Top 10 Men's Lacrosse Rules You Must Know as a New Coach

1. Offsides

In men's lacrosse, you must always have at least three players (including the goalie) on your defensive half and three players on your offensive half at all times.

What happens if you mess this up?
– If too many players cross over midfield in either direction, it’s an offsides violation.
– The other team either gets the ball immediately (turnover) or you serve a 30-second penalty if the officials call it a technical foul.
– As a coach, you need to constantly remind your players to "stay back!" during fast breaks or clears when everyone’s tempted to run.

2. Face-offs

Face-offs happen at the start of each quarter and after every goal to restart play.

How does it work?
– Two players at the center X squat down with their sticks parallel to the midline.
– No one else is allowed to move until either player gains possession or the ball moves freely.
– If a player moves early, it’s called a face-off violation.
– Three violations by the same team in a half = 30-second penalty.
– You want your wing players (positioned outside the center circle) ready to explode when the ball is loose.

Pro Tip:
If you have no real faceoff guy, at least teach your player to clamp the ball and pop it out sideways.

3. Crease Rules

The crease is the circular area around the goal that’s a sacred no-go zone for attackers.

Offensive players:
– Can’t step into or land inside the crease with the ball or while shooting.
– Doing so = no goal, even if the ball went in.

Defensive players (including the goalie):
– Can play inside the crease, but cannot run back into it with the ball if they carried it out already.
– Goalies must also be careful when passing or clearing; if they re-enter illegally, it’s an automatic goal for the other team.

Important:
Kids love to dive at the goal — but they must launch before the crease and land outside of it or the goal won’t count.

4. No Warding

Warding = when a ball carrier uses his free hand or arm to push away a defender.

This is illegal.
– You must cradle and protect the ball using only your stick and natural body movement.
– As soon as a player extends an arm to shove a defender or their stick, the ref will call warding, and it’s a turnoverright away.

What you should teach:
Ball carriers must keep two hands on the stick whenever possible and move their feet to avoid pressure — not shove defenders off.

5. Closest Player to the Ball on a Shot Wins Possession

In lacrosse, when a shot misses the goal and goes out of bounds, the player closest to where the ball went out gets possession.

Key things to know:
– It doesn’t matter who shot it or who touched it last.
– When you shoot, your teammates need to "chase" — sprint toward the endline immediately to be closest when the ball goes out.
– The ref points to whoever’s closest. That team keeps the ball.

Coaching tip:
Drill your attackmen: "Shoot, chase. Shoot, chase."
It’s free extra possessions if you hustle.

6. Legal Body Checking

Body checking is allowed — but only under strict conditions.

Legal checks:
– Must come from the front or side.
– Must target between the waist and shoulders.
– Must be controlled — you can’t launch yourself like a missile.

Illegal checks:
– From behind
– To the head
– Blindside hits
– Wild, dangerous collisions

Penalty:
– Illegal body checks = personal foul (1-3 minutes, man-down).
– Worse if it’s to the head — sometimes 2-minute non-releasable penalties (even if the opponent scores, you stay in the box).

Teach players:
Hit smart, hit square, hit legal. Otherwise, you’re playing short-handed.

7. Stick Checking

You can use your stick to check another player’s stick or gloved hands to dislodge the ball.

Legal stick checks:
– Poke checks (quick jabs at the hands or stick).
– Lift checks (lifting their bottom hand to make them drop the ball).
– Controlled slaps to the gloves.

Illegal stick checks (slashing):
– Wild swinging at the body, legs, arms, or helmet.
– Hits that don’t target the stick or gloves.

Penalty:
Slashing = 1-minute penalty, and you’re man-down.

Coaching tip:
Drill: "Stick on stick, stick on gloves, or don’t swing at all."

8. Number of Long Poles

Each team is allowed a maximum of four long sticks (defense sticks) on the field at once.

What happens if you don’t follow it?
– If you send five long poles onto the field, it’s a penalty for illegal equipment.

Long poles = huge advantage (reach, poke checks, covering more ground), which is why it’s restricted.
Usually, you’ll have three defensemen and one long-stick midfielder (LSM) on the field with long poles.

9. Penalty Time

Penalties in lacrosse are either personal fouls or technical fouls.

Personal fouls (serious stuff):
– Slashing, cross-checking, illegal body checks, unnecessary roughness.
– Serve 1 to 3 minutes man-down.

Technical fouls (less serious):
– Offsides, holding, pushing, interference, warding, crease violation.
– 30-second penalty or turnover, depending on the situation.

Man-down defense:
– When you have a penalty, you’re "man-down," meaning you defend with one fewer player — expect a 5v6 or 4v5 situation, and teams will often move the ball quickly to find open shots.

10. Illegal Procedure

Illegal procedure is a catch-all for all sorts of "little mistakes" that aren’t worth a full-on penalty but still aren’t allowed.

Examples:
– Moving early on a face-off.
– Too many players on the field.
– Delayed substitutions.
– Equipment violations (like missing a mouthguard).
– Goalie illegally re-entering the crease with the ball.

What happens?
– Turnover to the other team.
– If it happens on a faceoff? Possession awarded immediately.


In lacrosse, one of the first things new coaches realize — often the hard way — is that the rules aren’t always the same across every age level or league. What’s legal for high school players might be completely off-limits for U10 kids. Younger players usually have stricter safety rules: body checking might be limited or disallowed altogether, stick checks might only be allowed at certain heights, and there may even be rules about how many passes must happen before shooting. Even within the same age group, different leagues (like rec, club, or school leagues) often tweak the rulebook to fit their priorities, whether that’s faster play, safer play, or just keeping games moving.

On top of the league and age group differences, the rules of lacrosse are constantly evolving, just like other contact sports. Governing bodies like USA Lacrosse regularly update rules to promote safety, improve the flow of the game, or make the sport more exciting to watch. A check that was legal two years ago might now earn a player a trip to the penalty box. Shot clocks, restraining boxes, faceoff procedures — these have all changed in recent years and will keep changing. Coaches who rely on "how it was when they played" are often caught completely off guard when the officials call something differently.

Staying current isn’t optional — it’s part of being a responsible coach. Every season, you should double-check the current rules for your team’s specific league and age group. Attend preseason meetings or clinics if possible, ask refs questions during scrimmages, and keep a copy of the latest rulebook handy. Players trust their coaches not just to teach skills, but to prepare them for how the game is actually played. Knowing the rules — and knowing when they've changed — makes you a better coach, keeps your players safer, and helps your team win the small battles that often decide games.