Lacrosse | Gentle Bedtime Reading For Sleep

Tonight’s episode explores the history, cultural roots, and basic structure of lacrosse, offering something interesting to learn while your body unwinds. Benjamin’s steady, reassuring cadence makes it easy to relax with calm, fact-filled education that helps quiet racing thoughts. This episode is ideal for listeners dealing with insomnia, stress, anxiety, or restless nights, inviting you to press play, get comfortable, and drift off naturally. Happy sleeping!

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I help you drift off one fact at a time.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And today's sponsored episode from Eli S.

Is about lacrosse.

Lacrosse is a contact team sport,

Played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball.

It is the oldest organized sport in North America,

With its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century.

The game was extensively modified by European colonists,

Reducing the violence to create its current collegiate and professional form.

Players use the head of the lacrosse stick to carry,

Pass,

Catch,

And shoot the ball into the goal.

The sport has five versions that have different sticks,

Fields,

Rules,

And equipment.

Field lacrosse,

Women's lacrosse,

Box lacrosse,

Lacrosse sixes,

And intercross.

The men's game,

Field lacrosse,

Outdoor,

And box lacrosse,

Indoor,

Are contact sports and all players wear protective gear.

Helmets,

Gloves,

Shoulder pads,

And elbow pads.

The women's game is played outdoors and does not allow body contact,

But does allow stick-to-stick contact.

The only protective gear required for women players is eye gear,

While goalies wear helmets and protective pads.

Lacrosse sixes is played by both men and women on a similar field,

And is the most common version at multi-sport events.

Intercross is a mixed-gender,

Non-contact sport that uses an all-plastic stick and a softer ball.

The modern sport is governed by world lacrosse,

And is the only international sport organization to recognize First Nations bands and Native American tribes as sovereign nations.

The organization hosts the World Lacrosse Championship for Men,

The Women's Lacrosse World Cup,

The World Indoor Lacrosse Championship for Box Lacrosse,

And the Under-19 World Lacrosse Championships for both men and women.

Each is held every four years.

Lacrosse at the Summer Olympics has been contested at two editions of the Summer Olympic Games,

1904 and 1908.

It will be contested at the 2028 Olympic Games in the lacrosse sixes format.

It was also held as a demonstration event at the 1928,

1932,

And 1948 Summer Olympics.

Lacrosse is based on games played by various Native American communities as early as 1100 A.

D.

By the 17th century,

A version of lacrosse was well established and was documented by Jesuit missionary priests in the territory of present-day Canada.

In the traditional Aboriginal Canadian version,

Each team consisted of about 100 to 1,

000 men on a field several miles or kilometers long.

These games lasted from sunup to sundown for two to three days straight,

And were played as part of ceremonial ritual,

A kind of symbolic warfare.

Or to give thanks to the creator or master.

Lacrosse played a significant role in the community and religious life of tribes across the continent for many years.

Early lacrosse was characterized by deep spiritual involvement,

Befitting the spirit of combat in which it was undertaken.

Those who took part did so in the role of warriors,

With the goal of bringing glory and honor to themselves and their tribes.

The game was said to be played for the creator,

Or was referred to as the creator's game.

And a version of the game was called Bagataway.

The French Jesuit missionary,

Jean de Brebeuf,

Saw Huron tribesmen play the game during 1637 in present-day Ontario.

He called it lacrosse,

The stick,

In French.

The name seems to be originated from the French term for field hockey,

Le jeu de lacrosse.

James Smith described in some detail a game being played in 1775 by Mohawk people,

Wherein now they used a wooden ball about 3 inches in diameter,

And the instrument they moved it with was a strong staff,

About 5 feet long,

With a hoop net on the end of it,

Large enough to contain the ball.

English-speaking people from Montreal noticed Mohawk people playing the game,

And started playing themselves in the 1830s.

In 1856,

William George Beers,

A Canadian dentist,

Found the Montreal Lacrosse Club.

In 1860,

Beers codified the game,

Shortening the length of each game,

And reducing the number of players to 12 per team.

