Transcript Slide 1

Some of the Basic Rules of
Girl's Lacrosse
The Game: Girls' lacrosse combines individual skills and team
performance. Keeping possession is integral to the game, which allows for
fastbreak opportunities as well as set offensive plays. A team gets
positions by intercepting a pass, dislodging a ball from an opponent's
stick, retrieving a ground ball, or blocking a pass or a shot. Like the boys
game, the team with the most goals wins. Unlike the boys' game, girls'
lacrosse sticks have tight, restricted pockets, and the defense may only
use stick-to-stick contact. When the whistle is blown, players must stand
in position where they are until play restarts. Also different are the field
markings -- girls can move freely all over the field, and there are no
sideline or endline boundaries.
The Field: The Field: Traditionally, the girls game has been played on a
field of unlimited size -- with the goals placed 90 yards apart -- with
"natural boundaries" as the only true limits to where a player could go with
the ball. Beginning in 2006, however, girls lacrosse adopted hard
boundaries and a more standard field configuration. Fields are 110-120
yards in length, and 60-70 yards wide. The goals are positioned 90 yards
apart, with the goal line being no less than 10 yards away from the back of
the field. Each goal crease is attached to an 8-meter arc, with a 12-meter
fan extending beyond it. The arc and fan determine the "critical scoring
area," and penalties committed inside the arc or fan generally are
considered major fouls; a player is awarded what can amount to a penalty
shot based on where they were in the fan when the foul occurred. The
arcs are inside of restraining lines that typically are set 30 yards from each
goal. No more than seven offensive players, or seven defensive players
plus a goalie, can be in an area inside a restraining line. Every girls
lacrosse field also includes a center circle, where two players are set up to
draw the ball in order to start play.
Equipment: Players are required to wear safety goggles, a mouthguard,
and use a regulation lacrosse, or stick.
The Positions: A regulation team comprises 11 field players and a
goalie. The nature of the game encourages all players to play both
offense and defense. Field players are usually categorized as line
attack (first home, second home, third home), line defense (point,
coverpoint, third man), and midfielders (right and left attack wings,
right and left defense wings, and center).
Length of Game: Girl's lacrosse is played in two halves, with the
clock running continuously, stopping only after goals and for each
whistle during the last two minutes of a half.
The Play: The center draw is done with both sticks in the air. The
ball must go above head level for play to begin legally. If the ball
goes out of bounds, the umpire whistles to stop play, and awards
the ball to the player closest to it. All players move four meters from
the boundary, and the player with the ball is given one meter of free
space. If two opponents are the same distance from the ball, the
umpire restarts with a throw.
Fouls: Fouls can be called for illegal use of the stick (slashing,
swinging towards the head, cradling too close to the face), charging
or other illegal use of the body, and illegal picks. Within the critical
scoring area, fouls such as a defender not being within a stick's
reach of an opponent, obstructing a player's shooting space, or
taking a dangerous, or uncontrolled shot are also called. If the
defense fouls in this area, the attack gets a free position which
often leads to a shot on goal.
GIRLS' TERMS TO KNOW:
Arc -- Partial semicircle area painted in front of each goal
circle at the distance of eight meters and bound by a straight
line on the sides that is at a 45 degree angle to the goal line.
Used to define three-second violations and in the
administration of major fouls.
Attack -- Players on the offensive team.
Backdoor Cut -- A cut in which the attacking player cuts
behind the defender toward the goal or ball.
Channel -- When a defender forces her opponent to veer in
one direction and maintain that path.
Critical Scoring Area -- An area on the field, not marked by
any lines, with approximate boundaries of 15 yards around
and 10 years behind the goal circle. Used in the evaluation of
shooting space.
Cut to the Ball -- An offensive maneuver in which an attack
player without the ball runs toward the ball carrier in an
attempt to gain a position in front of her defender that enables
her to more easily receive a pass.
Decoy Cut -- A cut intended to move the defender out of a
space, and not necessarily to receive a pass.
Drop Down -- A defender's move away from her player and
toward the goal area to help defend a second player.
Fan -- A semicircular area painted on the field in front of each
goal circle and bounded by a straight line from the goal
extended. Used in the administration of major and minor
fouls.
Goal Circle Crease -- Home of the goalkeeper, this circle with an eightand-a-half foot radius is painted on the field around the goal cage.
Indirect Free Position -- The result of a minor foul in which the player
awarded the ball may not shoot immediately. She must pass the ball to a
teammate or wait to shoot until her stick has been checked by a defender.
Passing Lane -- The aerial space between the ball carrier and her
teammate's stick through which a pass would travel if it were made.
Penalty Lane -- An imaginary path to goal defined by two parallel lines
that extend from each side of the goal circle to four meters on either side
of the fouled player. The umpire clears the lane in some situations when
the defense fouls.
Shooting Space Violation -- Foul that occurs when a defender obstructs
the free space to goal within the critical scoring area. Free space to goal is
defined as an imaginary path from the ball to the outside of the goal circle.
Sphere - Imaginary seven-inch area surrounding a player's head. The ball
carrier must keep her crosse and the ball outside of this seven-inch
sphere, and the defender may not check into the sphere. She may check
through it as long as the check is going away from the head.
Three-Second Violation -- A violation by a defender who is not marking
an attack player but who remains in the eight-meter arc for three seconds.