Questions to Ask a Lacrosse Player
Interview questions for a school paper profile, a podcast episode, a parent who wants more than "fine" on the drive home, or a new fan learning the game from someone who plays it. They run in the order a good conversation does: how the player found the sport, their position, the stick, what happens in games, training and recruiting, then box lacrosse and what the sport has cost and given them. Most suit the men's and the women's game alike, and where the rules part ways, ask how it works in theirs.
Want questions from the whole vault instead? Try the random question generator.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Start
Who put a lacrosse stick in your hands for the first time?
Why ask it
Expect an older sibling, a neighbor with a spare stick, a gym teacher or a coach running a free clinic. Get the name and the year, because that person is often worth a phone call of their own.
What is the best part of playing lacrosse, and which part do you just put up with?
Why ask it
Scoring is the easy answer, so wait for the next thing they mention: a clean caused turnover, the bus ride home, the sound of a shot hitting the pipe. Whatever they put up with, conditioning runs or practice in bad weather, is usually the funnier quote.
What were you playing before lacrosse, and what came with you from that sport?
Why ask it
Plenty of players arrive from hockey, soccer, basketball or football and can tell you which habits transferred and which had to be unlearned. If they have held a stick since they were five, turn it around and ask which sport they dropped to keep this one.
When did lacrosse stop being one of your sports and become the one?
Why ask it
Listen for a moment, not a feeling: a roster they made, a camp, the season they quit something else. Ask what they gave up that year and whether anyone tried to talk them out of it.
How do you explain lacrosse to someone who has never watched a game?
Why ask it
Whether they reach for hockey, basketball or soccer shows which part of the sport they think is the heart of it. Their explanation in their own words is a ready-made paragraph for readers who have never seen a game either.
What was your first stick, and where is it now?
Why ask it
A hand-me-down with a baggy pocket, a starter set from a sporting goods store, something a cousin outgrew. Younger players love this one, and a stick still hanging in the garage is a detail a reader can picture.
How big was lacrosse where you grew up?
Why ask it
In some towns it is the main spring sport, and in others a player's family drove an hour to find a team. This tells you whether they came up inside an established program or helped start one, which changes almost every answer that follows.
What do you know about where the game comes from, and did anyone teach you?
Why ask it
Lacrosse began with Native nations in North America, and for the Haudenosaunee it is still a medicine game as well as a sport. Some players learned that from a coach or a teammate and some never have, so ask it as a real question and not a quiz. If the player is Indigenous, let them say what the game means to them before you supply any history yourself.
Position
Attack, midfield, defense or goal: where do you line up, and how would you describe the job?
Why ask it
The roster already gave you the letter next to their name, so listen to the job description. Compare it with what you see them do in a game and ask about any gap.
How did you land at that spot on the field, and have you ever asked to move?
Why ask it
Some players were handed a long pole at eleven because they were tall, and some volunteered for goal when nobody else would. A request to move that was turned down is a story about them and their coach at once.
When the ball is at the far end and you have to stay behind the line, what are you doing?
Why ask it
Field rules hold some players back behind a line, the midline in the men's game and a restraining line in the women's, so attackers and defenders spend stretches of every game waiting. Good answers involve talking, studying the other goalie or getting set for the ball to come back. For a midfielder, ask how they know when to run off for a substitute.
As a goalie, what goes through your head when a shooter winds up ten yards away?
Why ask it
A field goalie stands in front of a hard rubber ball with far less padding than a hockey goalie wears, and they have opinions about it. Ask about stepping toward the shot and about the save they still think about. With a field player, swap it for what a good goalie takes away from them.
Which kind of opponent gives you the most trouble: the fast one, the big one or the one who never stops moving?
Why ask it
Naming a type is easier than naming a weakness, and it comes to the same thing. Follow up by asking what they changed the last time they met that kind of player.
Who talks the most on your defense, and what are they saying?
Why ask it
Defenses run on short calls about who has the ball carrier and who goes to help first, and the goalie often directs it all. Have the player translate two or three calls for you. If they play attack, ask what they can hear from the defense they are trying to beat.
Which teammate do you have the best connection with on the field, and how did it get built?