The first game played,

Under Beers' rules,

Was at Upper Canada College in 1867.

They lost to the Toronto Cricket Club by a score of 3 to 1.

The new sport proved to be very popular and spread across the English-speaking world.

By 1900,

There were dozens of men's clubs in Canada,

The United States,

England,

Australia,

And New Zealand.

The women's game was introduced by Louisa Lumsden in Scotland in 1890.

The first women's club in the United States was started by Rosa Bell Sinclair at Bryn Mawr School in 1926.

In the United States,

Lacrosse during the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s was primarily a regional sport centered around the mid-Atlantic states,

Especially New York and Maryland.

However,

In the last half of the 20th century,

The sport spread outside this region and can be currently found in most of the United States.

According to a survey conducted by U.

S.

Lacrosse in 2016,

There are over 825,

000 lacrosse participants nationwide,

And lacrosse is the fastest-growing team sport among NFHS member schools.

Field lacrosse is the men's outdoor version of the sport.

There are 10 players on each team,

3 attackmen,

3 midfielders,

3 defensemen,

And 1 goalie.

Each player carries a lacrosse stick.

A short stick measures between 40 and 42 inches long and is used by attackmen and midfielders.

A maximum of 4 players on the field per team may carry a long stick which is between 52 and 72 inches long and is used by the 3 defensemen and sometimes 1 defensive midfielder.

The goalie uses a stick with a head as wide as 12 inches that can be between 40 and 72 inches long.

The field of play is 110 by 60 yards.

The goals are 6 by 6 feet and are 80 yards apart.

Each goal sits inside a circular crease measuring 18 feet in diameter.

The goalie has special privileges within the crease to avoid opponent's stick checks.

Offensive players or their sticks may not enter into the crease at any time.

The midfield line separates the field into an offensive and defensive zone for each team.

Each team must keep 4 players in its defensive zone and 3 players in its offensive zone at all times.

It does not matter which positional players satisfy the requirement,

Although usually the 3 attackmen stay in the offensive zone,

The 3 defensemen and the goalies stay in the defensive zone,

And the 3 middies play in both zones.

A team that violates this rule is off-sides and either loses possession of the ball if they have it or incurs a technical foul if they do not.

The regulation playing time of a game is 60 minutes,

Divided into 4 periods of 15 minutes each.

Play is started at the beginning of each quarter and after each goal with a face-off.

During a face-off,

2 players lay their sticks on the ground parallel to the midline.

The 2 heads of their sticks on opposite sides of the ball.

At the whistle,

The face-off men scrap for the ball,

Often by clamping it under their stick and flicking it out to their teammates.

When one of the teams has possession of the ball,

They bring it into their offensive zone and try to score a goal.

Due to the off-sides rule,

Settled play involves 6 offensive players versus 6 defensive players and a goalie.

If the ball goes out of bounds,

Possession is awarded against the team that touched it last.

The exception is when the ball is shot towards the goal.

Missed shots that go out of bounds are awarded to the team that has the player who is the closest to the ball,

When and where the ball goes out.

During play,

Teams may substitute players in and out if they leave and enter the field through the substitution area,

Sometimes referred to as on-the-fly.

After penalties and goals,

Players may freely substitute and do not have to go through the substitution area.

Penalties are awarded for rule violations and result in the offending team losing possession,

Loss of possession,

Or temporarily losing a player,

Time serving.

During time serving penalties,

The penalized team plays with one fewer player for the duration of the penalty.

Time serving penalties are either releasable or non-releasable.

When serving a releasable penalty,

The offending player may re-enter play if a goal is scored by the opposing team during the duration of the penalty.

Non-releasable penalties do not allow this,

And the player must serve the entire duration.

In conjunction with the offsides rule,

The opponent may play with six attackers versus the penalized team's five defenders and goalie.

The team that has taken the penalty is said to be playing man down,

While the other team is man up.

Teams will use various lacrosse strategies to attack and defend while a player is being penalized.

There are two classes of rule violations that result in penalties,

Technical fouls and personal fouls.

