Girl's high school lacrosse

zoomn · February 27, 2012

So my niece has made her high school lacrosse team and I'm hoping folks here can lend me their expertise. I've shot a lot of soccer and basketball, but no lacrosse. I'd like to shoot her games but am looking for advise on best shooting position, best lens to use, better to shoot vertical or horizontal, etc. I shoot with a nikon D300 and have a 70 - 200 2.8 VR with a 1.7x TC. Thanks for any help you can give me!

Icebear · February 27, 2012

You have a decent kit for lax assuming you're games are daytime, or under really good stadium lights. IMO the D300 is only good for about ISO 3200 (assuming you have good noise reduction software.) That being the case, if you're shooting under typical (crappy) HS lights, you are in for some disappointingly blurry images. One partial solution is to shoot at ISO 6400 and just go B&W.

Your TC will probably not get much use. Too much light loss. Plus, if you don't try to cover the whole dang field, you have adequate reach to get nice shots anyway with your 200 on the crop body.

You'll get nice shots from several places. One place I like to lurk is behind the end line, about half way between the side line and the net. In that spot you've abandoned the attack that comes from the other side, cause the goal and defenders will always be in your way, but the shots you do get will really be "in your face."

Lacrosse doesn't spend too much time in the midfield, so for your sideline vantage point, you're going to want to be about 2/3rds of the way up from the endline toward the midfield stripe. You'll usually see lots of action there, and your 70-200 will allow you to get shots close to your sideline all the way into the center of the field. Unless you're quite the athlete, you'll just have to decide whether you want to concentrate on your attack or your defense.

At the beginning of the game and the half, and following each goal, you might try to be on the midfield line to shoot the draw.

If you're not familiar with LAX, you might want to check out the USA Lacrosse Women's Rule Book. Yeah, I know. . . 108 pages! Here's a gallery of shots from a game I shot last spring. Some with the D300 & some with the D700. Maybe you can get an idea where I was shooting from. Shoot tight. Crop tighter. Lax can generate some pretty boring shots if you try to show too much.

zoomn · February 28, 2012

Icebear,

Thanks so much for your reply. That's helpful info. Fortunately, all but one of her games is in the afternoon so I don't have to worry about lights too much. I know what a pain that is from shooting soccer. Thanks also for the link to the rules book, that will be helpful also. Love your stuff -- really excellent -- all of it, not just the sports!

Thanks again.

Pat

Icebear · February 28, 2012

zoomn wrote: »

Icebear,

Fortunately, all but one of her games is in the afternoon so I don't have to worry about lights too much. . . . . Love your stuff -- really excellent -- all of it, not just the sports!

Pat

Lucky you! And thanks very much for the kind words.

wmstumme · February 29, 2012

Can't argue with anything Icebear wrote. Just one caution, if you go behind/near the goal, watch out. Girls will still get the ball moving up to around 70 mph and it is solid.

Regarding vertical/horizontal, I switch all the time. When the player is by themselves (with or without the ball), probably going to be vertical

I like waiting for the contact (which will come sooner or later) and then generally horizontal.

(The next one was shot landscape--but has been cropped closer to square.)

Of course, there are no hard and fast rules on this.

What position will your niece play? (That can make a difference in where to set up and what to look for...)

bigblue1ca · February 29, 2012

Stupid question time, by why don't the women wear the same equipment as the men? I'm just thinking along the lines of hockey, which is the closest sport I'd say, and women wear all the same gear there.

Icebear · February 29, 2012

bigblue1ca wrote: »

Stupid question time, by why don't the women wear the same equipment as the men? I'm just thinking along the lines of hockey, which is the closest sport I'd say, and women wear all the same gear there.

Not a stupid question at all. In the USA at least, the women play under a very different set of rules than the men. It is a less physical game and there's an imaginary 7" bubble around the head that the stick cannot enter without a foul being called. You cannot check the opponents body with your crosse, but you can check HER crosse with yours, so long as you do not do it dangerously. Interestingly, with respect to protective eyewear, there's quite a bit of controversy, and the US is in the minority of countries that require it. The majority say it causes more injuries than it prevents. Even the women's rules address this issue, and international teams which travel to the US to play are not required to wear eye protection. The nannies (and personal injury lawyers) rule here in the US.

Body-checking your opponent with your crosse is an integral part of the men's game. It's obviously much more physical. The girls say their game is more about finesse.

bigblue1ca · February 29, 2012

Thanks Icebear. I figured something along those lines, but wasn't sure.

Girl's high school lacrosse

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