Lacrosse is a popular team sport played by men and women. It involves handling a ball with a stick and attempting to shoot the ball into the opponent's goal. The most important piece of equipment in lacrosse is the stick. Lacrosse sticks must comply with specific rules, which differ between the men's and women's game.
Governing Body
In 1998, U.S. Lacrosse was founded as the governing body for men's and women's lacrosse in the United States. U.S. Lacrosse formulates rules for the men's and women's game at the youth and adult level, and they include specific regulations regarding the lacrosse stick. Most lacrosse leagues follow these rules.
Stick Components
A lacrosse stick is made up of several parts. The long part of the stick, where the stick is held, is called the shaft. The shaft is hollow and typically made up of wood, metal alloy, plastic or synthetic material. Affixed to the top of the shaft is the head of the lacrosse stick. The head is slightly triangular in shape and must be firmly attached to the shaft. The pocket is the net-like part of the stick. It is formed by several leather or synthetic thongs stitched across the head. The pocket allows a player to catch and keep possession of the ball.
Shaft
The shaft of the stick differs in men's and women's lacrosse. All female players must have a stick from 35½ to 43¼ inches long. The men's game is different. Men have sticks of varying lengths depending on the position they play. Attackmen and midfielders use short sticks--similar in length to women's sticks--from 40 to 42 inches long. Defensemen use longer sticks, from 52 to 72 inches long.
Pocket Depth
The depth of the pocket is another key difference between men's and women's lacrosse sticks. Men's sticks have a deeper pocket that makes it easier to control the ball. Women's sticks, by rule, have a shallower pocket. According to U.S. Lacrosse, the depth of men's sticks is legal as long as the top of the ball, when placed in the head of the horizontal lying stick, is above the bottom edge of the side wall of the head. Women's pockets must be shallow enough where the top of the ball remains above the top edge of the sidewall of the head of the stick.
Goalkeeper Sticks
Male and female keepers have different sticks than the rest of their teammates. In men's lacrosse, the head of the stick can be 10 to 12 inches wide, as opposed to the 6 1/2 to 10 inches wide requirement for field players. A female keeper may have a stick 35 1/2 to 43 1/4 inches long and up to 12 inches wide.
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