What are the Positions in Lacrosse and Rules for Men
When it comes to the game of lacrosse there are only going to be four different positions that you are able to play. This guide is going to help explain what each of those four positions are and how exactly you are able to play them. While there are different versions of lacrosse out there, this is going to be in reference to male lacrosse (both adults and youth teams) players who have the intention of playing field lacrosse. When it does come to playing field lacrosse, one of the most common questions that people are going to have is what position they should play. Ideally, after reading this article, you will have all of the knowledge required in order for you to choose the right position for you to play. So, get ready to discover the roles of each of the lacrosse position available to you, those being the goalie, a defender, a midfielder, or an attacker.
The Men’s Lacrosse Goalie
Very similar to any other type of sport, lacrosse is going to have a goalie whose job is going to be to try their hardest to protect the goal and not allow anybody from the other team to score. When it does come to the goalie, they are going to be the absolute last line of defense for the team, as well as the one player who is going to have the best vantage point and perspective of the entire lacrosse field. Is going to be this wide perspective that allows the goalie to see the offense from the other team approaching, meaning that they are going to have the option to vocalize exactly what it is that they see to their teammates. This means it is going to be the goalie’s responsibility to call checks and relay exactly where the ball is on the field to the rest of their teammates.
If you are interested in playing the goalie position for a men’s lacrosse team, you are going to need to have some very fast reflexes and even better hand-eye coordination to be any type of successful at it. You are also going to need to be keen on the game of lacrosse, meaning that you will need to pay attention to where the ball is on the field at all times, as well as to be aware of where the attackers from the other team are as well. On top of that, you are going to need to be able to make decisions very quickly.
Finally, a goalie is going to need to be very courageous when it comes to trying to block any shots that the other team may take and is going to need to be able to recover from any mistakes that they make extremely quickly or risk giving up some points.
If a shot is taken by the other team and the goalie ends up stopping the ball, they will then have just 4 seconds in order to pass the ball or take the ball out of the goal crease (which is going to be circular). As far as the stick that the goalie is able to use, it is going to be just like every other stick in length, however, it is going to have a much wider head than any of the other sticks. If you do decide that you are going to play goalie, you will be required to wear some extra protective equipment, that being a throat guard to protect your throat from being hit by the ball, as well as a chest protector to help protect your chest (which makes sense when you think about the fact that the other team is going to be throwing the ball at you as fast and hard as they can).
The Men’s Lacrosse Defender
The main role of the men’s lacrosse defender position is going to be preventing the other team from scoring any goals. In order to do this effectively, they are going to need to be very adept and sharp, as well as be able to continuously read the attackers offense, while remaining a step ahead of them the entire game. There is a total of 3 defenders in for each team that will be on the field at a time, so they are ideally going to be working together in unity to help communicate what their defensive assignment is going to be throughout the game.
While strength and speed may be the first two attributes that you can think of for playing a men’s lacrosse defender position, you would be right. Along with that speed and strength though, you will need to make sure that you are equally as skilled as well if you really want to succeed in this particular role. More often than not, the defenders are going to be the strongest and biggest members of the team, but that is not always going to be the case. In fact, there are many defenders who are actually small and more agile. It is all going to depend upon the individual person and the skills that they have at that position.
While playing defender, you will notice that the sticks they use are actually going to be longer in order to help the defender keep the attacker at bay. On top of that, the longer stick also allows the defender the opportunity to throw checks at the other team’s players without putting themselves at risk for being hit. In case you were not aware, a check is going to be a hit on the opponent’s arms and stick, but nothing else. If you do hit another player any place other than their stick and arms, it is going to result in you having a penalty against you. You can throw a body check, but it will need to be straight on and never come from behind a player.
Men’s Lacrosse Midfielder
If you are playing the position of midfielder in lacrosse, you are constantly going to be moving as you have free range of the entire field on both sides of the center line. As a midfielder, you are essentially going to be playing both defense and offense, which means that you are going to need to establish some type of congruency between both of these positions. This is because for the most part, midfielders are going to be the ones who are controlling the possession of the ball for their team.
In order to be successful as a lacrosse midfielder, you are going to need to be in exceptional shape, essentially being able to outlast just about every other player on the field. As if that weren’t enough, you are going to need to be very quick and have some very good stick skills. This means that you will need to be able to shoot the ball with extreme accuracy and even more power.
As a midfielder, you are going to need to make sure that you pay attention to lacrosse’s offside rule. What this rule means, is that at any given time of the game, there is going to need to be four players who are all on the defensive side of the field, meaning that there are only able to be three players on the offensive side of the field. As a midfielder, it is going to be your responsibility to consistently keep your team in check and make sure that this balance is maintained.
Men’s Lacrosse Attacker
The main role of the lacrosse attacker is to attack the other team’s goal and score as many goals as you can. This is going to be done by the attacker being able to create some threatening moves while going towards the goal. It is going to be up to the attackers to see any potential scoring opportunities that other members of the team are not able to see. This is going to include being able to find the players that have been left open and unblocked by the other team’s defenders. Aside from only scoring, attackers are going to need to be able to pass the ball well, making sure that they can do so in an accurate and timely manner.
If you are considering playing an attacker, you are going to need to have some very impressive ball-handling skills. On top of that, you will also need to be a good strategist, as you will need to try to make the most out of each possession that you have with the ball. It is also going to help you if you have agility and speed, as you are going to need to be able to dodge the other team’s defenders (who are more than likely going to be on the larger side). Essentially, this means that in order to succeed in the attacker role of lacrosse, you will need some great footwork, exceptional hand-eye coordination, and be able to move faster than anybody else on the field at any given time.
