Lacrosse incorporates many skills used in sports like soccer and basketball: speed, agility, quickness, hand-eye coordination and teamwork. Catching and throwing a solid rubber ball with a net on a stick, known as the crosse, requires practice and skill, but mastering the technique will take your play to the next level. Goalies have an advantage when it comes to the crosse. Unlike other players, they use longer, wider and deeper equipment that make it easier to stop a ball as it whizzes toward the goal.
NCAA Men's Lacrosse
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) governs the rules of all college-level sports, including lacrosse. Men play lacrosse quite differently from women, requiring different equipment rules. The men's goalie stick may range from 40 to 72 inches long, from the tip of the head to the butt of the stick. The crosse head, the netted portion you use to catch and throw the ball, may measure between 10 and 12 inches wide at its widest point, and may be as tall as 16 1/2 inches. The side walls of the crosse head may not measure more than 2 inches deep. Purchase a lacrosse goalie stick made of wood, laminate wood or synthetic material.
NCAA Women's Lacrosse
You don't want to purchase a men's goalie stick for a women's game, because there are a number of differences between the two sticks. A women's goalie crosse must measure between 35 1/2 and 48 inches long, and the widest point cannot measure more than 12 inches. Unlike other women's position crosses, a netting made out of mesh material is acceptable. Otherwise, choose a crosse head with six or seven vertical thongs and cross-lacing. Sticks made of wood, leather, metal alloy or any synthetic material are acceptable.
High School Lacrosse
High school stick requirements for both boys and girls mimic the NCAA requirements. The only differences for boys high school lacrosse are minor rules not relating to the goalie stick itself. High school rules allow the strings hanging from the crosse head to measure up to 6 inches long; college lacrosse limits these strings to 2 inches. The high school rules don't forbid the use of multi-colored netting, while college rules prohibit this practice.
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