Player's & Parent's Guide
Difference Between Women's and Youth Field Lacrosse
Physical contact: The main difference between men’s and women’s lacrosse comes down to contact. In the men’s game, body-checking is legal — and encouraged (especially by coaches) — while in the women’s game, it is not. As a result, there is far less protective equipment in the women’s game: Men wear helmets, mouth guards, gloves, shoulder pads, elbow pads, and often ribs pads, whereas women wear mouth guards and protective eyewear, but (with the exception of goalies) no helmets or padding.
Number of players: In the men’s game, ten players are on the field — three attackmen, three midfielders, three defenders (longpoles), and a goaltender. In the women’s game, there are 12 players on the field — offensive players (first home, second home, third home, and two attack wings) and defensive players (center, two defensive wings, point, cover point, third man, and goalie).
Sticks: Unlike men’s lacrosse, mesh is not permitted for the pockets of women’s sticks; the pockets must be strung in the traditional way. Also, the top of the ball must be above the sidewall when it’s in the pocket. As a result, stick handling and shooting are more difficult in the women’s game.
In addition, the standard stick length in men’s field lacrosse is 40 to 42 inches from the end of the head to the end of the handle; sticks for defensive players (as well as one midfielder) can measure 52 to 72 inches in length, and the goalie’s stick can be 40 to 72 inches long. Women’s lacrosse sticks must measure 35½ to 43¼ inches in length; the goalie’s stick must measure 35½ to 48 inches in length.
Field size: In men’s lacrosse, the field measures 110 yards long and 60 yards wide. In women’s lacrosse, the field is a bit bigger: 120 yards long and 70 yards wide.
Differences between Box and Men’s Field Lacrosse
General
There are ten players on the field instead of five, similar to soccer.
There is a goalkeeper, three defenders (longpoles), three midfielders, and three attacks.
Fouls called are very similar to football.
There can be a minimum of two officials on the field, and up to a maximum of four.
The four referees are the Head Referee, Field Judge, Umpire, and CBO or Chief Bench Official.
The Head Referee, Field Judge and Umpire are responsible for making the calls on the field, and their jobs are very similar, except for prior to the beginning of the game during the coin toss, calling of captains, and the pre-game talk, where the Head Referee is in control.
The CBO is responsible for calling offsides, illegal line changes, players leaving the penalty area early, and maintaining the conduct of the benches.
The CBO is only used when there are four referees officiating the game.
Referee Equipment
Instead of wearing a black shirt, black pants and black shoes, field lacrosse officials wear white shorts, a striped referee shirt, black cleats, a black hat, and use penalty flags, similar to a football official.
Field officials traditionally use the Fox-40 whistle instead of the Acme Thunder whistle used in box.
Field officials carry a scorecard to keep track of scoring and time-outs taken on the field.
Time of the Game
Instead of three periods, there are either four quarters or two halves, running time, with the time depending on the league and age group.
The last three minutes of the second half (or fourth quarter) is normally stop time.
During running time, the play will only stop for time-outs, whether called by either team, or by an official for an injured player, etc.
Timekeepers
Since there are rarely scoreboards at most of the fields where field lacrosse is played, there must be more communication between the timekeepers and the referee to ensure the game is timed correctly. The timekeepers are responsible for keeping the time of both the game and any fouls called.
Since there is no scoreboard, the timekeeper must:
Come onto the field and say “clock’s on” with 30 seconds remaining in any quarter.
Stay with the closest official (usually the trail official if the game is 2-man), letting the referee know when there is 30 seconds left, 20, 15, and then counts down from 10 seconds down to 1.
Once the quarter/half is done, say, “time”, and the referee will blow his whistle to signal the end of that period.
Notify players serving penalties when there is 10 seconds left in their penalties
Once the foul is down to 5 seconds, count down “5-4-3-2-1-release”, so the player knows exactly when to enter the field after the foul has ended.
With 5 seconds left in the foul, a substitute player can be down on one knee, ready to substitute for the penalized player.
At the end of the first half, the referee will confirm that the score he/she has on his scorecard matches that which the timekeepers have. At this time, any differences between the two scores will be addressed.
Required Equipment
All players must wear protective gloves, shoes, and a helmet with a facemask, having a chinstrap secured on both sides.
Play will be stopped if a player is in the scrimmage area and they have lost any of the above equipment.
Any equipment the referee feels is dangerous can be removed from the game (e.g. jewelry).
The goalkeeper shall not be able to wear any more extra equipment than shin guards, a throat guard, and a chest protector.
Pre-Game
Much more technical in nature than in box lacrosse.
