Although helmets in girls lacrosse appear safer from the outside and seem like they could be a major injury prevention in the game, in reality, after diving deeper I believe that they are not needed to make a safety difference in the game, and instead would simply just distract the players.
It was not until 2010 that certain states and clubs started enforcing the rules of wearing helmets. There had always been a separation between the rules of girls lacrosse and the rules of boys lacrosse. However, in recent years the two games have been compared more. Since the boys are wearing helmets, and their rules allow more room for aggression, the girls see it as a way to improve their chances of avoiding injury and improve the aggression of the game.
Girls lacrosse has developed over past decades into a game centered around skills and agility, whereas boys are more about aggression and speed. Meaning what difference would helmets really make if the game itself is more based around what you can do with your stick skills, and not how hard you can hit someone?
However, people within the community of lacrosse are scared that because the two genders are being compared within the sport, it will change the way girls think about the rules and the game itself. Girls will start to play more aggressively because they will convince themselves they have this new added protection.
The helmets are not doing as much as girls and other people within the lacrosse community think they are. The measurement requirements in Florida for the helmets are as long as a headband and only protect one small part of a girl’s head. Even if a larger helmet is bought, it is not protecting as much of a girl’s head as they convince themselves it is.
The helmets are a placebo effect, convincing athletes they are invincible when in reality they are only protecting a small portion of the head.
With the increase of danger in the game, it is changing the way girls lacrosse is practiced and viewed, which is another worry of the lacrosse community. The sport that once revolved around speed, agility, and skills, will now revolve around aggression, and who can hit the other harder.
Returning to the real safety of them, there have been experiments done that prove that no real piece of equipment could truly prevent a concussion. A helmet can soften the hit or maybe make the risk lower, however, it can not prevent it and take the risk of concussions away. By softening the hit, it is also simply preventing it from, for example, hitting the skull, and instead only hitting the top of the head. It is not preventing any real damage.
Although helmets may seem like they are adding a new level of safety to the game of lacrosse, in reality, they are adding a new level of danger and changing the way the game operates.
