lacrosse goal post are 6 feet. Each team has 10 players on its side. There is one goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders, and three attackmen.
The average size of a lacrosse field is 120 yards long and 65 yards wide. The size is similar to a football field but slightly wider. Now the question is how long is a lacrosse game last? The answer is 60 minutes and has a total of four 15 minutes quarters.
You will need a lacrosse ball and a stick to play this game. Because of the physical clash, you will also need a mouth guard, full body gear, and protective eyewear. Most players use close-fitting gloves and headgear for protection. But, goalkeepers need to wear a chest protector, padded gloves, a throat protector, and a helmet with a face mask.
Lacrosse Rules For Dummies
There are different rules for different lacrosse games. Like boys lacrosse rules are different from girls lacrosse rules. But, we will talk about basic lacrosse rules, that will help you to understand the game.
Players Position
First of all, there are rules about the position of the players. The goalkeeper needs to stay inside the crease, it is a circular area around a goalpost. Also, offensive players are not allowed to enter the crease.
The attackmen must stay on the offensive side, and the defenders must remain on the defensive side. That means both attackmen and defenders can not cross the midfield line. Only the midfielders are allowed to go anywhere on the field. Lacrosse rules for beginners, it is the basic, but there are exceptions to this rule.
Face-off Rule
Like a kick-off in a soccer game, a lacrosse match starts with a face-off. It is similar to a basketball or jump ball game, but it stays on the ground here, and two midfielders try to snatch the ball to begin the attack. After the start of every quarter and after each goal, face-offs are done.
There is a new edition to lacrosse face off rules. Players need to touch the ground with their gloves and sticks too. So there will be no kneeling anymore, players need to stand and crouch while facing off.
Winner
The equation is simple, the team with the most goals will be the winner of the match. But, there is a difference in lacrosse. There are no ties or draws in a lacrosse match. If both teams score similar goals, then there will be overtime to decide the winner of the game.
Stick Size
The lacrosse rules are unique, there are different stick sizes in a lacrosse game. A team is allowed to have four longer stick players in a game. Mostly, three defenders and a midfielder use a long stick. And the rest of the team uses the short stick for playing.
Bounds Rules
The lacrosse bounce rules are mostly similar to other sports. If you are the last player to touch the ball before it bounces off, then your opponent will get the ball in possession. But there is an exception.
If you shoot the ball to the goal and it misses, the nearest player is from your team when the ball goes out of bounds. Then, your team will get possession. So a team can get the ball even after it misses the goal.
This rule is only applicable when someone shoots the ball. When it is about passes, the rule is not applicable.
Checking Rule
Lacrosse checking is simply a way to intercept passes, recover ground balls, take possession, or the art of defending. In simple words, players try to snatch the ball from their opponent, which is called lacrosse checking.
Lacrosse rules are full of complexes. There are different checking like body checks, poke checks, lift checks, wrap checks, and trail checks. These are mainly legal checks. Also, you can’t push a player with your hands off your body, that will be a penalty.
Physical Rules
Lacrosse is a game with too much physical contact. But there are certain limitations. For example, you can hit a player from the front side, but pushing from behind is disallowed. Also, you can’t hit a player with your head, if you do head-to-head contact, the possession will go to the other team.
Slashing in lacrosse is not allowed. If you hit a player on the legs, head, or arms with your metal stick, the opponent will get a penalty, possession will go to the opponent, and you will be sent off to the penalty area for a certain time. And your team has to play with nine players.
Offside Rules
You know which players are allowed in which area. So to simply put, offsides are done when there are too many players on either side of the field. In this game, players are allowed to go backside of the goal, and there is one attacker all the time to receive the ball.
Uniqueness In Lacross
You can find similarities between other games’ rules, but there are some unique ones when it comes to lacrosse. Although I have told almost every rule and basic thing, here we will discuss the unique sides of the game.
- Players need to stay in certain positions to play a fair game.
- Players are allowed to go behind the goalpost.
- There is a certain thing you can see, that is the lacrosse eye black. It is quite famous among lacrosse players, they do it to block shiny light and give style to the game.
- Players shoot the ball, and after missing it, they can still get the ball in possession.
- Different lacrosse games have different rules. There are different lacrosse rules for youths, high schools, women, colleges, and professionals.
How To Become A Pro In Lacrosse
See, this is an outdoor sport, so you need a lot of practice, strength, and techniques to become a pro in this game. But there are a few things I can tell you that you can follow in the journey.
- First of all, you need to learn and understand the position. No matter where you play, what matters is that you can’t lose your possession. Also, you should check all the positions and then decide on your play.
- The second thing is that you need to handle the ball like a pro. You can’t just give up the ball to your opponent, you need to hold the ball.
- Dodging and fast footwork are crucial to becoming a pro lacrosse player.
- If you are a defender, you need to understand the lacrosse rules thoroughly and then try to put full effort into your checking.
- Ground balls in lacrosse are a must thing to improve. If you are good at that, then nothing can stop you from becoming a pro.
Further Words
I think now you have a pretty good idea of how long are lacrosse games, the lacrosse rules, and how to become good at this game. However, if you still have any queries, you can watch games online or play lacrosse video games, and I am here to assist you.
Thank you.
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