I was twelve years old when lacrosse came to my town. I knew nothing about the sport, but I knew I wanted to play. For the next 7 years thats exactly what I did. The type of lacrosse I played was Box lacrosse, there is another style of lacrosse called Field Lacrosse and believe it or not there are some similarities and differences.

Some of the differences between Box and Field Lacrosse are:

1. Where the Game is Played (obvious)
2. The Rules of Play
3. How Many Players
4. Equipment Used
5. Size of Playing Area
6. Seasonality
7. Player Positions
8. Goalie Equipment

While both styles of lacrosse are similar in some degree, the differences between the two are noticeable when you look closer. The list above is just that, a list. I am going to dive deep into each of the differences below and give you all the information you need to know about the difference between box and field lacrosse.

Inside or Outside Where to Play

Here we are at our first difference. Here at last. This one is pretty obvious when you hear the words Field and Box. Now box lacrosse might throw you off a little because I mean, how can you play a sport in a box? am I right. No I’m wrong, you can’t play in a box. The term Box refers to indoor as oppose to field.

Lets check it out.

Box Lacrosse

Ok first up is box lacrosse. This is played inside a hockey arena. How can you play lacrosse on ice? Good question, you don’t. They remove the ice surface and you play on the concrete floor in the warmer months. Or if you’re from a warmer climate you could play year round.

Picture a package you bought from amazon, it comes in a box thats closed and sealed with your new purchase inside. The same is true for box lacrosse, you’re inside an arena with a roof and walls closing in the surface of the pad. Now you could get creative and play on and ODR (outdoor rink) in the summer months. But any league you play in will be inside and Arena.

NEXT!

Field Lacrosse

This one believe it or not, is played on an outdoor field like a soccer or football field. As you can imagine the size of the playing surface is much larger, but don’t get too excited, we will cover the player surfaces later just keep reading.

Now a little tid bit of info, Field lacrosse can be played inside

Wait, WHAT! how can that be

Well I’ll fill you in. There are indoor soccer fields right? yes yes there are. So therefore as long as the length of the fields meets the field lacrosse measurements then yes this sport can be played inside. It will be played on Turf, which is fake grass. Not very common but absolutely possible.

Size of Playing Area

Ooook, now the moment you’ve all been waiting for. The difference in the size of playing area. We should probably look at each one individually, so thats what I’ll do.

Box Lacrosse

Box lacrosse is the same as a hockey arena size. Typically 180′ – 200′ in Length by 80′ – 90′ Wide. The picture below will give you a good idea of what that looks like. This is a CLA (Canadian Lacrosse Association) arena and measurements.

Field Lacrosse

This is where things get a lot different. Field lacrosse is played on a football style field. We know the size of a football field is 100 yards in length, field lacrosse is similar but it is 110 yards long by 60 yards wide. Check out the picture below to get a better sense of the measurements.

Different Rules

There are a few different rules when it comes to box and field lacrosse. I’ve included a chart highlighting some of the important differences. When it comes down to each style of games and the exact rules you can check out another article about both Field and Box Lacrosse rules. For now have look at the chart to understand a couple differences.

Shot Clock

In Box lacrosse there is a 30 second shot clock. This means that when the offensive team has the ball, they have 30 seconds to take a shot on goal. Once the shot is taken the shot clock resets, only if the ball hit the goalie. If the ball goes in then play is stopped and a goal is awarded to the team that took the shot.

There is no shot clock in Field lacrosse, so the team with the ball can hang onto it for as long as they can before the opposing team takes it away or retrieves a loose ball.

Offsides

In Box lacrosse there are no offsides which helps keep the pace of the game up. Players can go wherever they want on the floor, but obviously they need to get back and play defence.

In Field lacrosse there are offsides. These rules were changed in 1921 (according to Wikipedia) and are much different than an offside in Hockey. In field lacrosse an offside is determined by how many players are on either side of the mid field line.

An offside will happen when a team has more than 4 players on either side of the field at a time. Midfielders can go anywhere on the field, but attackmen and defensemen must stay confined to their positions. We will discuss more about players down below so that will make more sense.

