To be honest, I’m not a big fan of women’s lacrosse because it’s not physical enough, but I decided to write an enterprise story on what could happen to players and the sport, if helmets were a requirement.
Unlike most sports that are played by both males and females, the rules of women’s lacrosse are very different from men’s. One very noticeable difference is the men are required to wear helmets, shoulder pads and gloves, while women are not. This is mostly due to the fact that men’s lacrosse is a much more violent game than women’s lacrosse is.
In men’s lacrosse, players are allowed to check each other’s bodies and sticks. Where as in women’s lacrosse, body checking is strictly forbidden. Players are not even allowed to invade the 7-inch halo around an opponent’s head. And shooting with a defender in line with the goal is also illegal. But although the rules of each game are very different, there are still concerns of injuries, especially concussions, for women’s lacrosse players.
![Molly College Women's Lacrosse [Photo Credit: Molloy College Campus Life on Facebook]](https://jlattanzatbh.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/64863_581348928543540_670354727_n.jpg?w=620&h=273)
Molly College Women’s Lacrosse [Photo Credit: Molloy College Campus Life on Facebook]
According to United States Lacrosse, women’s lacrosse has been played in the United States without helmets since 1913 and until 9 years ago, without any protective equipment. In 2005, a rule was created that stated all women’s lacrosse players must wear protective eyewear, such as goggles while playing. Another rule set in the same year states that all goalie helmets must meet the National Operating on Standards for Athletic Equipment, standard. The two goalies are the only two players on the field who are required and permitted to wear a hard helmet. The requirement of wearing a mouthpiece that fully covers the upper jaw and teeth of all players was set in 2007. However, according to U.S. Lacrosse, it acknowledges that helmets do not prevent concussions, but states in its rulebook, “women are permitted to wear soft helmets – which may help lessen the severity of head trauma and facial lacerations.”
“Everybody looks at equipment intervention as the end-all, be-all – but it’s not,” Steve Stenersen, the president of U.S. Lacrosse said in a New York Times article, “A Case Against Helmets in Lacrosse.” “U.S. Lacrosse would rather emphasize education and rules of enforcement and keep the game unchanged.”
While women’s lacrosse does not allow rough play, concussions, mostly on accidental stick-to-head contact, collisions and falls, are common. According to “A Case Against Helmets in Lacrosse,” research by Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus Ohio states that not only does the sport have the third-highest rate of concussions among female sports, but its in-game rate is only about 15 percent less than the rougher male game.
![Dougherty (#19) and teammates. [Photo Credit: Ari Cav on Facebook]](https://jlattanzatbh.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/533675_10200894516862020_804781934_n.jpg?w=300&h=300)
Dougherty (#19) and teammates. [Photo Credit: Ari Cav on Facebook]
Kelsey Dougherty, a defenseman for Molloy College said that she has suffered two concussions while playing. One was after being hit with the ball off a shot and the other was after being hit with a stick. “It is common,” Dougherty said. “Many of my teammates have had them as well, and I have seen girls wear homemade helmets to protect themselves.”
But although more protection, such as a helmet, sounds like a positive adjustment, Kevin Kilkenny, an athletic trainer from Generations Physical Therapy, is against it. “I don’t want helmets in girls’ lacrosse,” Kilkenny said. “I know that for a fact that we will have more concussions with helmets on than we will without.” Kilkenny worries that the sport will also see more neck injuries because of the stress and weight of the helmet. “When someone breaks their neck, they break it when their head is flexed,” he said. “With a helmet on and the head down, we’ll have more neck injuries.”
However, Dougherty predicts that helmets would “make the game a much safer competition.” According to U.S. Lacrosse, “women’s lacrosse has relatively low overall injury rates compared to other collegiate and high school sports. Rules based on the guiding principles of the sport maintain a sense of safety and fair play in the game.”
Requiring women lacrosse players to wear helmets would dramatically change the game. Aside from expecting more or less injuries, many expect the aggressive nature of the game to increase. “Some players will be less careful when playing and will pay less attention to violent plays that can actually injure players,” Dougherty said. “Once they put a helmet on, they’re going to start playing like the guys,” Kilkenny said. “They might as well fully suit up and play men’s lacrosse with men on the same field,” Frank Terlizzo, a former player and coach at Mercy College added.
![Terlizzo (#38) playing for Mercy College. [Photo Credit: Albert Ceez on Facebook]](https://jlattanzatbh.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/26060_510137460374_856233_n.jpg?w=300&h=234)
Terlizzo (#38) playing for Mercy College. [Photo Credit: Albert Ceez on Facebook]
![Terlizzo (#38) playing for Mercy College. [Photo Credit: Albert Ceez on Facebook]](https://jlattanzatbh.files.wordpress.com/2014/05/25267_510431750614_306859_n.jpg?w=300&h=268)
Terlizzo (#38) playing for Mercy College. [Photo Credit: Albert Ceez on Facebook]
“It’s hard to absolutely prove, but what we’ve seen is that behavior can change when athletes feel more protected, especially when it comes to the head and helmets,” Dr. Margot Putukian, chairwoman of the U.S. Lacrosse Sports Science and Safety Committee, said in “A Case Against Helmets in Lacrosse.” “They tend to put their bodies and heads in danger that they wouldn’t without the protections. And they aren’t as protected as they might think.”
Speaking from experience, Terlizzo attests, “as a player, knowing that you are protected makes you play a little angrier and be a little wild with your stick.”
If changes such as a helmet requirement and the freedom to be more aggressive were applied to women’s lacrosse, their game would start to look like the men’s. “Eventually, it would become women playing something similar, if not identical to men’s lacrosse,” Terlizzo said.
But it still might not make it as popular. “I still do not think girls’ lacrosse will attract as many fans as men’s lacrosse because just in general men’s sports are more popular,” Dougherty said. “But I think more fans than the present amount will be attracted if the rules change.”
Terlizzo agrees, “I think it would interest people for a while if rules are changed, but to be honest, I think it would kill the sport. It’s perfect the way it is now; no need for a change.”
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