The referee crew normally gets together and discusses how the game will be called, mechanics, etc. prior to arriving at the field.
Approximately twenty minutes prior to game time, the referees will get the numbers of the captains and assistant captains from the head coach of each team.
Five minutes prior to game time, the captains for both teams are called out, and a coin toss is conducted to determine which team is attacking which end in either the first half, or the first and third quarters.
Two minutes prior to game time, each team’s starting line-ups come out to center, with their left shoulder facing the goal that they are defending.
The Head Referee introduces himself and all of his partners for the game, and he also discusses how the game will be called, along with any potentially dangerous field conditions.
Captains
The coach may designate one captain, as many as three alternates (assistants), and an In-home.
The In-home is designated to serve bench penalties and fouls for players who have either been ejected or could not be identified – this rule is designed to keep the play flowing.
Face-Offs
Can only be taken right-handed.
On a center face-off, there must be a goaltender and three defencemen in each restraining area, as well as three attacks in each restraining area, unless the team is short handed.
Unlike box lacrosse, a face-off cannot be conducted with only one player facing off if the other team is not there for the face-off – this must be called as illegal procedure.
In a short-handed situation, one player can move up and play on the wing, provided he or she does not go offside – he must stay on his or her side of center.
If a player’s foul time is expiring before the face-off is started, he or she must wait for possession to be called before they can enter the field, unless the bench-side wing area is open.
When the play is blown in on a face-off, only the wingers are allowed to move towards center and make an effort to play the ball - the players in the end zones must wait for the possession signal before they can move in and try to play the ball.
The players on the wing lines may set themselves anywhere along their respective lines, but they must not cross the line until the whistle has blown to start play.
You cannot check the other draw man while he or she is down facing off – this is considered an illegal body check.
When facing off, you cannot check a draw man from the rear, kick through your own stick (called the crosse in field lacrosse), or kick through your opponent’s stick.
You cannot withhold the ball on a face-off – you can “clamp” on the ball, but after this, there must be a legitimate effort to move the ball.
As a result, withholding the ball in field lacrosse is not called as tightly as a trap ball in box lacrosse.
Unlike box lacrosse, the heads do not have to clear before the players facing off can stop drawing the ball.
In field lacrosse, if a player has the mesh of his stick pushed in on a face-off, he is not required to adjust his stick back to normal as he is in box lacrosse.
Players outside of the restraining area must remain there until possession or “free ball” has been called by the nearest official – done by shouting “possession” loud enough for all the players to hear, and winding his arm in a clockwise motion.
Free ball is when the ball has come outside of the neutral zone of the field, into either the defensive or attacking area.
Face-Offs Away from Center
Face-offs away from center should not occur very often, and should only happen in two instances:
The ball went out of bounds off of a shot, and it could not be determined who was closest to the ball where it went out, where it went out (see Ball Out of Bounds).
Simultaneous fouls have been called, the total foul time on both teams is equal, and the ball was loose when the play was blown dead.
For conducting the face-off, draw an imaginary line from the goal to the ball – the defensive draw man’s stick will be placed perpendicular (90º) to this imaginary line, and the two people taking the draw will be lined up accordingly,
Players not participating in the draw must be at least ten yards away from the players facing off until the whistle is sounded to begin play.
Once again, be reminded that you cannot check a player while he or she is on the ground.
Ball Out of Bounds
If the ball goes out of bounds off of a pass, the ball is awarded to the team who did not touch it last.
If the ball goes out of bounds off of a shot on goal, the ball is awarded to the player closest to the ball where it went out, when it went out.
In the event that no one is chasing the ball, and the ball has crossed the end line on a shot with no one behind the net, the goaltender will be deemed closest to the ball, and possession will restart with the defending team, 20 yards laterally from their goal.
A shot is considered a shot until the ball comes to a complete stop, or a player has added impetus to the ball.
If a player tries to pick up the ball, the ball is still moving in the same direction, and the ball still goes out of bounds, it is still considered a shot.
If the player causes the ball to go out of bounds, possession will be awarded to the other team.
Penalties – are referred to as fouls in field lacrosse.
Technical fouls are fouls of a less serious nature.
Causes a turnover to the non-offending team if the ball was loose, or the team committing the technical foul was in possesssion (similar to minor interference in box lacrosse).
Is penalized by a 30-second, time-served penalty when the non-offending team is in possession of the ball.
Examples of technical fouls include pushing, holding, interference, warding off, crease violation, offside and illegal procedure.
Personal fouls are fouls of a more serious nature.
Can be either 1, 2 or 3 minutes in duration, depending on the severity of the foul – player is not ejected when receiving any of these.
