Boys lacrosse equipment differs from girls lacrosse equipment.  Boys lacrosse is a contact sport.  Full protective equipment is worn (pictured).  Rib pads are optional.  Lacrosse equipment looks similar to  hockey and football equipment, but is specialized for lacrosse.

Preferred helmet colors are orange, black, or white.

Please note boys and girls lacrosse sticks are different!   Boys sticks have a deeper pocket and many variables head and shaft options.   As players get older, they may have specialized heads or shafts for their position or style play.   Older defensive players often use elongated "D-poles."

Boys practice and play on both natural grass and synthetic turf fields.  At a younger age, any type of cleat- soccer, lacrosse or football is worn.  The goal is for the cleat to provide traction and ankle support.  As players get older, more specialized footwear may be worn based on position, style of play, and field type.  

WALL BALL IS THE HEART AND SOUL OF A GREAT LACROSSE PLAYER

Getting better at lacrosse is as simple as getting a ball, finding a wall, and picking a brick.  If you take the following simple steps you will become a better lacrosse player.  Every great lacrosse player spends hours on the wall picking a brick and going after it. 

Click here for a quick video on Wall Ball. 

To get started: Find a flat brick or concrete wall at least 10 feet high, the longer the better.  Tip: There is a "brick" elementary minutes away from almost every house in White Bear Lake so there is no excuse for not having a place to play.

• Every drill that you do - do it with both hands and do your off hand double (leaving you with no off-hand as time goes on)
• Always wear gloves and a helmet when doing the routine - "practice like you play"
• Stand 5-7 yards away from the wall   
• Do this daily especially during the off-season
• Each routine should be at least 20 minutes in length- if you finish all drills in less than 20 minutes, repeat drills starting with the drill that challenged you the most
• I enjoy plugging in the tunes

• Quick stick – 50 right, then 50 left (no cradle aka cut the junk) proper technique
• One hand quick stick- 50 right, then 50 left (no cradle aka cut the junk!)
• Quick stick- change hands each time you throw the ball while the ball is in the air- 50 right, then 50 left ( no cradle/cut the junk)  Throw right/catch left, throw left/catch right
• Both hand catch and cradle- 50 right, then 50 left (one quick cradle/)
• One hand catch and cradle – 50 right, then 50 left (one quick cradle)
• Face dodge- catch-face dodge-throw- 50 right, then 50 left
• Split dodge- throw right, catch right, split dodge to left hand, throw left, catch left, split back to right hand- 50 right, then 50 left

Once you master the above routine add a few techniques to your arsenal:

• Cross handed/box style passes- 50 right, then 50 left- “cross handed” means stick in right hand on the left side of body, or stick in left hand on right side of body (one quick cradle each time)
• Behind the back- 50 right, then 50 left
• Move further away from the wall zipping harder passes see how far away from the wall you can get while still hitting the same brick
• Run the wall (run up and down the wall leading your self with passes

There are plenty of things you can do with simply a stick, a ball, and a brick!  Get after it and have fun!

More ideas and info on Wall Ball can be found here at usalacrosse.com.