Technical fouls,

Such as offsides,

Pushing and holding,

Result in either a loss of possession or a 30-second penalty,

Depending on which team has the ball.

Personal fouls,

Such as cross-checking,

Illegal body checking or slashing,

Concern actions that endanger player safety.

Cross-checking is when a player strikes another player with the shaft of the stick between his hands.

A slash is when a player strikes another player with the end of the stick anywhere besides the gloves.

These fouls draw one-minute or longer penalties.

The offending player must leave the field.

Box lacrosse is played by teams of five runners plus a goalie on an ice hockey rink,

Where the ice has been removed or covered by artificial turf,

Or in an indoor soccer field.

The enclosed playing area is called a box,

In contrast to the open playing field of the traditional game.

This version of the game was introduced in Canada in the 1930s to promote business for hockey arenas outside of the ice hockey season.

Within several years it had nearly supplanted field lacrosse in Canada.

The goals in box lacrosse are smaller than field lacrosse,

Traditionally four feet wide and tall.

Also,

The goaltender wears much more protective padding,

Including a massive chest protector and arm guard combination,

Known as uppers,

Large shin guards known as leg pads,

Both of which must follow strict measurement guidelines,

And ice hockey-style goalie masks.

The style of the game is quick,

Accelerated by the close confines of the floor and a shot clock.

The shot clock requires the attacking team to take a shot on goal within 30 seconds of gaining possession of the ball.

Box lacrosse is also a much more physical game.

Since cross-checking is legal in box lacrosse,

Players wear rib pads,

And the shoulder and elbow pads are bigger and stronger than what field lacrosse players wear.

Box lacrosse players wear a hockey helmet with a box lacrosse cage.

There is no offsides in box lacrosse.

The players substitute freely from their bench areas as in hockey.

However,

Most players specialize in offense or defense,

So usually all five runners substitute for teammates as their team transitions between offense and defense.

For penalties,

The offending player is sent to the penalty box,

And his team has to play without him,

Or man down,

For the length of the penalty.

Most fouls are minor penalties and last for two minutes.

Major penalties for serious offenses last five minutes.

What separates box lacrosse and ice hockey from other sports is that at the top levels of professional and junior lacrosse,

Participating in a fight does not automatically cause an ejection,

But a five-minute major penalty is given.

Box lacrosse is played at the highest level in the National Lacrosse League and by the Senior A Divisions of the Canadian Lacrosse Association.

The National Lacrosse League,

NLL,

Employs some minor rule changes from the Canadian Lacrosse Association CLA rules.

Notably,

The goals are four feet nine inches wide instead of four feet,

And the games are played during the winter.

The NLL games consist of four 15-minute quarters,

Compared with three periods of 20 minutes each in CLA games.

NLL players may only use sticks with hollow shafts,

While CLA permits solid wooden sticks.

The rules of women's lacrosse differ significantly from men's lacrosse,

Most notably by equipment and the degree of allowable physical contact.

Women's lacrosse rules also differ significantly between the U.

S.

And all other countries who play by the Federation of International Lacrosse rules.

Women's lacrosse does not allow physical contact.

The only protective equipment worn is a mouth guard and eye guard.

In the early part of the 21st century,

There were discussions of requiring headgear to prevent concussions.

In 2008,

Florida was the first state to mandate headgear in women's lacrosse.

Stick checking is permitted in women's game,

But only in certain levels of play and within strict rules.

Women's lacrosse also does not allow players to have a pocket,

Or loose net,

On the lacrosse stick.

Women start the game with a draw instead of a face-off.

The two players stand up,

And the ball is placed between their stick heads,

While their sticks are horizontal at waist height.

At the whistle,

The players lift their sticks into the air,

Trying to control where the ball goes.

The first modern women's lacrosse game was held at St.

Leonard's School in Scotland in 1890.

It was introduced by the school's headmistress,

Louisa Lumsden,

After a visit to Quebec,

Where she saw it played.

The first women's lacrosse team in the United States was established at Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore,

Maryland,

In 1926.