Full Contact

Both field and box lacrosse have body contact or body checking. In box lacrosse it is much more physical because there is less space to move around. You are allowed to cross check with your stick in box lacrosse but in field lacrosse cross checking is not allowed. In field lacrosse you can stick check an opponent but stick contacts to the arm or body is not allowed.

However, body checking is allowed in field lacrosse only if the player is within 9 feet of the ball. Body checks must be clean as in any sport. A hit must be between the neck and waist and not be from behind. The same applies to cross checking in box lacrosse.

Penalties

There are several penalties in lacrosse just like in hockey. Here is a small list of some:

1. Illegal Cross Check
2. Illegal Body Check
3. Illegal Crosse (lacrosse stick doesn’t meet specs)
4. Illegal use of equipment
5. Tripping
6. Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Those are some of the personal fouls you can get. For more on penalties check your local leagues rules. Or check out this lengthy NLL pdf explaining the rules. The NLL is the National Lacrosse League which is Box Lacrosse. The MLL is the Major Lacrosse League, which is field lacrosse.

Footwear

In Box lacrosse, players wear tennis shoes, basketball shoes, a good cross trainer or whatever is comfortable to the player.

In Field lacrosse players are to wear cleats similar to football cleats. This is because there is lots of cuts and changes in direction which is done on grass or turf. Therefore you will need much more grip and traction.

Long Pole Sticks

In Field lacrosse, there are long pole sticks (long crosse). These are used by the defensemen and one midfielder. This help the players cover more area because the player area is much larger. There are 4 long sticks allowed per team. 3 defensemen and 1 midfielder.

How Many Players

There are a different number of players in each style of lacrosse. In box lacrosse there are 6 players in total. Much like hockey, there are 5 runners and 1 goalie. When I played we had a centre, two forwards and two defensemen. There may be other names for them in different parts of the world but for general speaking terms you can refer to the positions as what I noted above.

Now here is where things get different between the two styles. In field lacrosse there are 10 players in total. You have 3 attackmen, 3 midfielders, 3 defensemen and a goalie. The attackmen and defensemen have to stay in their area of the field, but the midfielders can go anywhere on the field.

How many players are on each team tho? According to NLL rules (Box Lacrosse) there are 20 players on the roster. The teams dress 19 players, 17 runners and 2 goalies.

In Field lacrosse a team can have up to 13 substitutes on the sideline. A max of 23 players can dress for a game. If there are more players they must dress in plain clothes. According to Rule 20 of the CLA Field Lacrosse rule book.

So the difference here is Box Lacrosse as 6 players at a time and in Field Lacrosse there are 10 players.

Lacrosse Equipment

There isn’t much difference between Box and Field Lacrosse equipment for players. Here is a list of equipment used by both versions:

1. Helmet with facemask
2. Mouthguard
3. Shoulder pads
4. Arm & Elbow pads
5. Rib & Back protector
6. Jock
7. Lacrosse gloves
8. Lacrosse stick
9. Indoor running shoes/ Cleats for Field lacrosse

One main difference between the two is the long sticks that are used in field lacrosse and that cleats are used in field and running shoes are used in box. Other than that the two versions use very similar equipment.

Box lacrosse sticks are between 40″-46″ (inches) which is the same in field lacrosse, but the long sticks used in field lacrosse are between 52″ and 72″.

Seasonality

Weather weather weather that is a big factor when playing field lacrosse. Field lacrosse is played outdoors on a field so it cannot be played during winter. Although there are some parts of the world that are warm year round so technically they could play year round. But usually it is played in the spring and summer months.

Box lacrosse is played inside so it can be played year round and no matter what the weather does. But when winter hits the ice goes into the rinks so hockey is the sport that takes over.

Player Positions

This will be a simple section because we kind of covered this earlier, but lets refresh your memory.

Box lacrosse has 6 players on the floor at a time. Teams can substitute players at anytime “on the fly”. There is an area at the bench that the players must be in before a substitute can be made. There are 3 forwards, 2 defensemen and a goalie.

