Girls’ Lacrosse At A Crossroads: Are Helmets An Answer Or A Problem?

Girls’ lacrosse is a completely different game from boys’ lacrosse.

At face value, a blanket statement like that may seem misogynistic, but it is in fact true. The boys’ game is much more aggressive and violent than the version girls play, and there’s one significant difference between the two that goes beyond gender. Boys wear helmets; girls do not. While it may appear to be a minor difference, it truly separates the girls from the boys.

A major debate was recently sparked in the lax-world, as US Lacrosse has begun looking into standardizing protective headgear for girls’ lacrosse nationwide. Specifically, US Lacrosse is considering whether to require girls to wear helmets.

There are currently two distinct schools of thought regarding the matter amongst coaches, parents and players: on one hand, helmets help protect against serious injury; on the other, helmets make the game more violent.

The use of helmets in contact sports is somewhat of a Catch-22. While helmets do their intended job of helping to protect the head and face from serious injury, some of those injuries are occurring because players are wearing helmets. When an athlete puts a helmet on — or any piece of equipment designed to protect against impact forces — they get an air of invincibility about them. That’s part of the reason why we see many players in football, hockey and lacrosse lead hits with their heads.

That’s when the helmet becomes a weapon — not just to the receiver of the hit, but the player wearing the helmet as well. And that’s where education plays a very significant role in this debate.

As mentioned in this space last week (regarding Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman’s article), personal responsibility and education go a long way to keeping players safe on the field, court or ice. Educating athletes is the most important argument being made by people who think more equipment is not the answer for girls’ lacrosse.

A recent study by George Mason University found that the majority of head injuries in high school girls’ lacrosse resulted from stick-to-head contact during aggressive play near the goal. Researchers determined that most of those injuries were due to unintentional stick contact, which suggests that players are both improperly positioning themselves and haven’t been properly taught the rules.

Of course, there are instances of head injury that aren’t the direct result of a player’s errant stick, such as a ball striking a player in the head. In girls’ lacrosse, balls travel with an average velocity of 50 miles per hour, with some girls pushing as high as 80 miles per hour. While helmets do reduce impact, they simply don’t eliminate concussions and other head injuries.

Developed skills, good officiating and the proper education of coaches and players are enough to keep the girls’ game safe, without compromising the integrity of the game.

Gladiator Custom Mouthguard Co-founder, Bobbie Quinn states:

“More equipment is not the answer for girls’ lacrosse. Unnecessary over-protection gives players a false sense of invincibility and puts them directly in harm’s way, which only leads to more equipment and more rule changes.
Equipment should be about quality, not quantity. With constant reinforcement of the rules, the right instruction and properly fitting, high-quality custom equipment, coaches, parents and players won’t have to worry about girls’ lacrosse evolving into the boys’ game.”

Coaches shouldn’t have to worry about the process of ordering team gear to keep their players safe. With Gladiator’s Protection Program, the ordering process is completely streamlined, taking the administrative burden off of your shoulders and giving you the time you need to help educate your players.

Help educate your players and give them the protection they need with custom mouthguards from Gladiator Custom Mouthguards, the industry-leader in custom mouthguards.

End The Debate

Author Bio

Bobbie Quinn, co-founder of Gladiator Custom Mouthguards, played both lacrosse and field hockey as a youth and went on to play Division 1 women’s lacrosse in college. Bobbie continues to play women’s league field hockey and enjoys watching her son play various sports.