The Slang

Learn lacrosse lingo

Want to impress your friends by dropping lacrosse terms and slang to show off everything you’ve learned? Use any of the following to complement the boxla knowledge you’ve gained from the Swarm’s Box Lacrosse 101 guide.

• Apple

  An assist

• Behind-the-back (BTB)

  Either for a pass or shot. Passing/shooting the ball behind the back

  

• Boarding

  Hitting an opposing player into the boards. Can be a penalty depending on the severity of the hit and/or whether the player hit was in a defenseless position or not

• Bouncer

  A shot that bounces off the turf

• Celly

  Celebration

  

• Cradle

  A basic lacrosse stick skill where the player twists the stick back and forth to help maintain possession of the ball

• Coast to coast

  When a player runs the ball from deep in their defensive end to their opponent’s crease

• Cross check

  Hitting/pushing an opponent with the stick while both hands are grasping it

• Crossbar

  The top pipe of a goal connecting to the side pipes. Sometimes a goaltender’s best friend and a forward’s worst enemy

• Doorstep

  Front of a crease right before the goaltender

  

• Farside

  The side of a goal farther away from a shooter

• Five-hole

  Name of the area between a goaltender’s legs, usually has the lacrosse stick protecting it

• Garbage goal

  A goal on a broken play, normally after collecting a rebounded shot and netting it

• Handles

  Term used to describe a player’s ball-handling skills, usually after getting through a number of defenders and still possessing the ball

  

• Hat trick

  Scoring three goals in a game. Scoring all three in a row is considered a natural hat trick

• Hockey assist

  An assist earned by passing to the player who makes the pass to the eventual goal-scorer

• Leftside

  References a player’s position on the floor. Oriented based off the goalie’s point of view on the floor, everything to his left

• Loosie

  Nickname for loose ball

• Lumber

  Delivering hard hits, usually said in the phrase “laying some lumber”

• Off-ball

  Any player that does not have possession of the ball or is defending a player without possession

• On-ball

  A player with the ball or the defender guarding the player with the ball

• Pick and roll

  A two-man play where an offensive player checks one of two defenders towards the offensive player with possession, creating space for the offensive player with the ball to pass to the now-open teammate

  

• Pipe

  The red metal of a lacrosse goal, upon which the netting is moored

• Raking

  Placing the back of the stick on top of a loose ball and pulling it back towards the player to gain possession

• Rightside

  References a player’s position on the floor. Oriented based off the goalie’s point of view on the floor, everything to his right

• Rock

  Nickname for the lacrosse ball

• Rusty gate

  Defensive maneuver where a player extends their arm, swings behind them, and hits the opponent’s stick when he has the ball

• Screen

  Players in front of the goaltender that hinder his ability to tell where a shot is coming from

  

• Settled

  Also known as even, a five-on-five play in which both sides are in their predetermined formation on the floor

• Shortside

  The side of a goal closer to the shooter

• Slide

  When a defensive player moves from his assignment to an on-ball forward to help disrupt the shot or force a pass

• Sock trick

  Scoring six goals in a game

• Stickside

  The side of a goal where the goalie’s stick is

  

• Swim

  Lacrosse move where the player with a ball brings the stick up and over their defender to help maneuver behind them

• Top cheddar

  Nickname for the top left and right corners of a goal

• Turf monster

  Term for when a player gets tripped up on the floor, and no one touched him

• Twister

  A deceptive shot where a player is shooting with their dominant hand but the head of their stick comes down from their weak hand

• Yardsale

  When a player with possession of the ball gets their stick knocked out of their hands