Lacrosse Question?--very off topic

[Nevadaref]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Why does Girl's Lacrosse the girls wear only eye shields and the Boy's wear helmets?

I worked girls lacrosse for 1 year while I was in MD. The boys game is a completely different game from the girls one. The boys essentially play hockey on grass. The girls contest is supposed to be more akin to soccer. Contact is supposed to be minimal.

For example, in the girls game field players are not even allowed to position their bodies in between the shooter and the goal in order to block shots. It is called a screen and is illegal.

With regard to your helmet question, the girls game has an imaginary sphere around each player's head, I can't recall exactly how big, which opponents cannot put their stick inside. It is a foul.

With this in mind, the rationale to keep helmets and some other protective gear (such as shoulder pads) off the players is that it makes them have to be more concerned about safety. They must think about both their own safety and that of others. With only minimal protective gear on they are less likely to play in a reckless manner. That is how it was explained to me anyway, so don't shoot the messenger.