rules to play lacrosse

Although the basic concepts are the same, womens lacrosse differs quite a bit from mens lacrosse. This article will focus mainly on the rules of the mens game.

The object of lacrosse is to score more points than your opponents at the end of four quarters, which last for 15 minutes each. You score a point by throwing the ball across the goal line of the opponents goal.

10 lacrosse players take the field for a game 3 attack men, 3 midfielders, 3 defenders, and 1 goalie. They each have different functions Attack men usually stay in the opponents half and are responsible for creating fast breaks, moving the ball around in the opponents half, and scoring goals.Midfielders move the length of the field, help with attacking and defending, and are responsible for the faceoff.Defenders usually stay in their half and keep the opponents players from attacking. Defenders usually, but not always, have longer sticks than other players.Goalie defends his teams goal, trying to keep the other team from scoring. Has a bigger than normal head on his stick for defending his goal.

A faceoff in lacrosse is similar to a faceoff in hockey, except that the two lacrosse players get down on their hands and knees and position their sticks parallel to each other. They then vie for the ball when the referee blows his whistle.

After the faceoff is won, the team with the ball passes the ball until they are close enough to the opponents goal to shoot. Meanwhile, the defenders try to keep the attacking team from scoring. A shot that travels past the goalie and into the goal counts as one point. Once a goal is scored, the ball is brought back to midfield, where a faceoff takes place again.

The crease is a large circle that is clearly marked. If an offensive player steps into the crease illegally, possession is forfeited to the opposite team.There is not a minimum amount of time that a team has to possess the ball for before they score. Scoring can and does happen quickly.There is not a minimum amount of passes that need to take place before a player can shoot. Theoretically, a player could march down the field him or herself without ever passing the ball and still score.

There are three rules associated with timing, and they both involve promoting the ball past forward. After the goalie gains possession of the ball, he must pass or move it out of the crease within 4 seconds. Failure to do so results in a turnover to the other team. Once the defense gains control of the ball in their defending half, they have 20 seconds to pass or run the ball over midfield.Once theyve moved the ball past midfield, they have 10 seconds to get the ball into the attack area, which is clearly marked as a big box.

Both involve possession of the ball If a player takes a shot and the ball travels out of bounds, the team with a player closest to the end line gains possession of the ball. A players stick counts as an extension of his body in this case.Inside the final two minutes of the game, the team with the lead must play inside their attack area exclusively. Failure to do so is considered delay of game, in which case forfeiture of possession occurs.

When the faceoff is being fought for, a teams attackmen must be being the offensive restraining line and a teams defender must be behind the defensive restraining line. When possession is gained by either team, both attackmen and defencemen may move toward midfield, but both teams must have three players above midfield and four defenders behind midfield.Offsides. Defensive offsides occurs when there are fewer than four players for one team behind their midfield line. Offensive offsides occurs when there are fewer than three players for one team above their midfield line.Defenders can move passed midfield and attackmen can move behind it so long as another player stays behind or in front of midfield in their stead. This allows for the possibility of a defender carrying the ball up passed midfield, say, if a midfielder stays back to act as a defender.

Penalties usually send players into a designated area called the penalty box, where they cannot play and must sit for a period of time. There are two kinds of fouls in lacrosse Personal fouls. These include slashing, tripping, illegal cross checking, and checking from behind. A player is usually given 1 minute penalties, although penalties can be increased to 2 or 3 minutes or even ejection for egregious fouls.Technical fouls. These dont usually result in penalties, but rather a loss of possession. They include offsides, crease violations, pushing from the rear, thumbing, and warding off.