Why ask it
A feeder and a finisher, a goalie and the defender in front of the crease, two midfielders on the same line: pairs like these run on hours of reps nobody watched. Interview the teammate afterward and compare the two versions.
Which position would you least like to play, and why?
Why ask it
It is a light question that shows what they respect. Most pick the job they think is hardest or loneliest, and the reason usually includes a teammate's name you can use.
Stick
Tell me about the stick you use now: who strings it, and how do you like the pocket?
Why ask it
Stringing is a craft with its own vocabulary, and a player who does their own can talk for ten minutes about how the ball sits and releases. Ask them to show you with the stick in hand. Pocket rules are not the same in every version of the game, so ask what is legal in theirs.
How long did it take before you trusted your off hand in a game?
Why ask it
Every player has a strong hand, and the weak one is built slowly and alone. Honest answers are measured in years. Then ask whether defenders still try to force them onto it.
What is your wall ball routine, and how often do you really do it?
Why ask it
The word "really" gives them permission to admit it is less than their coach thinks. Ask where the wall is, too: a school gym, a garage door, a handball court in a park. That place is often the most personal detail in the interview.
Which skill looked easy from the sideline and turned out to be hard?
Why ask it
Cradling at a full sprint, scooping a ball in traffic and catching a hard pass on the weak side all look like nothing from the bleachers. A new fan learns what to watch for, and you learn how the player talks about struggling.
What is your go-to dodge, and what do you do once a defender has seen it on film?
Why ask it
They will name it, a split or a roll or a move of their own, and what matters is whether a counter sits behind it. With a defender, ask which dodge they hate seeing and how they play it.
When you shoot, where are you looking, and what are you trying to make the goalie do?
Why ask it
Shooters who have thought about it will mention faking, changing the release point or bouncing the ball off the turf. A player who says they just let it go is being honest too, and is probably younger. Ask a goalie the mirror image: what shooters give away before the ball leaves the stick.
What is happening in a ground ball scrum that the crowd cannot see?
Why ask it
A loose ball is fought over with bodies and sticks at the same moment, and it is the least glamorous part of the sport. Whether they answer with technique or with appetite tells you what kind of player they are.
Would you let a teammate borrow your game stick?
Why ask it
For a lot of players this is a flat no, and the reason leads into break-in time, the pocket and a superstition or two. If they shrug and say sure, ask how many sticks are in the bag and which one is the backup.
Game
What do you do in the hour before a game, and how much of it is superstition?
Why ask it
Listen for the rituals that belong to this sport: checking the pocket, re-taping the shaft, the same partner for warm-up passes, a goalie who wants shots from each spot in a set order. Then ask what happened the one time the routine got broken.
What wins a face-off or a draw: the second before the whistle or the second after it?
Why ask it
In the men's game two players crouch over the ball, and in the women's game the draw is taken standing at the center. Specialists have named moves and can tell you what they read in an opponent's hands. If the player does not take them, ask about their job on the wing, or what a game feels like when the team cannot win one.
Walk me through one goal, save or caused turnover from this season, starting with the pass before it.
Why ask it
Starting one pass early gets you a sequence with other people in it, where the highlight alone gets one sentence. Have the opponent and the date ready so you can check the play against the box score afterward.
What changes for you when your team is a player up or a player down?
Why ask it
Penalties leave one side short for a while, and teams keep special units for both situations. Being on either one says something about how far the coach trusts them. How long a penalty lasts varies by level and by rulebook, so ask how it works in their league.
After a save, how does your team get the ball from the goalie to the other end?
Why ask it
That trip up the field is called the clear, and the other team's effort to stop it is the ride. Possessions are won and lost there while most of the crowd is still looking at the goal. Ask what their own part in it is.
How physical does it get, and where do the bruises end up?
Why ask it
What contact is legal differs a great deal between the men's and women's games and between age groups, so find out what is allowed at their level before you assume anything. Forearms and hands come up a lot. Keep it light with a young player, and if a head injury comes up, let them decide how much to say.
When has the game felt fastest to you, and when did it slow down again?
Why ask it
People call it the fastest game on two feet, and most players remember the first shift at a new level when that felt true. Stay on the slowing down, because that is where they describe learning to see the field.
What do you tell yourself in the thirty seconds after you lose the ball or let one in?
