Overview

Thank you for visiting Lax 101, an introduction to the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and the great game of professional indoor lacrosse. We hope that you find this section helpful in your introduction to the professional indoor game.

The NLL is North America's professional indoor lacrosse league, featuring the best lacrosse players in the world. The NLL has thirteen teams playing in the major markets of the United States and Canada. NLL teams each play a 16-game regular season schedule (eight home & eight away) that begins in December and runs through April, followed by the Champion’s Cup Playoffs. All games are played on the weekends. Professional indoor lacrosse combines the physical play of hockey with the high scoring, fast pace and play-making style of basketball. Anyone can play lacrosse--big or small. The game requires and rewards coordination and agility, not brawn. Quickness and speed are two highly prized qualities in lacrosse. Indoor lacrosse is played inside the confines of an ice hockey rink, with glass and rink boards intact. The playing surface consists of a green dieter turf carpet that is laid down over the hockey ice. Indoor lacrosse is a high scoring game and it’s not uncommon to have 25 combined goals scored.

Each team has five runners (forwards, transition and defenseman) and a goaltender on the floor during the game. Each team dresses eighteen players (sixteen runners and two goaltenders) per game, and the players rotate on and off the floor in shifts, similar to ice hockey. The game consists of four quarters, each fifteen minutes in length. A game that is tied at the end of regulation is decided in sudden-death overtime. There are no tie games in professional indoor lacrosse.

Players and Positions

The NLL features the best lacrosse talent in the world. Approximately 70% of the league’s players are from Canada. The majority of these players grew up playing box lacrosse in Canada’s Junior Lacrosse Program. In cities and towns across Canada, box lacrosse is a popular sport to play in the spring and summer months when the ice is removed from the local hockey rink. Hockey is Canada’s official winter national sport and lacrosse is Canada’s official summer sport.

There are three “hotbed” areas that produce the greatest concentration of lacrosse talent in Canada: the province of Ontario, especially within 75 miles of Toronto, the province of British Columbia and Alberta. NLL expansion into other areas has led to a surge in the youth participation in many areas of North America.

The NLL also features the top college lacrosse talent from the United States. The “hotbeds” of US Lacrosse talent are mainly in the Northeast: Baltimore-Washington DC, Long Island and Upstate New York. However, the game is emerging at the scholastic levels across the country, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Denver, St. Louis and Texas. The majority of league players have full-time jobs during the week and travel to play lacrosse on the weekends because they love the game. Many professional players may play field lacrosse in the summer and box lacrosse in the winter/spring.

Players who have excelled in the traditional outdoor or field lacrosse setting convert their skills to the indoor game, which is much faster paced due to the smaller surface and 30 second shot clot. The indoor game also has a smaller goal.

Goaltender

The goaltenders responsibility is to prevent the opposition from scoring goals by directly defending the net. Box lacrosse goaltenders equipment includes massive upper body gear, large shin guards known as "irons", and ice hockey-style helmets.

The 9 feet 3 inches (2.8 m) diameter area surrounding the net is called the "crease." Players, except for the goaltender. may not enter the crease while playing the ball. Punishments for crease infractions include a change of possession, resetting of the time-clock, or a possible two minute penalty depending on the infraction. Opposing players may not make contact with the goalie while he is in the crease. Once he leaves the crease, however, he loses all goaltender privileges.

Even as box lacrosse grows in the United States, the American goalie is a rarity. The skills required to be a successful field or box lacrosse goaltenderare very distinct. Some say the position is more akin to an ice hockey goaltender than a field lacrosse goaltender.

Defensemen

A defenseman is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring. Unlike in field lacrosse where some defensive players carry "long poles" (a lacrosse stick with a 6 feet (1.8 m) shaft or handle), all box lacrosse defensemen play with a maximum 46 inches (1.2 m) long stick.

Transition

There are two types of transition players, offensive transition players and defensive transition players. An offensive transition player has better offensive skills than the defensive transition player and will play a solid role in the offense while playing five on five. The offensive transition player will also stay on the transition from offense to defense to cut off the opposing team’s transition. The defensive transition player is a solid defenseman who will run the floor, creating odd man situations and will tend to leave the floor for a forward during five on five situations.

Forwards

A forward is a player position on the field whose responsibility is primarily offensive. Typically, a forward is dominant throwing with one hand and will primarily play on that side of the floor. Generally, a right handed player plays on the left side of the floor and the left handed player plays on the right side. Some players, known as crease men, will focus near the crease area in front of the goaltender. The forwards will play on the powerplay and six on five play situations.

