Lacrosse equipment requirements for girls include only minimal gear. A few extras are recommended.
Girls lacrosse players are required to use only 3 pieces of equipment: stick, goggles, and mouth guard.
Some players also choose to wear helmets and/or padded gloves.
Lacrosse or soccer-style cleats are always recommended, but not required.
By rule, the mouth guard cannot be clear or white-only (so refs can see it). Fancy colors encouraged
Gloves help protect players’ hands from errant stick checks, and keep warm in early-season practices!
Cleats are optional. Lacrosse-style cleats are ideal. Soccer cleats are good. No football cleats!
In Massachusetts, helmets are not required in girls lacrosse but they are HIGHLY recommended!
Sting has a Facebook group, where parents frequently give, trade, and/or sell used equipment and gear.
In addition to the required equipment listed above, goalies have some extra equipment.
All Sting teams provide goalie equipment so players can try the position without needing to buy gear.
If your player is interested in the goalie position long-term, you’re welcome to buy your own goalie gear — but it’s not required!
Sting Lacrosse has a policy requiring that players experience all positions and parts of the game with equal opportunity.
This means that in Classic/recreational play, no player will “specialize” into only one position.
Therefore, even if your child wants to play goalie forever, they will still take shifts on offense, midfield, or defense. So the standard field-player equipment is still required for everyone!
Some vendors like Lacrosse Unlimited offer ‘starter packs,’ selling gear in bundles.
In most cases, these bundles sell for up to $100 less than the cost of buying each item separately.
This guide from USA Lacrosse may be helpful.
Unfortunately, no. As of 2022, USA Lacrosse mandated lacrosse-specific equipment standards.
Effective January 1, 2022, shoulder pads for boys’ field players must be designed for lacrosse, covering the top of the shoulder, collarbone and sternum, and meet NOCSAE standard ND200.
Boys’ and girls’ goalie chest protectors must be designed for lacrosse, meet the NOCSAE ND200 standard, and must contain the NOCSAE logo and SEI certification mark on both the packaging and the product.
If your child is in Kindergarten-2nd grade and is just starting out with lacrosse, please don’t rush out and buy all new gear!
For those brand new to the game, we will do our best to share or loan gear if needed — these players should try everything!
Girls lacrosse rules are designed to create a game of skill and to protect player safety.
Official USA Lacrosse Girls Youth Lacrosse Rule Book can be found here.
The complete girls youth lacrosse rulebook, as recommended by US Lacrosse, can be found here. We’ve provided a brief overview below of the important rules.
The shortest explanation of girls lacrosse rules is: catch, carry, and cradle the ball in your stick— and score on the other team’s net.
There are dozens of official rules governing each facet of play, but the most important rules are those protecting player safety.
Girls lacrosse players are not permitted to ‘body check’ each other at any level (even college and professional).
Contact which physically forces the opponent off of her position or path is illegal contact. Some amount of physical contact is expected, but referees will call fouls when appropriate.
Interested in Sting Lax’s “Little Bees” kindergarten learn-to-lax program? Fill out the form below!