Field Lacrosse has 10 players on the field at at time. Teams can also substitute on the fly but need to be in the substitute area that is marked on the field. Players must exit the field before a sub can enter the field. There are 3 attackmen, 3 Midfielders, 3 Defensemen and 1 goalie on the field at a time.

Goalie Equipment

When it comes to goalies in lacrosse there are some differences between the two versions. In box lacrosse the goalies are suited up with much more protection than field lacrosse. This is due to the close proximity that shots are being taken from.

In field lacrosse the goalies have less protection because shots are generally taken from farther away. Here are two lists with what goalies wear in each version of lacrosse.

Box Lacrosse

1. Helmet w/ Facemask
2. Goaltender Throat Guard
3. Mouth Guard
4. Arm & Chest Protector
5. Goalie Gloves
6. Goalie Pants
7. Goalie Leg Guards
8. Lacrosse Goalie Stick
9. Indoor Shoes
10. Jock

Field Lacrosse

1. Helmet w/ Facemask
2. Mouth Guard
3. Chest Protector
4. Arm & Elbow Guards (optional)
5. Goalie Gloves
6. Lacrosse Goalie Stick
7. Goalie Pants
8. Shin Guards (optional)
9. Cleats
10. Jock

As you can see there is much less protection in field lacrosse than in Box.

Key Takeaways

• Field lacrosse is played outdoors, Box lacrosse is played Indoors
• Rules of play are different, one difference is Offsides. No offsides in Box, Offsides in Field
• Amount of Players. Box = 6 // Field = 10
• Different footwear and sticks. Box = indoor shoes and sticks sized 40″ to 46″ // Field = Cleats and sticks sized 40″ to 46″ and 52″ to 72″
• Size Of playing area
• Seasonality. Although both summer sports, Box is indoor so can be played year round. Field is an outdoor game so can only be played in summer and weather permitting.
• Positioning of players. Box = 3 Forwards, 2 Defence and 1 goalie // Field = 3 Attackmen, 3 Midfielders, 3 Defensemen and 1 goalie
• Goalie Equipment. Box = much more protection // Field = less protection.

Related questions

What are the Different Types of Lacrosse?

We covered 2 of the 4 types of lacrosse. I will list them all here:

1. Field Lacrosse (outdoor)
2. Box Lacrosse (indoor)
3. Women’s Lacrosse (limited contact version)
4. Intercrosse (no contact version)

Who Uses a Long Stick in Lacrosse?

There are only allowed 4 long sticks in a game of field lacrosse. The 3 defensemen and 1 midfielder are allowed to use the long sticks. But there is one more person on the field who can use a long stick. That is the Goalie. The sticks length is from 52″ to 72″.

How Long Can you Hold the Ball in Lacrosse?

In box lacrosse there is a 30 second shot clock. Similar to basketball, the team with possession has 30 seconds to get a shot on net. If the ball misses the goalie the clock continues to run down. If the ball hits the goalie and picked up by the offensive team the clock is reset another 30 seconds.

In field lacrosse there is no shot clock so a team could hang onto the ball for as long as possible or until the other team takes possession. But the idea is to win to you wouldn’t be very far ahead just holding onto the ball.

Can You Touch the Ball with Your Hands?

Only goalies are allowed to grab the ball with their hands similar to soccer and hockey. The players must use their sticks to scoop, carry, pass, shoot or catch the ball. If a player uses their hands there could be a penalty to the offending player.

How Long is a Lacrosse Game?

Men’s Lacrosse game consist of 4 quarters (or periods) of 15 minutes each equalling 60 minutes.

Is Lacrosse Easy to Learn?

Just like any sport it takes time and practice to get good. Lacrosse is easy to learn if you put in the time and learn the basics. Some things you need to learn are how to scoop the ball, how to cradle the ball, how to shoot the ball and how to catch the ball.

I used to find a brick wall and practice on that. Or find a friend to play catch with. One thing you have to be aware of is the second bounce of a lacrosse ball. The second bounce of a ball ALWAYS ALWAYS goes much faster than the first bounce.