Your Complete Lacrosse Equipment Guide
May 5th, 2025
Have you or your child recently gotten into the world of lacrosse? With different gear for different positions, follow this complete lacrosse equipment guide for necessary safety gear information.
Boys’ field player equipment
Properly fitted equipment is crucial to your lax player’s safety. Eight pieces of equipment are required for boys on the field, including:
- Helmet: Must have a statement or seal indicating compliance with NOCSAE lacrosse performance standards and SEI certification.
- Mouthguard: Must be a visible color other than clear or white.
- Gloves: Hands must be fully inserted into gloves.
- Shoulder pads: Should cover the top of the shoulder, collarbone and sternum. Must be NOCSAE 200 compliant.
- Arm pads: Elbows should be completely covered.
- Protective cup: Fitted for comfort and protection. Garments to improve comfort can include supporters, all-in-one briefs or a combination.
- Cleats: Athletic cleats, shoes or turf shoes.
- Field players crosse (stick): Length recommendations based on age. Reference USA Lacrosse Boys’ Rule Book.
Optional equipment
Rib pads are optional equipment covering and protecting the ribs and kidneys.
Boys’ goalie equipment
A goalie’s equipment varies from that of a regular field player.
- Helmet: Must have a statement or seal indicating compliance with NOCSAE lacrosse performance standards and SEI certification.
- Mouthguard: Must be a visible color other than clear or white.
- Throat guard: Separate from the helmet, a throat guard attaches to the helmet with snaps, screws or other fasteners.
- Chest protector: Covers front torso, from the neckline to below the navel. Secure the body straps to the front of the pad.
- Goalie gloves: Fully insert hands into gloves. Goalie gloves include specific additional thumb protection.
- Protective cup: Fitted for comfort and protection. Garments to improve comfort can include supporters, all-in-one briefs or a combo of both.
- Cleats/Turf shoes: Athletic cleats, shoes or turf shoes.
- Goalie crosse (stick): 40-72” long, goalie crosses have wider heads. 10U has allowances for shorter stick lengths.
Girls’ field player equipment
There are three required pieces of equipment for girls, including the following:
- Goggles: Must meet ASTM standards for women’s lacrosse eyewear and are SEI certified with a mark.
- Field players crosse (stick): Must adhere to Rule 2, Section 2 of the USA Lacrosse Women’s Game Officials’ Training Manual.
- Mouthguard: Must be a visible color other than clear or white.
Optional equipment
Other optional gear includes close-fitting gloves for easy stick handling and headgear. Headgear must meet the ASTM standard for women’s lacrosse and have a permanent SEI certification mark.
Girls’ goalie equipment
With five extra equipment requirements, keep reading our complete lacrosse equipment guide for what a female goalie needs.
- Helmet: Must have a statement or seal indicating compliance with NOCSAE lacrosse performance standards and SEI certification.
- Mouthguard: Must be a visible color other than clear or white.
- Throat guard: Separate from the helmet, a throat guard attaches to the helmet with snaps, screws or other fasteners.
- Chest protector: Covers front torso, from the neckline to below the navel. Secure the body straps to the front of the pad.
- Goalie gloves: Fully insert hands into gloves. Goalie gloves include specific additional thumb protection.
- Leg pads: Must protect shins and thighs. Goalies cannot use field hockey goalie pads.
- Pelvic and abdominal protection: Generally incorporated as part of thigh padding.
- Goalie crosse (stick): Must adhere to Rule 2, Section 3, Appendix B of the USA Lacrosse Women’s Game Officials’ Training Manual.
Optional equipment
Shoulder pads are optional but offer extra protection to the top of the shoulders, collarbone and sternum.
Summary
Interested in a fitting guide for a specific position? Continue reading more on a complete lacrosse equipment guide with our additional fitting guides for proper fit and more, including lacrosse equipment for boys and girls. For other sports equipment guides and safety information, continue reading our blogs.
