Men and Women's Lacrosse: Same Sport, Different Gear

With almost every sport, there is a men's and women's game. There are only slight differences between the two like rules. Men and women's basketball is basically the same game. They are both using slightly similar basketballs to shoot into a net that is at the same height. When it comes to lacrosse, the men and women's games are about the complete opposite of each other but they still have the same ambition to score more points than their opponent.

At first glance, you can tell that there is a significant difference between the men and women's games. Men are required to wear more gear than women. The pictures above show the difference in gear for both games. Men wear a lot of padding and also wear helmets. Women do not wear any padding at all but wear an eye mask, often known as goggles. Both are required to wear mouth guards to protect their teeth. Women have the option of wearing gloves which helps when the weather is cold while men are required to wear gloves. Cleats are often suggested to players to wear during games to prevent the player from slipping and falling.

Men and women's lacrosse sticks are even different. Men's lacrosse stick heads using mesh to create a pocket while a women's stick only uses string. The pocket on a men's stick is required to be very deep where you cannot see the ball above the sidewall while the women's stick's pocket cannot be deep and you need to be able to see the ball halfway above the sidewall. The shaft part of the stick is also significantly different. Women's lacrosse stick shafts are all the same length but women are also allowed to have an attack men's lacrosse shaft. They are shorter and thicker than a women's lacrosse stick. Defensive men's lacrosse players play with a stick that is over 5 feet tall.