Both the number of players and the lines on the field differ from men's lacrosse.

There are 12 players in women's lacrosse,

And players must abide by certain boundaries that do not exist in men's play.

The three specific boundaries are the 8-meter fan in front of the goal,

The 12-meter half-circle that surrounds the 8-meter fan,

And the draw circle in the center of the field,

Which is used for draws to start quarters and after goals.

The goal circle is also positioned slightly closer to the end line in women's lacrosse compared to men's.

In women's lacrosse,

On either the offensive or defensive end,

The players besides the goaltender are not able to step inside the goal circle.

This becomes a goal circle violation.

However,

At the women's collegiate level,

Defenders may pass through the goal circle.

The 8-meter fan that is in front of the goal circle has a few restrictions in it.

Defenders cannot stand inside the 8-meter fan longer than 3 seconds,

Without being a stick length away from the offensive player they are guarding.

This is very similar to the 3-second rule in basketball.

A 3-seconds violation results in a player from the other team taking a free shot against the goalie.

If you are an attacker trying to shoot the ball into the goal,

You are not supposed to take a shot while a defender is in shooting space.

To make sure that you,

The defender,

Are being safe,

You want to lead with your lacrosse stick,

And once you are a stick's length away,

You can be in front of her.

Lacrosse 6's is a variant of lacrosse played outdoors,

With 6 players on each side.

The game follows similar rules to traditional field lacrosse,

With modifications and a shorter game time.

It was created in 2021 by World Lacrosse in a bid to achieve lacrosse's participation in the Olympic Games,

And will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 edition in Los Angeles.

Lacrosse 6's has similar rules for men and women,

But preserves some differences,

Such as the amount of contact allowed.

The major rule differences as compared to traditional field lacrosse are as follows.

The field of play is smaller,

At 70 meters by 36 meters.

Face-offs only occur at the beginning of each quarter.

Play is restarted after goals by the goalie taking the ball out of the net.

A 30-second shot clock is added.

Games are played in four 8-minute quarters.

Rosters consist of 12 players.

Everyone plays both offense and defense.

There are no long crosses.

Intercross,

Or soft-stick lacrosse,

Is a non-contact form of lacrosse with a standardized set of rules using modified lacrosse equipment.

An intercross stick is different from a normal lacrosse stick.

The head is made completely of plastic instead of leather or nylon.

The ball is held in pockets in traditional lacrosse sticks.

The ball is larger,

Softer,

And hollow,

Unlike a lacrosse ball,

Which is solid rubber.

Intercross as a competitive adult sport is popular in Quebec,

Canada,

As well as in many European countries,

Particularly in the Czech Republic.

Generally,

Teams consist of five players per side,

And the field size is 20 meters wide and 40 meters long.

Goals for adults are the same size as box lacrosse,

4 feet or 1.

2 meters in height and width.

The international governing body hosts a world championship biannually.

Soft-stick lacrosse is a popular way to introduce youth to the sport.

It can be played outdoors or indoors,

And has developed curriculum for physical education classes.

Lacrosse has historically been played for the most part in Canada and the United States.

With small but dedicated lacrosse communities in the United Kingdom and Australia.

Recently,

However,

Lacrosse has begun to flourish at the international level,

With teams being established around the world,

Particularly in Europe and East Asia.

In August 2008,

The men's international governing body,

The International Lacrosse Federation,

Merged with the women's,

The International Federation of Women's Lacrosse Associations,

To form the Federation of International Lacrosse,

FIL.

The FIL changed its name to World Lacrosse in May 2019.

There are currently 62 member nations of World Lacrosse.

World Lacrosse sponsors five world championship tournaments.

The World Lacrosse Championship for Men's Field,

The Women's Lacrosse World Championship for Women's,

The World Indoor Lacrosse Championship for Box Lacrosse,

As well as the Men's Under 20 World Lacrosse Championships and Women's Under 20 World Lacrosse Championships.

Each is held every four years.

