Protective Gear for Girls’ Lacrosse Scrutinized
During my second week back from a four-year hiatus from lacrosse, I was whacked in the head with a stick. The incident left me sidelined for over a week with a black eye and a mild concussion. It also got me thinking about the relationship between additional safety measures and the current culture of the game.
My experience isn’t unique. Head injuries are far from uncommon in a contact sport like lacrosse. Any rigorous activity will take a toll on the body; burly N.F.L. players are not the only ones about whom we should be worried.
From its origins as the Native American game of “stickball,” a brutal game played with no protection and sometimes even bare hands, lacrosse has undergone major changes. Lacrosse diverged significantly into two paths during its evolution from the unisex Native American 17th century game to the sport we know today. Now, if one were to see a mens’ and womens’ lacrosse game side-by-side, the differences would be staggering.
The most obvious physical difference lies in the way the field players are dressed. Boys are running across the field under the bulk of hard-shelled helmets, gloves, elbow, shoulder and rib padding. With only the weight of small rubber goggles and a mouthgaurd, the girls equipment, though less heavy-duty, allows for more agility and finesse.
This clear disparity in protection is due to the style of each game. While body-checking is illegal in womens’ lacrosse, it is allowed and even encouraged in the men’s game.
Most concussions in boys lacrosse stem from player-to-player contact, whereas girls are more likely to be concussed after being hit with a stick or ball instead of another player. Girls’ lacrosse is focused more on skill and agility rather than aggression, which requires less padding.
The nurses in the health center and some of my family members made remarks after I recounted my tale. When they asked how I was protected, I told them that the only thing between me and the stick was a pair of rubber goggles and a mouthgaurd. Shaking their heads and sighing, they questioned how regulations could allow girls to play the sport with so much less protection than the boys.
If one were comparing it directly to the boys’ game, then yes, it would seem ridiculous to radically alter the equipment for sexes — but the equipment does adhere to the rules and conduct of each game.
Girls are getting hurt in lacrosse (like nearly everyone does while playing a contact sport), but it’s not necessarily the product of improper protection. The thought of requiring girls to have added protection, specifically hard-shelled helmets like the boys, has attracted controversy from players and girls coaches everywhere. The argument against requiring helmets in girls’ lacrosse is that it would change the way we play the game.
Though lacrosse is dangerous, contact sports will always have an element of danger to them, no matter the layers or padding or equipment on a player. By introducing the hard-shelled helmets that boys wear to girls, the injuries may actually increase due to the change in mentality of the players.
With added protection, girls’ lacrosse players would naturally play more aggressively and take more bold risks, knowing they have less to lose. This could lead to a rise in injuries, rather than a significant drop.
Though I think changing the girls’ equipment to fit the boys’ would be a more complicated and possibly unsuccessful step, I am not saying that girls’ lacrosse players wouldn’t benefit from some form of added protection. With sports medicine and modern science constantly progressing, it is likely that we will see something in the near future with the ability to reduce danger on the field, while preserving the mentality and culture of the game. I think that we should wait for it instead of taking the plunge and adapting boys protection requirements in girls’ lacrosse, when the equipment suits and reflects a completely different style of play.