NLL Rules

Rosters: 23-man roster, each team dresses 18 players for games (16 runners and two goalies). A team shall be composed of six (6) players on the floor, 5 runners and one goalie .

Time Format: Four 15-minute quarters; two minutes between quarters; 12 minute halftime.

Time Outs: Each team may take one 45-second timeout per half. There are two TV/promotional time outs per quarter taken during the first stoppage of play (non goal scored) under the 10 minute mark and under the five minute mark in each quarter and in overtime.

Sudden Death Overtime: Games ending regulation play with a tie score are decided by a sudden death overtime period. Play continues until a goal is scored. More than one overtime period is played if necessary.

10 Second Violation: Occurs when team on offense fails to advance the ball past midfield within 10 seconds after taking possession at their end.

Face-Offs: To determine possessions at the start of each quarter and after every goal, two players face their sticks at center with a referee placing the ball between the heads of the sticks.

Shot Clock: A 30-second clock begins (counting down) when a team assumes possession of the ball. The offensive team must put a shot on goal during that time or they will lose possession. If they do shoot on goal (without scoring) and recover possession of the ball (via rebound/loose ball recovery), the clock is reset for a new 30 seconds.

For a complete listing of National Lacrosse League rules, click here.

Terminology

Body Check: Used to slow an opponent who has the ball; must be above the waist and below the neck.

Breakaway: One-on-one (shooter on goalie) scoring opportunity.

Cradle: Method used to keep the ball inside the pocket of the stick by rocking it back and forth.

Crease: Only the goalie can stand in this nine-foot radius with the ball. Shooters or their teammates can not stand on (or inside) the line or their goals won't count. Any violation of this rule will disallow the goal.

Crosscheck: A defensive strategy using the shaft of the stick to push on an opponent to force a missed or bad shot.

Loose Ball: Occurs when there is no possession and the ball is bouncing, rolling, or rebounding off the boards or goaltender.

Major Penalty: Five minutes in the penalty box for infractions such as high sticking, boarding, face masking, fighting and spearing.

Man Down: When a team has one less player on the floor than their opponent.

Minor Penalty: Two minute penalty for infractions such as delay of game, elbowing, holding, illegal crosschecking, slashing, and tripping, for example.

Offensive Pick: The legal interference by an offensive player from a set position on a defensive player who is trying to defend the ball carrier.

Outlet Pass: The first pass from the goaltender or defender that begins the transition from defense to offense.

Penalty Box: Where a player goes to sit while serving a two and/or five minute penalty.

Power Play: When a team has an extra man advantage because the other team has at least one player in the penalty box.

Screen Shot: When the goaltender can't see a shot because someone is in the way.

Shorthanded: When a team has one or more players in the penalty box and the opponent is at full-strength, or has more players on the floor.

Loss of Possession: Illegal screens, 30 second shot clock violation, 10 second half court violation, loose ball push, and illegal procedure during face-offs are among the acts that can cause a team to lose possession of the ball.

Play of the Game

MINOR PENALTIES: On two minute personal fouls, the penalized player is released from the penalty box if a goal is scored before the expiration of the two minutes.

MAJOR PENALTIES: On five minute major personal fouls, the penalized player stays in the box for the duration of the penalty, though the offending team returns to full strength if two goals are scored against them during the five minutes. When a second major penalty is imposed on the same player in a game, an automatic game misconduct penalty shall be imposed.

USE OF PENALTY SHOT: Since a team cannot be more than two men down at a time, if a third penalty is called, the official will award a penalty shot to the unpenalized team.

EJECTION FROM GAME: Players can be ejected from a game for several reasons including being the third man participating in an altercation in which there is a penalty assessed or accumulating two major penalties in one game.

SLOW WHISTLE (DELAYED PENALTY): If a defending player commits a personal or major penalty against an opponent in possession of the ball where there is offensive momentum and the opponent doesn't lose possession, the official raises his hand and does not blow the whistle until a shot is taken, the 30-second shot clock expires, or a goal is scored or possession is lost.

COINCIDENTAL PENALTIES: When each team is given the same amount of penalty time arising out of the same incident, the offending players shall not be released until the expiration of the penalty. Teams do not lose floor strength, and the ball is awarded to the team who was in possession prior to the fouls.

FIELD AND GOALS: Indoor lacrosse is played on a hockey rink covered by an artificial turf playing surface, which is usually referred to as the floor or the carpet (as opposed to the field). There must be boards around the sides of a minimum height of 3' high. Dimensions are 200' x 85' but may be altered.

GOALS: are 4' (high) x 4'9" (wide). The circle around the goal known as the crease is 9'3" in diameter. An offensive player is not allowed to intentionally step into the crease area.