The World Lacrosse Championship,

WLC,

Began in 1968 as a four-team invitational tournament,

Sponsored by the International Lacrosse Federation.

Until 1990,

Only the United States,

Canada,

England and Australia had entered.

With the expansion of the game internationally,

The 2014 World Lacrosse Championship was contested by 38 countries.

The WLC has been dominated by the United States.

Team USA has won 11 of the 14 titles,

With Canada winning the other three.

The Women's Lacrosse World Cup,

WLWC,

Began in 1982.

The United States has won 9 of the 11 titles,

With Australia winning the other two.

Canada and England have always finished in the top five.

The 2017 tournament was held in England and featured 25 countries.

The first World Indoor Lacrosse Championship,

WILC,

Was held in 2003 and contested by six nations at four sites in Ontario.

Canada won the championship by beating the Iroquois Nationals 21-4 in the final.

The 2007 championship hosted by the Onondaga Nation included 13 teams.

Canada has dominated the competition,

Winning all five gold medals and never losing a game.

The Iroquois Nationals are the men's national team representing the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in international field lacrosse competition.

The team was admitted to the FIL in 1987.

It is the only First Nations team sanctioned for international competition in any sport.

The Nationals placed fourth in the 1998,

2002,

And 2006 World Lacrosse Championships and third in 2014.

The indoor team won the silver medal in all four World Indoor Lacrosse Championships.

In 2008,

The Iroquois women's team was admitted to the FIL as the Haudenosaunee Nationals.

They placed seventh at the 2013 Women's Lacrosse World Cup.

Field lacrosse was a medal sport in the 1904 and the 1908 Summer Olympics.

In 1904,

Three teams competed in the games held in St.

Louis.

Two Canadian teams,

The Winnipeg Shamrocks,

And a team of Mohawk people from the Iroquois Confederacy,

Plus the local St.

Louis Amateur Athletic Association team representing the United States,

Participated.

The Winnipeg Shamrock captured the gold medal.

The 1908 games held in London,

England,

Featured only two teams representing Canada and Great Britain.

The Canadians again won the gold medal in a single championship match by a score of 14-10.

In the 1928,

1932,

And the 1948 Summer Olympics,

Lacrosse was a demonstration sport.

The 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam featured three teams.

The United States,

Canada,

And Great Britain.

The 1932 games in Los Angeles featured a three-game exhibition between a Canadian all-star team and the United States.

The United States was represented by Johns Hopkins in both the 1928 and 1932 Olympics.

The 1948 games featured an exhibition by an all-England team organized by the English Lacrosse Union and the Collegiate Lacrosse Team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute representing the United States.

This exhibition match ended in a 5-5 tie.

Efforts were made to include lacrosse as an exhibition sport at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta,

Georgia and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney,

Australia,

But they were not successful.

An obstacle for lacrosse to return to the Olympics has been insufficient international participation.

To be considered for the Olympics,

A sport had to be played on four continents and by at least 75 countries.

Lacrosse is played on all six continents,

But as of August 2019,

When Ghana joined,

There are only 63 countries playing the sport.

However,

Nowadays,

Numeric criteria about widely practiced sports has been abolished.

The International Olympic Committee granted provisional status to world lacrosse in 2018.

In August 2022,

It was announced that nine sports had made the shortlist to be included in the games,

Among them lacrosse,

With presentations expected to be made later that month.

In October 2023,

The LA-28 Organizing Committee announced that it had recommended lacrosse as one of five sports that may be added to the program for the 2028 Summer Olympics.

On October 16,

2023,

Lacrosse received approval from the International Olympic Committee for inclusion in the 2028 Summer Olympic Games.

In Los Angeles.

Reviews

Thank you, Benjamin. That was interesting but I still didn’t get to the end as I fell asleep. Yay! 😻

Interesting 🧐 and put me to sleep 😴
Win - win… thank you, Benjamin!

That worked and who knew there was so many variations of it. Thanks

This is wonderful for sleeping. I still know nothing about Lacrosse, but I enjoyed falling asleep so easily. Thank you.