Examples of personal fouls include slashing, cross-checking, unnecessary roughness, illegal bodycheck and unsportsmanlike conduct.
The penalty will not start until the penalized player has sat down in the penalty area, and the play has started.
The ten second rule is not in effect in field lacrosse when the attacking team is short handed.
Technical Fouls
On the scoring of a goal, technical fouls which made the team being scored on short-handed are washed out.
Crease violation.
Illegal offensive screen – called instead of an illegal pick.
Illegal procedure – called anywhere in the rules where proper procedures are not being followed properly, and are not covered adequately elsewhere in the rule book (e.g. delay of game).
You cannot participate in the play without a stick.
You cannot participate in the play while out of bounds.
There cannot be more than 10 players on the field for any one team at once.
Illegally re-entering the crease
You cannot run back into the crease with the ball.
You are, however, allowed to pass the ball back to your goalkeeper as many times as you wish.
Illegally touching the ball – cannot touch the ball with the hands.
Interference – cannot touch an opposing player who is more than nine feet away from the ball.
You can run alongside an opposing player when defending, or apply equal pressure, provided the pressure given is not excessive.
There is no zone in front of each net where contact can be made off of the ball.
Pushing – called instead of checking from behind.
Any player cannot push their opponent with their stick on a loose ball.
If a check or push from the rear is dangerous or excessive, it can be called as an illegal body check.
Warding off – called instead of a free hand.
Crease Play
A technical foul is called when someone steps in the opposition’s crease when their team has possession of the ball in the attack half of the field.
This applies to anyone on the attacking team who makes contact inside their opponent's crease.
There is no imaginary cylinder – if the ball goes into the goal before any part of the player, in the act of shooting, touches the ground or goalkeeper, the goal shall count.
Only the goaltender is protected by the crease – all other players in possession of the ball within their own crease can be checked, provided no other part of the player checking is within the crease.
An attacking player can play a loose ball in the crease, provided contact is not made with the goaltender, and no other part of the attacking player’s body is in the crease at the time.
An attacking player is able to catch a pass within the crease, provided no other part of the player’s body is touching either the crease or goal - he is still allowed to fake a shot in the crease.
Goalkeeper and Goalkeeper Privileges
Has four seconds to move the ball out of the crease.
In field lacrosse, possession, and therefore the 4-second count, begins when the goaltender has clamped on the ball in the crease.
In box lacrosse, possession, and therefore the 5-second count, begins when the goaltender has possession and control of the ball.
Has the protection of the crease until an outlet pass has been completed – remember that only the goalkeeper has protection of the crease.
This means that if contact is made outside the crease, and the goalkeeper still has the ball in his or her stick while completing the pass from inside the crease, a 30-second technical foul can be called for interference.
Any player may pass the ball back to their goalkeeper, in the crease, as many times as they would like.
Similar to box lacrosse, a player in possession of the ball may not walk back into the crease with the ball.
Anytime play restarts, the goalkeeper can never restart with the ball in his or her own crease – they must start 20 yards laterally from their goal.
Must serve his or her own penalties – a 30-second referee time-out will be allotted for this to be done.
Can run up the field with the ball and over center, provided another player is coming back behind center to cover for the player shortage (“middie back”) - there must be four players in the defending half at all times (see Offside).
Unlike box lacrosse, the play is not stopped automatically if he or she receives a shot flush in the facemask – play will obviously be stopped if injury results as a result of the shot.
Unlike box lacrosse, the goalkeeper cannot be pulled put out another attacking player.
Offside
The defence must have four players on their side of center, usually the goalie and three defencemen.
The attack must have three players on the opposite side of center.
Personal Fouls
Five personal fouls constitute a game expulsion, not any five penalties, and not five total penalty minutes.
Personal fouls are not released on a goal, and are always served in their entirety.
A 3-minute personal foul does not also carry a game expulsion, unless other penalties have been assessed to the offending player.
Slashing – called for any high sticking, spearing or butt-ending (spike check) infractions.
There is no personal foul in field lacrosse for a follow-through slash.
All of these infractions fall under slashing in field lacrosse.
“Spike checks” (performing a stick check by grabbing the head of the stick and coming down with the shaft of the stick) are permitted, but can be called as a foul if they are excessive.
Illegal body check – called instead of elbowing.
You can run at and check a player on a loose ball, provided the check is below the shoulders, above the waist, and from the front. The check also must be within 9 feet of the ball.
You cannot body check a player who is on the ground (i.e. in a “vulnerable position”).
Late checks are to be called tightly, particularly after the scoring of a goal.
