© 2006 Paul Lin LESSON 1 FIELD DIAGRAM BASIC POSITIONS Field Diagrams courtesy of US Lacrosse

© 2006 Paul Lin This is the basic field layout. The field is split into two sections by the midfield line, the defensive side (half of field with defending goal) and the offensive side. Crease

© 2006 Paul Lin Defensive side. There are a few areas that are key: 1.Crease (Green) - Circle with the goal in the middle 2.Restraining Box (Red) – Defensemen, Goalie, and Attackmen must be inside the restraining box during face- offs until the referee calls “Possession”. More about face- offs in a later lesson. 3.Midfield Line – Defensive team must maintain a minimum of 4 players on the defensive half. There will be 7 players including the middies playing defense. Exception will be when serving penalties. 4.End Line – When a shot is taken, the closest player to the ball when the ball crosses the end line will have possession of the ball. Note this does not include passes or loose balls that go outside the End Line. During these situations, the team that last touches the ball before it goes out of the end line will lose possession of the ball. 5.Side Line – Same rules apply to the side line as the End Line on a shot. If a ball exits the field through the sideline from a pass or a ground ball, the team that last touched the ball loses possession. Play can be stopped for substitutions ONLY when the ball exits the side line. 6.Goal Line Extended (Purple Dotted Line) – Imaginary Line that extends from the Goal

© 2006 Paul Lin Crease There are special rules concerning the crease area: 1.Only the defensive team may enter and exit the crease at will. If the offensive team enters the crease area, possession is awarded to the defensive team. The defensive team will then “clear” the ball past the midfield line while the opposing team will be “riding” them to the midfield line. More on clears and riding in later lessons. 2. If the Goalie is in the crease and he clamps the ball on the ground or has the ball in his stick, no one is allowed to touch his stick. The Goalie will have 4 seconds to get out of the crease area. Once the Goalie leaves the crease, he is fair game. Note that the defense must clear the ball out of the defensive half of the field in 20 seconds once possession is gained from the offensive team (this includes the Goalie’s protected 4 seconds in the crease). Note: If a goalie is inside the crease, and the goalie is clamping the ball outside of the crease, the goalie’s stick is fair game. Clamping the ball is not ruled as having possession of the ball.

© 2006 Paul Lin Offensive side. There are a few areas that are key: 1.Crease (Green) - Circle with the goal in the middle 2.Restraining Box (Red) – Defensemen, Goalie, and Attackmen must be inside the restraining box during face-offs until the referee calls “Possession”. More about face-offs in a later lesson. The offense must maintain the ball inside the restraining box. If the ball is outside the box, the offense has 10 seconds to bring it back inside the box. 3.Midfield Line – Offensive team must maintain a minimum of 3 people on the offensive half. There will be 6 players including the middies playing offense. Exception will be when serving penalties. 4.End Line & End lines – Same rules as defensive side. 5.Goal Line Extended (Purple Dotted Line) – Imaginary Line that extends from the Goal 6.X – Spot behind the Goal X

© 2006 Paul Lin Bench Area. There are a few key points: 1.Coaches Area – Coaches Only, players should be behind the coaches area to allow the referees and players visibility. 2.Special Substitution Area – Flying substitutions can be made during game play. The player exiting the game must be in the substitution box before the new player can enter the field of play. Substitutions can be made outside of the special area on any dead ball situations.

© 2006 Paul Lin POSITIONS Each side starts out with 10 players on the field: Attackmen – 3 in the offensive area – Crease attackmen is typically in front of the goal Midfieldmen (Middies) – Plays both defensive and offensive sides (3 on the field) Defensemen – 3 in the defensive area. – Usually identified by the long poles (60 inches vs. 31 inches). – Crease defensemen is typically in front of the goal Goalie – On the defensive side guarding the goal Note that the Goalie and Defensemen can cross into the Offensive Side, the middie will have to stay in the defensive side in order to maintain the minimum players on the defensive side. The attackmen can also enter the defensive area so long as a middie, or defense, stays behind to maintain the minimum players on the offensive side. Note that at no time is a player allowed to contact the ball with their hands. Players must have all functional equipment to be on the field. If the stick, head, helmet, the player must leave the field immediately. If any part of the Goalie’s equipment is broken/missing, play is immediately stopped. There can only be a maximum of 4 players on the field with a long pole/stick/crosse.

© 2006 Paul Lin G D D D M M M A A A A A A M M M G D D D Typical alignment of players with green having possession of the ball in the offensive area. Green Will Be Offense Blue will be Defense A = Attackman D = Defenseman G = Goalie M = Midfieldman