QUESTION: What kind of equipment do I need?
ANSWER: The basic equipment required to play lacrosse are a helmet, mouthpiece, shoulder pads, gloves, elbow pads, and cleats. Team uniforms are provided by the Poway Lacrosse Foundation for the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams and by the Poway Youth boosters for players in grades 5-8.
QUESTION: What type of helmet? color?
ANSWER: Helmets are unique to each player and are purchased by each player. Each team has their unique color. The mens varsity team wear gray helmets. Helmets are the C-Pro style with a silver shell, chromanium mask, forest green visor and chin . They are available for purchase at various retail locations in town. Helmet stickers are provided by the team.
QUESTION: What kind of stick should I get?
ANSWER: You will need a stick that is designed for your playing position. Players at middie and attack positions generally have short sticks although there are some middie players who use long sticks. Defense uses long sticks to give them greater defensive reach. Lacrosse sticks come in various colors and are made of different materials. Most players have at least two sticks. You don't want to be out of the game because you don't have a spare stick. Sticks can be purchased at any retail lacrosse store. Sticks generally are sold without the head and the mesh. Sticks are really personal items. Players spend many hours working the mesh to get just the right shape and tension for their game. There are also strict rules on the shape of the pouch formed by the mesh on the head of your stick with penalty consequences if a referee finds it out of the allowable range during a game. Referees do check sticks so find the right measurements via the rules links provided below. QUESTION: What kind of cleats should I buy?
ANSWER: Cleats are another distinctly personal item. Of course like any running sport, you need to get cleats that are snug but comfortable. You may have noticed that Poway High has a new artificial turf field. The veterans on the team have experience playing on other artificial surfaces on opponents home fields (Westview & Torrey Pines) without problem. You'll be doing a lot of running, including sprints. Your cleats will be the only thing that keep you from eating turf when you make quick turn or spin to get clear for that perfect shot on goal. Make sure you get a cleat that is meant for running (light in weight), but also gives you the ability to dig in for quick changes in direction and explosion (mid length cleats).
QUESTION: Where can I get my equipment and what will it cost?
ANSWER: Lacrosse equipment is available at various lacrosse specialty stores in San Diego or via mail order through catalogs and on the web. A full set of equipment including helmet, mouthpiece, shoulder pads, gloves, elbow pads, and cleats will cost upwards of $350 and more.
QUESTION: Is there used equipment for sale?
ANSWER: There are other options if you're not yet fully committed to the game. Some of our current players have extra equipment they might be willing to sell at a deep discount until you've made the total commitment to the game. Contact us for any equipment you need and we'll send out the word.
QUESTION: I watched a game and was a bit confused, what are the rules?
ANSWER: Lacrosse rules are fairly complex at first glance. We refer you to excellent web sites that cover the basic rules and strategy of the game.
Check out:
http://www.lacrosse.org/the_sport/boys_rules.phtml
http://www.laxpower.com/update02/rules.php
There are generally 25-30 on a lacrosse team. There are ten on the field at a time. Those ten consist of one goal tender, three defensive players, three mid fielders, and three on attack.
QUESTION: When does the lacrosse season begin and end?
ANSWER: When does the lacrosse season begin and end? Ask any lacrosse player and the likely answer will be never. Most players are passionate about their sport. In reality the season begins with league games in early March. The playoffs generally end by the third week of May each year. Success, however, doesn't come without lots of preparation. CIF rules govern when coaches can begin practice, that generally takes place in February. So ultimately its up to the players to organize themselves to be physically ready for the season...that has to start in the fall in order to be in shape and ready for the season when it begins in March.
QUESTION: How many teams does Poway have?
ANSWER: At the high school level, Poway has a mens varsity team and a junior varsity team. The girls have a varsity team and two JV teams. In addition, for grades 5-8 there are at least three teams covering Division I, II and III. QUESTION: Do you have to pay to play?
ANSWER: There are costs associated with all of our teams that need to be covered. By CIF rules, we can't charge players to play for varsity or JV teams. However, there are mandatory fundraising activities each player is expected to fully participate in to offset the expenses of the season. There are registration fees for our Youth program.
QUESTION: Is lacrosse a club sport?
ANSWER: Lacrosse is a sanctioned CIF sport for high school teams, its no longer a club sport. However, due to funding limitations, lacrosse is not funded at levels you would normally expect for CIF sports like football, baseball, wrestling, etc. Our hope is that the popularity of our sport will eventually allow lacrosse to share in the available funding for the CIF sports program at Poway High School. There are no sanctioned playoffs to the state level for lacrosse at this time however there is a San Diego CIF section championship game each year for the varsity programs.
QUESTION: Where do we play games and practice, what time do we practice?
ANSWER: We play our home games on the new, state of the art field at Poway stadium. Our away games are at various local high school locations. We publish our schedule on this web site with driving directions to each location. High school players on the mens varsity and JV teams must travel to away games on buses provided through Poway Unified School District. High School practices for men are held at Meadowbrook elementary school just off Pomerado Road and just north of Poway Road. Players need to be prepared to play or practice Monday through Saturday. JV practices for PHS men generally begin at 4pm and varsity generally begins at 6pm. The season schedule will dictate the practice schedule which varies from year to year. Tryouts are usually during February Break.
QUESTION: What are the rules to follow when we use the shooting goal at Poway High School?
ANSWER: With the cooperation of the Coaches and Directors of PHS, we have been able to secure usage of the shooting area. Everyone must understand that we will be able to use this area as long as we do not abuse the privilege and abide by certain non-negotiable rules. They are as follows:
No use during school hours
No use during any games or band performances
You must wear helmets and gloves
No one is to play goalie while someone is shooting - EVER - unless a Poway HS coach is present
Players not shooting should be standing between the shooting players and field to prevent balls from rolling onto the turf. Do not stand behind the cage
You will be respectful of the other programs priority use of the stadium and not disrupt their practices.
If at any time, the coach or director who is using the field feels as if players at the shooting area are disrupting their practice, they will ask to stop using the shooting area. You must immediately stop using the area. You are never to question their request. If needed, please communicate with the captains or me about what occurred.
Leave the area as you found it -clean up any trash and do not leave water bottles or anything behind.
The shooting area can be a great enhancement to our program. We need to police ourselves. If you see a teammate not following the rules, show leadership by communicating and asking them to follow the rules. If a non-PHS mens lacrosse player is using or near the area, you must make sure they abide by the rules or ask them to leave. Remember helmet and gloves for everyone. This is not an area to congregate in. If other students are standing around the area, ask them to stand behind the main stadium fence for safety reasons.
If you have any questions, ask the captains or coaches. The program has spent a lot of time and money to make the shooting area happen. Lets make the most of it.
2002 CIF Champions