Why ask it
Scores run high in this sport, so a goalie gives up goals in nearly every game and an attacker gets stripped in most of them. You are after the reset itself: a phrase, a tap of the stick on the pipe, a look at one teammate.
Which rule do you wish the parents on the sideline understood?
Why ask it
Most players have one whistle they are tired of hearing the crowd groan at, and it differs between the men's and the women's rulebooks. The explanation is useful to every new fan who reads or hears your piece, so let them take their time over it.
Which game on the schedule matters most to your team, and what is the history?
Why ask it
A rivalry gives a student reporter names, years and scores that can be checked, and it tells a new fan which date to circle. Ask who told them the history, since it is usually an older player or an alum.
Training
What does your lacrosse year look like, month by month?
Why ask it
School season, club tournaments, fall ball and winter indoor leagues can fill a calendar with no gap in it. How the year divides up depends on the country, the region and the level, so have them lay it out. Notice whether any month is truly off.
How do you keep up with school while you are in season?
Why ask it
Homework on the bus, a study hall the team requires, a teacher who moves a test to Monday: the answer is in the logistics, so ask for last week's. With an adult club or pro player, change school to work and ask whether there is a day job.
How is your time split between your school team and a club team, and which one feels like yours?
Why ask it
The two can pull in different directions over schedules, playing time and money, and a player who picks one tends to pick it carefully. Not everyone has both, so if theirs is a club-only or school-only path, ask which coach knows their game best.
Do you watch film, and what are you looking for when you do?
Why ask it
Older players will describe hunting for an opponent's strong hand or their own bad habits. A younger one may only watch highlights. In that case ask what move they have tried to copy and how it went in the backyard.
Which player did you study growing up, and what exactly did you take from them?
Why ask it
It might be a pro, a college star or a senior from their own school when they were in sixth grade. Push for the specific thing they borrowed, a shot or a stance or a way of carrying the stick, and check the spelling of the name before you publish.
What is the one correction a coach keeps giving you?
Why ask it
The repeated correction is the habit they have not beaten yet: hands too close together, eyes on the ball when they should be on their player, dodging with their head down. A player who can name it without getting defensive is usually closer to fixing it.
If you have been through recruiting, what did it look like from the inside?
Why ask it
You may hear about showcases, highlight videos, emails sent to coaches and the part a club coach played. When coaches may make contact and what a commitment means depend on the country, the governing body and the division, and those rules change, so report the account as theirs and check the current rules yourself. With a player under eighteen, do not press for a list of schools.
What do you wish someone had told you about recruiting before it started?
Why ask it
This is the answer parents in your audience will copy down. Treat it as one family's experience and say so in the piece, since another player at a different level may have had the opposite one.
Bigger picture
Have you played box lacrosse, and what did it do to your field game?
Why ask it
Box is the indoor version, played on a rink-sized floor with boards, fewer players, smaller goals and a shot clock. Players who grew up with it often credit it for their hands in tight spaces, and others say little of it carried over. If they have never played, ask whether there is a league near them and whether they would try it.
What can you get away with in box that would never work in field, or the other way around?
Why ask it
This one asks for specifics about both games and tends to produce a small demonstration with the stick. A player who knows only one version can answer for sixes, the fast six-a-side format, or for a winter indoor league.
What do people get wrong when they compare the men's game and the women's game?
Why ask it
The two have different rules on contact, sticks, protective gear and how play restarts, and players on both sides are tired of hearing one called the real version. Let them explain the differences, then check the details against the rulebook for their level.
What has lacrosse cost your family in money and in weekends?
Why ask it
Sticks, pads, club fees and tournament travel add up, and a summer can disappear into hotel parking lots. With a minor, put the money half to a parent and ask the player only what the family has missed. Print no figure the family has not agreed to share.
What has the sport given you that you would not have had otherwise?
Why ask it
The first answer is usually friendships. Ask for one friend by name and how they met, and the stock line turns into a story about a bus ride or a tryout.
Which injury kept you out the longest, and what was it like to watch from the sideline?
Why ask it
Asking about the sideline lets them choose how much medical detail to give, and it tends to be the more revealing answer anyway. Players often say they saw the game differently from the bench, so ask what they noticed.
