History of National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Welcome to the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The league played its inaugural game in January of 1987, and was first known as the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League. In 1988, the name was changed to the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL). The MILL became the National Lacrosse League (NLL) following the 1997 season. A League Record is one that covers all three names and the league’s entire sixteen season history.
The National Lacrosse League plays indoor lacrosse. The game is a hybrid, combining parts of box lacrosse (played inside the confines of an ice hockey rink on a turf surface or concrete surface, more prevalent in Canada) with field lacrosse (played on outdoor field, either on grass or turf, more prevalent in the United States).
Indoor lacrosse was designed to combine the most exciting elements of box and field lacrosse. The game is played inside the confines of an ice hockey rink, with glass and rink boards intact. The playing surface is an artificial turf, which is placed directly over the arena’s ice surface. Each team plays with five runners and a goaltender. The combination of the playing area, and the physical play leads many fans to describe indoor lacrosse “as being like hockey, on foot, with a lot more scoring”.
Twenty-five goals are scored in the average NLL game. Indoor lacrosse is similar to basketball in terms of its frequent scoring, use of a shot-clock (30 seconds), and use of the over-and back-rule. When teams are on offense, they often spread the floor and pass the ball around in a manner similar to that of basketball.
The NLL game is also played in four quarters, each 15 minutes in length. Ties are settled in a five minute sudden-death overtime period. If a goal is not scored in the first overtime, the teams will continue to play five-minute overtime periods until a goal is scored. More than ninety percent of overtime games are settled in the first overtime period. There are no ties or points awarded for an “overtime loss” in the NLL. The standings and team records are strictly Wins-Losses.
In each of the League’s first fourteen seasons (1987-2000), the regular season started in January of that year. Following the 2000 season, which ran from January 2000 to May 2000, the next season started in December 2000 and finished in May of 2001. The season is called the 2000-2001 season. The following season started in November of 2001 and ended in April of 2002, and is called the 2001-2002 season.
Each team plays a sixteen-game regular season schedule, starting in late December and ending in April. The NLL schedule is structured in a similar fashion to that of the National Football League. All games are played on the weekends. The weekends of the schedule are numbered, 1-16. For example, Week #1 refers to all of the games being played on the starting weekend of the 2004-2005 season.
As the League has grown, so has the schedule. Here is a look at schedule growth in recent League history:
1996 10-game schedule
1997 12-game schedule
2000-01 14-game schedule
2001-02 16-game schedule
The Champion’s Cup Playoffs are single-game elimination.
The Players of the NLL
Each team consists of a 23-man roster. On game day, the head coach chooses seventeen of the twenty-three players to play in the game. The other six are scratched from the lineup, similar to hockey.
Of the seventeen players, fifteen are runners (forwards or defensemen) and two are goaltenders.
Each team has five runners and a goaltender on the floor during the game. Of the five runners, teams traditionally use three forwards and two defensemen. In the waning moments of the game, the team trailing will often opt to pull the goaltender for an extra runner.
Minor and major penalties during the game lead to power plays of two minutes and five minutes, respectively.
A 30-second shot clock is used to keep the action moving. The clock resets after a shot on goal, or a change of possession.
The National Lacrosse League features the best lacrosse talent in the world. Approximately 75% of the League’s players are from Canada. The majority of these players grew up playing box lacrosse in Canada’s Junior Lacrosse program. Box lacrosse is played inside the confines of an ice hockey rink, with the glass and boards intact. The playing surface is concrete. In cities and towns across Canada, box lacrosse is a popular sport to play in the spring and summertime months, when the ice is removed from the local hockey rink. Many of the League’s Canadian players grew up playing ice hockey during the fall and winter months, and then played box lacrosse at their hometown rinks during the spring and summer months.
There are two “hotbed” areas that produce the greatest concentration of lacrosse talent in Canada. The province of Ontario, especially within 75 miles/125 kilometers radius of the city of Toronto. Approximately one half of the League’s players are from this region. The other is in the province of British Columbia, within a radius of 50 miles/75 kilometers to the city of Vancouver. Approximately one-fourth of the League’s players are from this region. NLL expansion into Calgary has led to a surge in youth participation in the province of Alberta and other areas of Western Canada.
Media members and team media relation’s officers will often refer to a Canadian player’s junior lacrosse experience prior to joining the NLL. The following is a partial list of teams in the Ontario Lacrosse Association and British Columbia Junior Lacrosse League. The two leagues produce a considerable share of the league’s players.
Ontario Lacrosse Association
Junior 'A'
Brampton Excelsiors
Burlington Chiefs
Kitchener-Waterloo Braves
Mississauga Tomahawks
Orangeville Northmen
Orillia Kings
Peterborough Lakers
St. Catharines Athletics
Six Nations Arrows
Toronto Beaches
Whitby Warriors
Junior ‘B’
Akwesasne Lightning
Barrie Tornado
Brantford Posse
Clarington Green Gaels
Elora Mohawks
Gloucester Griffins
Guelph Royal Regals
Halton Hills Bulldogs
Huntsville Hawks
Markham Thunder
Mimico Mountaineers
Milton Mavericks
Nepean Knights
Oakville Buzz
Onondaga Redhawks
Orangeville Northmen
Owen Sound Flying Dutchmen
Sarnia Pacers
Scarborough Saints
Six Nations Red Rebels
Spartan Warriors
Wallaceburg Red Devils
Welland Warlords
British Columbia Lacrosse
Junior ‘A’
Burnaby Jr. Lakers
Victoria Jr. Shamrocks
Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs
New Westminster Jr. Salmonbellies
Delta Islanders
South Fraser Stickmen
The League also features the top college lacrosse talent in the United States. The “hotbeds” of U-S lacrosse talent are primarily in the Northeast. The Baltimore-Washington DC region, Long Island, and upstate New York are the primary areas. The game of lacrosse is also emerging at the scholastic level in regions across the country, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Denver, St. Louis, and Texas. The players who have excelled in the traditional outdoor or field lacrosse setting take their skills and converting them to the indoor game. The major adjustments an outdoor player makes when going to the indoor game are:
A smaller goal to shoot on. The outdoor goal is six feet high and six feet wide. The indoor goal is four feet high and four feet and nine inches wide. The goalies of the indoor game also wear more equipment, taking away more of the shooting space than an outdoor goalie.
A faster moving game. With a smaller playing surface and 30-second shot clock, the pace of the NLL game is faster than the pace of field lacrosse.
The League also has a prominent contingent of Native American players. These players are primarily from the Six Nations of Ontario, and from several tribes in Western and Central parts of upstate New York. Native American players make up approximately six percent of the player pool in the NLL.
The great majority of the League’s players have full time jobs during the week. Many of the League’s fans will tell you they enjoy a closeness to the players because they have everyday jobs like they do. Some of the teams use this bond as part of their marketing appeal to the fans.
