lax positions on the fielddd

[wings]

hey guys! lacrosse season is drawing near, and in the previous meeting at school, the girls' lax advisor told us that we needed to choose positions we were trying out for.

so there's- attack, midfield, and defense. what should I try out for? I was hoping you guys could give me an overview-- maybe tell me what your position is and what you guys basically do or what skills you need to be strong in.

I've played soccer for most of my life (I stopped when I got to high school- I'm in 9th now) and I played mid + defense. however, in lacrosse, people always tell me that girls who play defense are big and buff and etc.. and frankly, I don't really fit those characteristics. I'm thinking it may be a stereotype; is it? Also, does midfield require more running than the other two positions? I know it did in soccer, but I don't want to keep comparing the two sports because they're completely different (right?).

another note- my lax advisor told us that there's only going to be a JV team this year-- no varsity. they couldn't find another advisor to head another team, so they figured they'd start the first year of lacrosse at our high school nice and slow. that halfs my chance of getting on the team. :( eek!

thanks

[lilaxgurl23]

If you play midfield, you might want to consider middie for lacrosse too. It will help out your team, because you are most likely still in very good shape. In defense, you don't have to be big and buff if you can take a charge and keep your stick up. Attack, you have to know your plays well and be able to catch, pass and cut because that is what you be doing when you are not shooting. Midfield is somewhere inbetween. How ever, you will still be playing both parts. I would suggest you say midfield, and then if your coach thinks you are a better attack or defense, they can switch you.

[Laxergirl]

i agree with laxgirl- if midfield is where you have previous experience, then go for it. you already have an idea of what kind of running and conditioning levels you can expect so you are more prepared in that aspect. i also think that you should try to assess (sp?) your skills. are you better at cradling than catching? can you stay with your girl better than shooting etc. if you have good cradling, catching, shooting skills then go for attack. if you are better at one on one guarding or can see an offense well, etc then try out defense. if youre somewhere in between, go for midfield. also, is this your first time playing? if so ask your coach to help evaluate your strengths and weaknesses as a player to help you better find the position best suited for you.

[CTLaxer]

Attack's job is simple, score goals

Middies job is to stop the other teams middies from scoring and to bring the ball from defense to offense and give it to the attack.

Defense's job is to stop the other teams attack from scoring

That's the basic, standard answer to your question. Though personally I like my middies to do the scoring and have my attackmen feed them. In women's lacrosse, every position involves a lot of running. The field is divided up into thirds, unlike the mens game, which is 2 halves. So whichever position you play, you're running atleast 2 thirds of the field at any given time. Middies run the entire field all the time. Defense has nothing to do with being "big and bulky". This isn't mens lacrosse, if you're not big you're not going to get blasted by an attackmen and just run through. Defense for the womens game is still physical, but it's more about speed, footwork, smart play, and stick checks. As the 2 previous posters recomended, if you played middie in soccer, then playing middie in lacrosse will be a good choice for you. If you find yourself developing into a great dodger and scorer in practice or something, or magically have great stick skills from day one (hey, it happens, I have 2 girls like that on my team this year) then I'd say give attack a whirl. Another thing to know, since every position runs 2 thirds of the field, you play defense and offense a lot regardless of position. Attackmen have to ride their d-men when trying to stop the other team from clearing the ball. Defensemen have to work the ball up to the offensive end when clearing the ball. Middies get to do everything and anything.

Traditionally speaking, soccer involves a lot of running and not a lot of subbing out. The same can be said for lacrosse if you're playing the women's game in a traditional area. If your coach came from a place like maryland, new york, new jersey, or connecticut....they will probably expect players to stay in games most, if not all of the time and sub on injuries or penalties. So, if you're still in shape from soccer, and can run an entire 50 minute game, you'll be as good as gold as far as the coach is concerned. Hope that helps!

[wings]

thank you all so much for the advice-- I think I'll try out as a middie. and yes, this is my first year of playing lacrosse. I have no idea how my lax advisor is going to run things, though; I don't even know if she's ever played lacrosse before (she's also the basketball coach)! hopefully she does know how to play.. and if she doesn't, our team is doomed.

[aLAXc5]

Good luck with lax it is so fun!!! if i was you i would def try out as a midi, its ur best bet, because u have to be in really good shape. And the thing about your coach...well good luck with that too, but i played lax in high school and it was a new program and the coach knew nothing about the game but somehow managed to teach us everything about it, and then i moved onto college and my coach now doesn't know anything about lax either but we managed to win...I am sure that ur team will be fine, good luck with ur season

[wings]

hm.. just wondering, how long (on average) does it take you guys to run a mile?

[lilaxgurl23]

I have been woking off season. It is really close to 7 give or take a few seconds depends on how I am feeling. But this has been indoors so t will probably be a lot slower once I get outside on the 50 trillion feet of snow on the track (okay more like 2 feet). But it really doesn't matter much for me (how many times have you seen a goalie run for a long period of time in a game) plus I am the only goalie, so I could walk it and still make the team, but I will run it.