Breaking down lacrosse: Learn the basics

There's no one sport to compare to lacrosse. Soccer? Kind of. Hockey? Maybe. But it's more like a combination of the two, with one clear difference: There's a lot fewer pads. "All they wear is a catcher's pad with a throat guard," said Dan McCall, whose sons play for the New Tampa Fire. "There isn't much more beyond the jersey and shorts."

By Mike Camunas
Published July 15, 2007

General rules

From the teenage level and up, a lacrosse game consists of 10-player teams on a 110-yard field where the opposing goals are 80 yards apart. There are four 15-minute periods. Teams consist of three attackers, three midfielders, three defenders and a goalie, and the field is separated into three sections: a middle section, plus a zone for each team. Each team must have four players (three defenders and the goalie) in the zone at a time.

Body checking is permitted if a player has the ball or is within 5 yards of a loose ball. All contact must occur from the front or the side, above the waist and below the shoulders, with both hands on the stick. According to the rules, aggressive body checking is discouraged, but a player may use his crosse to stick check - within 5 yards of a loose ball or when the ball is in the air.

Penalties are more similar to hockey because of the sticks; there is slashing, tripping, crosschecking, unnecessary roughness and illegal body checking. There is no penalty box, but a player must sit out for one to three minutes. Rack up five personal fouls and, like basketball, you're out of there.

The players

Attacker: Similar to the forward or wing in soccer and hockey, respectively, they stay up near the opposing goal and account for most of the scoring. They help run formations with the midfielders, just as a forward in soccer makes a long run while trying to stay onside.

Midfielders: They do just what their name indicates: They handle the midfield. While they distribute the ball from their own goalie up to the forwards, they also make runs up to the goal. Midfielders may roam through all three sections of the field as they make long runs that clear the ball out of their team's zone.

Defenders: Easily explained, they defend the goal. But really, like soccer and hockey, they are the enforcers, usually taking advantage of body and stick checks to knock the ball loose. Defenders can move up the field and carry the ball, but according to the rules, a midfielder must drop back into his zone to replace the defender.

Goalie: This should be a no-brainer, but they set up in front of the 6- by 6-foot goal and need a lot of courage to step in front of hard-thrown shots. Think of the goalie as the commander on the field, especially for the defense. Often this is the team's best player, and the one with the best reflexes.

Equipment

Helmets and mouthpieces are mandatory. In addition to the pads, or lack thereof, each player carries a stick with a net, known as a crosse. Attackers' and midfielders' crosses are 40 to 42 inches long, while the defenders' can be 52 to 72 inches. The net of the crosse must be 6.5 to 10 inches wide, except for a goalie's crosse, which may be 10 to 12 inches wide.

Mike Camunas, Times correspondent

[Last modified July 14, 2007, 21:15:16]