Unnecessary roughness – called instead of roughing.
You cannot hit a player after he or she no longer has possession of the ball, and the ball is more than 9 feet away when contact is made.
Cross checking.
Players cannot check an opponent with their hands apart, regardless if a cross-checking motion has been made or not – their hands must be together when a check is being made.
Tripping.
Unsportsmanlike conduct.
Calling of Fouls
Instead of raising your non-whistle hand in the air to signal the calling of a penalty, field lacrosse referees throw a flag for a foul and say, “flag down” – this is considered a “slow whistle”.
If the infraction happened in the non-offending team’s defensive end, the referee shall raise his flag and carry it until either the play stops, or the play is over center.
This stops delays in retrieving the flag after play has stopped.
A slow whistle play is not completed until:
A shot on goal has been taken
The ball has touched the ground (with the exception of a bounce pass)
The team without the flag down commits a foul
The ball goes twice behind the net
The ball has come out of the attack area
The scoring opportunity is lost
Any other instance where the play would be stopped
Unlike box lacrosse, when a second foul occurs, the play is not blown dead immediately.
An unlimited number of fouls can be called on a flag down/slow whistle, and play is only stopped when one of the above criteria is met.
Restarting After a Foul / Simultaneous Fouls
In field lacrosse, coincidental penalties are called simultaneous fouls.
o These are fouls occurring to each team, between the time the play is stopped, and the time the play is restarted.
Similar to new box lacrosse rules, on simultaneous fouls, the team with less foul time will start with the ball.
There is no requirement to start the play in the neutral zone after a foul has been called – the play will restart as close to the location where the infraction took place as possible, subject to being at least 20 yards away from the goal.
Unlike box lacrosse, if, on a play, both teams committed a technical foul, the technical fouls would cancel, and the team in possession of the ball when the play was stopped will retain possession.
In both of the above instances, if, on a play, both teams have the same total penalty time, and the ball was loose when the play was stopped, there will be a face-off as close to the spot where the play was stopped as possible, subject to being at least 20 yards away from the goal.
If the defending team was fouled in their own end of the field, and the play ends while the ball is still in the defending end, the team that was fouled will restart with possession at center – this is referred to as a “free clear”.
When the play restarts, the referee blowing the play back in will let the goaltender know where the ball is coming in – this is done relative to where the goalkeeper is standing (i.e. top middle, behind right, etc.).
If there is an extra man situation at the end of any quarter, and there is a team clearly in possession of the ball when the quarter ends, that team will retain possession of the ball at the same relative location on the opposite side of the field (since the teams will be changing ends).
Similar to box lacrosse, if a foul is called after the scoring of a goal, there will be no face-off at center – the team that was fouled will begin with the ball, subject to the usual rules of restarting play.
Unlike box lacrosse, if a foul is called after the completion of a quarter, there will be no face-off at center – the team that was fouled will begin with the ball, subject to the usual rules of restarting play.
Calling of a Shot
Instead of calling “shot” when the shot on goal has already happened, and signaling with your whistle hand, in field lacrosse you call “shot” the instant the ball leaves the player’s stick. This way, the players know if they should chase the ball towards the line it is going out of bounds to get possession of the ball on the next restart.
No signal is made to signify that a shot on goal has occurred.
If you feel it was a pass and not a shot, say nothing – the team which will start with the ball will be the team who did not touch the ball last, exactly as is done in box lacrosse.
Stick Dimensions
Sticks must be between 40 and 42 inches in length, and between 4 and 10 inches in width at the widest point of the head of the stick.
The guard stop must be a minimum of 10 inches from the end of the head of the stick.
Each team is allowed 4 “big sticks” on the field at any one time – these sticks must be between 52 and 72 inches in length, and must also be between 4 and 10 inches in width at the widest point of the head of the stick.
The goalkeeper's stick may be of any length, however the inside width of the head of their stick must be 15 inches or less.
If a goal has been scored, and before the next dead ball, the stick is declared illegal for any reason, the goal shall be disallowed.
Time-Outs
Can be called by the coach, the captain, or the ball carrier in the attack half of the field or on any dead ball (see the Dead Ball section for the definition).
o While the play is live, either team cannot call a time-out if they are in possession in their own half of the field, or if the ball is loose.
Two time-outs, 90 seconds in duration, can be called per half per team.
Dead Ball
Unlike box lacrosse, where a dead ball is a goal, penalty or time-out, a dead ball infield lacrosse is any time the play is stopped.
A time-out can be called any time the play is stopped, and any time the play is running, provided the team calling the time-out is over center and in possession of the ball, and the time-out is called by either the player in possession of the ball, a captain or the Head Coach.
