In my junior year of high school, I made the decision to try out for Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) girls’ lacrosse team. With limited knowledge on its ruleset, I was ecstatic to take part in a sport that gave me the opportunity to be aggressive and physical in a way that I hadn’t been able to in the previous sports that I’ve been a part of. Under the impression that the basics of girls’ lacrosse resembled that of boys’ lacrosse, I arrived at the tryout prepared to deck out in gear and learn how to play a contact sport.
However, I quickly learned that this wouldn’t be the case. The coach quickly informed me that boys and girls lacrosse were practically two different sports. The games differ in equipment, style of play and positioning. The quickest difference to identify is the equipment. Boys’ lacrosse requires an abundant amount of gear including everything from shoulder pads and gloves to helmets and arm guards. In contrast, girls’ equipment is very minimal—including only goggles and a mouth guard. The gear a girls lacrosse goalie would wear resembles what the boys would wear at any position.
There’s also a difference in the boys and girls sticks. Boys can use either a short stick or a long pole. The girls, however, all use short sticks with shallow pockets while the boys all have deep pockets. The shallow pockets of girls’ sticks make cradling, throwing and shooting more distinct—and often more difficult. This difference in pocket depth comes from the difference in contact that girls and boys face.
Furthermore, boys’ lacrosse has more physical contact, like one might see in ice hockey. In contrast, the women’s game has far less physical contact. In high school lacrosse, girls can check (dislodge a ball from an opponent by attacking their stick with your stick), but it’s only allowed under strict rules and regulations. The version of lacrosse that high school girls play is in no way less difficult due to its lack of contact, with girls not being allowed to do more than light shoulder to hip contact, this means girls must rely more on strategy and finesse.
The issue I have does not stem from the quality of the game we currently play. I simply wish to probe the question of why, in a time of gender equality, does girls’ lacrosse prohibit physicality? Not allowing girls’ lacrosse players to body check the way boys can promotes the stereotypical and vaguely misogynistic idea that female athletes are not capable of handling the physicality of certain sports the way male athletes can.
Limits on checking, contact, and rules such as the three-second rule—where an offensive player cannot be within the eight-meter arc for more than three seconds—are regulations all designed to make the game safer for girls. However, making the game this way consequently leads to excessive calls and stoppages of play. This can make girls’ lacrosse slower and at times more frustrating.
The chance of getting a concussion or injury is probable within any high school sport, among both male and female athletes. Making girls lacrosse a contact sport may seem like a dangerous idea for the safety of female high school athletes. However, if we were given identical protective gear, the danger posed would be no more probable than it would be in boys lacrosse or any other sport for that matter.
Most importantly, when it comes to the dangers posed by high school sports—if I was afraid of the risk, I wouldn’t play the sport. Going into this improved version of girls lacrosse, players would be well aware of what more physicality would entail.
For years, women have proven themselves capable of not only taking part in but excelling in demanding, strenuous and extremely challenging sports. Adding contact to girls lacrosse would only make the game more enriching for those who play.
