NEW FREE 1 DAY CLINIC | Try Lacrosse without the Equipment! November 9th @ Underhill
Just a quick note: We want to make lacrosse accessible to all athletes and soon-to-be athletes in our community. We know lacrosse equipment is expensive. We don't want the cost of gear to discourage players from trying this great sport so please reach out!
The club currently has sticks and other equipment to lend. We are also going to host an equipment swap before the spring season.
Many families in the club have also had great success securing free or inexpensive used gear from neighbors/SOMA Swap, Buy Nothing, and FB Marketplace
Flip Consignment in New Providence may have good quality used gear as well.
IMPORTANT! If you borrow or buy used gear, do not assume it meets safety standards even if the nice person who gave it to you thinks it does. We have seen helmets at Play it Again Sports that don't. Flip says it only takes gear that meets NOCAE requirements, but it's your child's safety we're talking about so check the gear anyway. If you got used gear from the club over a year ago, double check that as well to be safe.
How do I know if my gear meets safety regulations?
Head to the Safety Equipment Institute (SEI)Site, and look under NOCSAE (pronounced knock-sea) site- click here
Here is our more detailed list of Boy's Lacrosse Gear with notes on certain products.
Boys Lacrosse Stick. Players must have a regulation boys' lacrosse stick (not a Fiddlestick) that is appropriate for their height and ability. Some of the best sticks for the money are found online. These are all really great sticks Re-lax RC1, String King Starter & Jr., Powell Scout. Our favorite is the $65 RC1 if it is in stock. Your coach can check the pocket. (Many pockets need a little help). Again, we often have some sticks to lend. Some 5th-8th grade defensive players or middies use a long stick "or long pole" at the coach's discretion.
Helmets must be NOCSAE Certified, and cannot have loose padding . A helmet must fit properly (of course) or it is not useful. A helmet that doesn't fit properly doesn't provide protection and can make kids miserable or give them headaches! Click here for helmet fit guide.
Chest Protector/Shoulder Pads Must be NOCSAE ND200 and SEI certified. That certification means it has a hard plate as part of the chest protector that is meant to help reduce pressure from blows to the chest and help prevent commotio cordis. Again a good fit is crucial. The plate needs to cover the proper area of the chest in order to do its job. The Shoulder pads should also have bicep protectors.
Mouth Guard should be molded prior to first clinic and strapped to helmet. Mouthguards cannot be clear or white. Shock Doctor and other brands make braces-specific mouthguards or ask your orthodontist for a recommendation
Arm Guards/Arm Pads should cover from about mid-bicep to mid forearm for maximum protection. For younger players especially, elbow pads are not sufficient.
Gloves should fit properly so that the player can grip and move his stick. Try different glove brands if you are finding it too hard to get the right match.
Athletic Cups are required. We recommend cup shorts/sliding shorts with a built in pocket for the cup.
Water Bottles should have long straws or the ability to squeeze water out so players are not constantly removing helmets. Particularly important for younger players who cannot get their helmets on without help. MAKE SURE YOUR PLAYER BRINGS WATER TO EVERY GAME AND PRACTICE. We understand people forget water and we try to help, but it's hard for a coach to run a practice or focus on a game when he has to find water for 4 kids on a team every day.
Jersey or Practice Pinney
Cleats - Players in 3rd grade and up should wear cleats/turf shoes to prevent slipping. Sneakers are AOK for Little Laxers.
*The following is not to be taken as medical advice of course, but we have read that wearing the wrong cleats may play a role in player injuries.
If you plan to buy 1 pair of cleats for the season, make sure they are appropriate for Artificial Grass fields like Underhill. Artificial Grass (AG) and some Multi-ground (MG) cleats have a pattern of lot of shorter, round studs and not bladed studs. They will also work fine on grass fields like Ritzer. They can be lacrosse, football or soccer cleats (although those may less ankle support), but not baseball. Baseball cleats have longer studs and blades.
For indoor practices and some fields that have that hard, short turf, (The Millburn field behind the library is a good example) even AG cleats may not be ideal. Please make sure your player wears either Turf Shoes (which are covered in lots of little rubbery nubs as opposed to studs) or brings sneakers.
If you do get turf shoes, they can also be worn on Artificial Grass Fields, and some literature suggests this may be the safest for knees - unless its super wet AG. Lots of kids say the New Balance Freeze turf shoes are very comfortable. Older models can be found on clearance pretty often.
Dress your kid in clothes they can really move and sweat in and dress for the weather! Have warm long sleeve shirts on hand for early Spring. Bring extra socks to rainy tournaments. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Goalie Equipment
*MLC has goalie equipment and sticks for all teams, but many goalies choose to buy their own
Goalie Stick
Helmet Field helmet with the addition of a throat guard
Goalie Chest Protector Must be NOCSAE ND200 and SEI certified. Again a good fit is crucial.
Mouth Guard should be molded prior to first clinic and strapped to helmet. Mouthguards cannot be clear or white. Shock Doctor and other brands make braces-specific mouthguards or ask your ortodontist
Arm Guards/Arm Pads are optional but we encourage our goalies to wear arm pads
Goalie Gloves should fit properly so that the player can grip and move his stick
Athletic Cups are required. We recommend cup shorts/sliding shorts with a built in pocket for the cup. Some players wear additional protection there as well.
Water Bottles should have long straws or the ability to squeeze water out so players are not constantly removing helmets. Particularly important for younger players who cannot get their helmets on without help. MAKE SURE YOUR PLAYER BRINGS WATER TO EVERY GAME AND PRACTICE.
Uniform or Practice Pinney
Cleats - Players in 3rd grade and up should wear cleats/turf shoes to prevent slipping. Sneakers are AOK for Little Laxers.
*The following is not to be taken as medical advice of course, but we have read that wearing the wrong cleats may play a role in player injuries.
If you plan to buy 1 pair of cleats for the season, make sure they are appropriate for Artificial Grass fields like Underhill. Artificial Grass (AG) and some Multi-ground (MG) cleats have a pattern of lot of shorter, round studs and not bladed studs. They will also work fine on grass fields like Ritzer. They can be lacrosse, football or soccer cleats, but not baseball, because baseball cleats have longer studs and blades.
For indoor practices and some fields that have that hard, short turf, please make sure your player is wears either sneakers or Turf Shoes (which are covered in lots of little rubbery nubs as opposed to studs). If you do get turf shoes, they can also be worn on Artificial Grass Fields, but may not be the best choices if its very slippery.