Shot Clock / Stalling
There is no shot clock in field lacrosse.
A “stall” may be called at any point in the game to the team which is full strength to ensure the ball is being carried forward towards the goal
Either team can be guilty of stalling at any time, provided they are full strength – it does not matter if the team is winning or losing.
A team that is short handed cannot be guilty of stalling.
The stall warning must be agreed upon by all three officials.
This mechanic is similar to what the offending team should do on a flag down situation or “slow whistle” (i.e. the ball cannot come out of the attack area once it is taken in).
All stalling does is limit the field they can move the ball in – once inside this area, they cannot be penalized for stalling.
Unlike the National Lacrosse League, over and back is not called once the attacking team gets the ball over center, and the ball goes back over the center line.
Player Ejections
When a player is ejected from a field lacrosse game, it is called a game expulsion.
With the exception of receiving five personal fouls in a game, the team penalized will be short-handed for 3 minutes, and the time will be served by the In-home.
If there are players from both teams receiving expulsion fouls, a substitute is not required to serve the non-releaseable 3-minute foul time.
A player can be given a game expulsion for:
Receiving five personal fouls in a game.
Deliberately striking or attempting to strike an opponent, coach or team official.
Any team personnel pushing past an official to join in a fight.
Third man in an altercation.
Continued use of foul or abusive language, or refusal to accept the officials’ ruling.
Illegal Equipment
The referee has the authority to remove any equipment from the game if they feel it is dangerous and could potentially cause injury.
In field lacrosse, illegal equipment must be called by the requesting team’s captain or coach, whereas in box lacrosse, illegal equipment must be called by the requesting team’s captain.
In field lacrosse, if the stick is found to be legal, there is no penalty for the first request a coach makes for an illegal stick. In box lacrosse, if the stick is found to be legal, the team requesting the measurement in box will be assessed a minor penalty for delay of game.
When a request is made for a stick measurement in field lacrosse, the team requesting the measurement does not have to specify what they would like measured – the stick is measured for everything.
When a request is made for a stick measurement in box lacrosse, the team requesting the measurement must be specific as to what they would like measured.
In both box and field lacrosse, the stick must be on the playing floor/field at the time the stick measurement was requested.
In field lacrosse, if the crosse has minor issues with it (e.g. pocket too deep, strings hanging longer than two inches, multi-colored mesh) there is a warning given to the player with the illegal equipment to make any necessary adjustments.
If the player returns with that stick without having made the appropriate adjustments, they will be given a 30-second technical foul, and the stick will be removed for the duration of the game.
Also, if the foul is to do with trick stringing or construction of the crosse, the player with illegal equipment is given a 3-minute personal foul, and the illegal equipment is removed for the duration of the game. The player has no opportunity to adjust their stick in this instance.
In box lacrosse, if the stick is illegal in the dimension requested by one of the requesting team’s captains, the offending player will serve a 2-minute minor for playing with an illegal stick, and the stick will be removed for the duration of the game.
In box lacrosse, if the stick being measured belongs to the scorer of the last goal
and the stick is found to be illegal, the goal will stand, and the player will serve a 2- minute minor for an illegal stick.
In field lacrosse, if the stick being measured belongs to the scorer of the last goal, and the stick is found to be illegal, the goal shall be disallowed, and the player will serve a 3-minute penalty.
In both box and field lacrosse, a request for a stick measurement cannot be made after a sudden-death goal has been scored, as the game has been completed.
Outdoor Conditions
The game must be suspended or stopped in the event of an electrical storm.
The rule to use for this is a 30-second “flash to bang” count. If there is less than 30 seconds between the lightning and the thunder, play will be stopped immediately.
30 minutes after the last lightning strike, the game can then be restarted.
If the ball becomes stuck in mud, allow four seconds for the players to retrieve the ball, and then have a face-off close to that area if it has not been freed yet.
Overtime
Similar to box lacrosse, overtime will only happen in medal round or championship games – all other games will remain a tie.
In the event the game is tied at the end of regulation, there will be a 5-minute break, where the teams will change ends.
Instead of playing a full 10-minute overtime period, as is done in box lacrosse, there will be two full periods of 4 minutes played. Both periods will start with a face-off, and the teams will change ends between periods.
If the game is still tied after the two 4-minute periods, there will be a 1-minute break, followed by a coin toss to determine which end the coin-toss winner would like to attack.
The teams will then play 4-minute, sudden-victory periods until a goal is scored, thus determining the winner.
Special thanks to Marty Gaffney of Alberta Lacrosse who compiled this document.