The large box around the crease is the offensive/defensive zone. Any penalty called against a defender in this area by an official is accompanied by a raised hand followed by a whistle blown only after the offensive scoring opportunity has ended.

Brief History of the Game

With a history that spans centuries, lacrosse is the oldest sport in North America. Rooted in Native American religion, lacrosse was often played to resolve conflicts, heal the sick, and develop strong, virile men. To Native Americans, lacrosse is still referred to as "The Creator's Game."

Ironically, lacrosse also served as a preparation for war. Legend tells of as many as 1,000 players per side, from the same or different tribes, who took turns engaging in a violent contest. Contestants played on a field from one to 15 miles in length, and games sometimes lasted for days. Some tribes used a single pole, tree or rock for a goal, while other tribes had two goalposts through which the ball had to pass. Balls were made out of wood, deerskin, baked clay or stone.

The evolution of the Native American game into modern lacrosse began in 1636 when Jean de Brebeuf, a Jesuit missionary, documented a Huron contest in what is now southeast Ontario, Canada. At that time, some type of lacrosse was played by at least 48 Native American tribes scattered throughout what is now southern Canada and all parts of the United States. French pioneers began playing the game avidly in the 1800s. Canadian dentist W. George Beers standardized the game in 1867 with the adoption of set field dimensions, limits to the number of players per team and other basic rules.

Box lacrosse is a modern version of the game that was invented in Canada during the 1930s as a way to promote business for ice hockey arenas during the summer months. Joseph Cattarinich and Leo Dandurand, owners of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1920's, led area ice hockey arena owners to introduce the new sport. Canadians adopted the new version of the sport quickly. Eventually it became the more popular version of the sport in Canada, supplanting field lacrosse. However, many field lacrosse enthusiasts viewed the new version of the sport with negativity. Lacrosse was officially declared Canada's National Summer Sport with the passage of the National Sports Act (Bill C-212) on May 12, 1994.

Box lacrosse has been adopted as the primary version of the game played by the Iroquois. Lacrosse is seen as a method of cultural identity and healing to Native Americans, and is the only sport in which the American indigenous people are sanctioned to compete internationally, participating as the Iroquois Nationals.

The first professional box lacrosse games were held in 1931. That summer the arena owners formed the International Lacrosse League featuring four teams: the Montreal Canadiens, the Montreal Maroons, the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the Cornwall Colts. The league only lasted two seasons. In the wake of the original International Lacrosse League, opened the American Box Lacrosse League featuring six teams: two in New York City, and one each in Brooklyn, Toronto, Boston, and Baltimore. The league played to small crowds on outdoor fields such as Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, before closing midway through its inaugural season.

The Canadian Lacrosse Association began sponsoring more and more box lacrosse. In 1935, the year after Sir Donald Mann's death, the Mann Cup, the most prestigious lacrosse trophy in Canada, was contended for under box lacrosse rules for the first time. Previously, the national senior men's lacrosse championship, awarded since 1901, was competed for under field lacrosse rules. The Mann Cup is an annual tournament that presents the champion of the Western Lacrosse Association and Major Series Lacrosse in a best of seven national championship. A few years later, in 1937, the Minto Cup, began being awarded under box lacrosse rules to the junior men's championship. Currently the Canadian Lacrosse Association oversees the Mann Cup, the Minto Cup, the Presidents Cup (Senior B national championship) the Founders Cup (Junior B national championship) all under box lacrosse rules.

Briefly in 1939, a professional box lacrosse league started up in California, called the Pacific Coast Lacrosse Association. This four team league also folded shortly after opening. Professional box lacrosse did not return to the United States again until 1968 when the Coquitlam Adanacs franchise played one Western Lacrosse Association season in Portland, Oregon.

A new professional box lacrosse league was created in the 1970's with the formation of the National Lacrosse League (this league is not related to the current National Lacrosse League.) This league, which featured both Canadian and United States teams, folded after two seasons.

The rebirth of professional box lacrosse in the United States came on March 13, 1986, with the formation of the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, which was incorporated by Russ Cline and Chris Fritz. The league originated with four teams: the Philadelphia Wings, New Jersey Saints, Washington Wave, and the Baltimore Thunder, and unlike box lacrosse generally, was played during the winter. The league rebranded itself as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) immediately after its second season, and in 1998 formed the current National Lacrosse League. In 1998, the newly named National Lacrosse League entered into the Canadian market for the first time with the Ontario Raiders. Although 10 of the league's 13 teams are currently based in American cities, greater than two-thirds of the players are Canadian.