Who plays lacrosse where you live, and who is missing?
Why ask it
A thoughtful player has noticed who can afford the gear, which schools field a team and whether girls and boys get the same fields and practice times. Do not lead them toward an answer. Print what they observed as their observation.
Where does lacrosse fit in your life once you are done playing for a school?
Why ask it
Adult leagues, coaching a youth team, officiating, a pro tryout or simply stopping are all real answers. A senior may not have one yet, and that hesitation tells the reader how much of their week the sport fills now.
What would you tell a parent whose kid just asked for a lacrosse stick?
Why ask it
Aimed at the parent, the advice comes out practical: what to buy first, what to skip, where to find a wall. It makes a good closing question because the player ends the interview as the expert in the room.
Interviewing a lacrosse player when the sport is new to you
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Twenty minutes of homework
Find out which game they play
Men's field, women's field, box and sixes are played under different rules. A question about body checks or face-offs lands badly when it is put to someone whose version has neither. The team's page usually tells you, and if it does not, make it your first question.
Learn seven words
Crease, clear, ride, slide, ground ball, man-up and draw will get you through most answers. You do not need more than that. When the player uses a term you do not know, ask what it means, and their explanation becomes a quote that helps your audience too.
Read the roster line and the last three scores
Position, number, class year and recent results are usually posted, so do not spend interview time collecting them. If the team keeps statistics, look, but remember that a defender's best work rarely has a column of its own.
Ask them to bring the stick
A player with a stick in hand talks more easily and will show you a release or a pocket where words run out. It also gives you a photograph, and on a podcast it gives you a sound.
Fitting the list to the player
A youth player
Ten minutes is plenty. Stay in the Start and Stick groups, keep a parent within earshot, and leave recruiting and money alone. The first stick, the wall and the borrowed game stick are the three that get a nine-year-old talking.
A high school player in the middle of recruiting
Ask about the process and how it feels, not for a list of schools or offers. Contact and commitment rules vary by governing body and change from year to year, so take the player's account as their experience and confirm anything you state as a rule with the body that sets it.
A college or pro player
They have told the origin story many times. Spend two questions there and move to Position and Game with one specific game in front of you. With a pro, ask whether lacrosse is their whole working life or sits beside another job, and do not assume either way.
A goalie or a face-off specialist
These two play a game inside the game, and reporters tend to skip them for the leading scorer. Open with the question written for their job and they will usually give you the best material on the team.
Your own kid on the drive home
One question a ride, chosen from the Game group, and no follow-up that sounds like coaching. The rule they wish parents understood is a good first pick, because it puts them in the position of teaching you.
From notebook to story or episode
Translate each term once
Keep the player's word and add a plain explanation the first time it appears, such as 'the clear, the trip from the goalie up the field'. After that, trust the reader to remember it.
Check names, scores and dates against the schedule
Players misremember which year a game happened and how a teammate spells a surname. The school or league schedule settles most of it in a few minutes, and a coach or athletic office can settle the rest.
Build the piece around one play
A single sequence the player walked you through, with the pass before it and what they saw, holds a profile together better than a summary of the season. Put the background around that play and cut whatever does not connect to it.
With minors, ask what may be published
Schools, leagues and outlets have their own policies on naming and photographing players under eighteen, and those policies are not the same everywhere. Ask your adviser or editor and the family before the piece runs, not after.
Questions that fall flat
"So it is like hockey on grass?"
Offering your own comparison makes the player spend the answer correcting it. Ask how they would explain the game and let the comparison be theirs.
Treating the women's game as a softer version
It has its own rulebook, its own skills and its own history. Asking a women's player why she does not get to hit tells her you have not watched a game. Ask what her version demands that the other does not.
Asking a defender how many goals they have
It is the fastest way to show you only followed the ball. Ask who they were matched against and how that player's afternoon went.
Leading with the biggest hit
Players are wary of interviewers who want the sport to sound violent, and injuries to the head are not a story to press a teenager for. Let contact come up through the bruises question, in their terms.
Assuming the money
The sport has a reputation as an expensive one played at private schools, and many players do not fit it. Ask what the game cost their family and who plays it where they live, and leave your guess out of the question.