Lacrosse practice gear: balls, goals and what the rules still say.

The ball has a standard

NOCSAE's ball standard is ND049, "Standard Performance Specification for Newly Manufactured Lacrosse Balls", with ND149 as the laboratory guide for certifying new balls. It covers weight, compression deflection load, circumference and coefficient of restitution of new balls as makers supply them. NOCSAE's ND049 page gives the current version as ND049-19m25 and lists ND049-19 as effective in March 2020, but the page is inconsistent about which version it calls current, so the m25 date is unconfirmed; NOCSAE's February 2026 committee agenda described the m25 change as editorial. The current test values were not read for this site, so none are given here.

In a consumer alert of 5 June 2019 about balls sold with NOCSAE or SEI marks that did not meet the standard, NOCSAE said US Lacrosse, the NCAA and the NFHS require game balls to meet the NOCSAE standard, and that they encourage compliant balls in practice too. NOCSAE's advice was that markings alone do not show compliance, and that the maker and model should be checked against the Safety Equipment Institute's certified-product list. In November 2019 NOCSAE relayed further SEI alerts, including models withdrawn from SEI's certified list on 13 November 2019. The notices are on recalls and decertification.

What the rule books say about the ball

A Divisions II and III rules committee summary hosted by the NAIA puts the NCAA change as allowable for the 2027 season and required by 2028, with other colours if both coaches agree, and says the ball must meet the current NOCSAE standard; who issued that PDF is not confirmed, so it is cited as the NAIA-hosted copy. None of the three World Lacrosse books names the NOCSAE ball standard; they set the dimensions directly. The NFHS 2027 boys' points of emphasis include its authenticating mark on game balls, but what that requires, and from when, was not found. Women's and girls' ball colour rules in the NFHS and NCAA codes were not read.

Goals and rebounders

World Lacrosse's men's field book (Rules 2.1 to 2.3) sets goal posts 1.83 m (6 ft) apart with a crossbar 1.83 m (6 ft) high, inside measurements, painted orange; the women's field book gives a goal line 1.83 m long (Rule 1.A.5). Box and sixes goal sizes were not in the research for this site, so they are not given. No rule book read for this site says anything about rebounders or practice nets, which are not used in games.

What the bodies say about practice

• A ball to the chest: USA Lacrosse (9 November 2021) says the ball or stick impact that causes commotio cordis need not be hard or fast, and NOCSAE says it can affect athletes of any age. Protective equipment is not presented here as preventing it. A blow to the chest needs medical care at once; see commotio cordis.
• Heat: the NFHS Sports Medicine Advisory Committee's position statement (October 2025) says exertional heatstroke is the leading cause of preventable death in high school athletics, with the greatest risk in high-intensity, long or repeated same-day practices in summer or hot weather. It is a guiding document for state associations, and its "Fundamentals" include bringing in protective gear such as helmets and pads progressively over the first practices.
• Lightning: the NFHS guidelines (revised October 2024) cover practices as well as contests and describe themselves as a default policy; when thunder is heard or lightning seen, play is suspended for at least 30 minutes.
• Young girls and harder balls: a search-result summary of USA Lacrosse's 2025 girls' youth comparison says eyewear is required at 6U and 8U when NOCSAE balls are used; the chart could not be opened, so that is unconfirmed.

The full policies are on heat and lightning. This guide gives no drills or technique; practice plans are a coach's job.

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