This weekend marked the start of the 2025/2026 lacrosse season, and we had the first Vancouver Warriors game at Rogers Arena.
This is a sport of Canadian origin that has been growing more and more each year. And since I know it may be new to many people, just as it was to me, here are some things that can help you understand lacrosse a little better.
(KeithJJ/Pixabay)
- But what exactly is lacrosse?
I may be wrong, but in my head it makes a lot of sense and helped me understand it. Lacrosse seems a lot like hockey, but not on ice, but on a field or in an arena. So it’s a fast, intense, and very physical game.
Each player has a lacrosse stick, which has a net at the end. With it, players try to both catch and throw the ball, run with the ball in the net, and score goals by throwing the ball.
- Where is lacrosse played?
There are 2 types:
Field Lacrosse is the lacrosse that is played outdoors, the space is larger, it doesn’t have such a heavy pace or as much physical contact.
Or there is Box Lacrosse which is played inside arenas (it’s the style played by the Vancouver Warriors), it is much faster, much more physical, which ends up making it the more aggressive of the two types.
- How many players are needed?
In the game you will always see 6 players. 5 field players and 1 goalie, but here’s another similarity with hockey, players are substituted throughout during all the game and they are very quick. Sometimes you don’t even have time to realize that they changed players.
- And how long does it last?
The entire game has 4 quarters each of 15 minutes, which totals 60 minutes of play. During the game, each team has about 30 seconds to try to attack the opponent; if they fail, the ball goes to the other team.
- Can you hit or not?
Like in hockey, yes! You can hit, but everything is within limits. Since this is a very physical game, it’s full of pushing and shoving, but nothing like hitting from behind, that’s not allowed, much less hitting the opponent’s head.
Now all that’s left is to go to the game and put your knowledge into practice.
Watching lacrosse can be confusing, but knowing the basics, you already understand a little and you can be sure you can have a lot of fun.
You might become the number 1 fan of the Vancouver Warriors.