Eight items, two certifications, and one decision that should never be made used. Everything else is negotiable.
This page is deliberately short. Most gear guides are written to sell you things. This one is written to get your kid on a field for as little money as safely possible.
Girls’ equipment is a completely different list — three required items instead of eight. That has its own guide.
1. The list — what they actually need
1.1 Boys field player — eight items
- Helmet — NOCSAE certified
- Mouthpiece
- Gloves
- Shoulder pads — must meet ND200
- Arm pads
- Cup
- Cleats
- Stick
Rib pads are optional and most players skip them. Source: USA Lacrosse equipment requirements.
The eight items a boys field player needs, head to toe.
1.2 Goalie — a separate kit entirely
Helmet, a separate throat protector, an ND200 chest protector, gloves, cup, cleats and a goalie stick. Roughly double the cost of a field player. Most programs, ours included, keep goalie gear on hand precisely because of that.
2. The two you cannot compromise on
The helmet must be NOCSAE certified and carry the SEI mark. The shoulder pads must meet the ND200 standard and carry the SEI mark.
Both marks must be on the product itself, not the box. That is the entire safety check, and it takes ten seconds in a store.
2.1 Buy the helmet new, and know why
Impact history is invisible. A helmet that has absorbed a serious hit looks identical to one that has not. You cannot inspect for it and a seller cannot honestly tell you.
Helmets carry a three-to-five-year replacement window, and two models — the Warrior Regulator and the Cascade Model R — had their certification voided for every date of manufacture ever made. Both still circulate on the used market. Verify any helmet against the SEI database.
And on shoulder pads: anything made before 2022 almost certainly does not meet ND200. That standard came in response to commotio cordis — a ball to the chest stopping a heart. It is the one piece of gear where the year of manufacture matters more than the condition.
3. Where to buy — used, local
Play It Again Sports is the lowest-priced option in San Antonio, and they trade gear back when a kid outgrows it. Take the trade-in as store credit — it is worth more than the cash option.
- SA North — 15038 San Pedro Ave, 78232 · 210-455-3951
- SA West — 8425 Bandera Rd #136, 78250 · 210-888-5700
Call first. Lacrosse inventory moves and neither store carries it consistently.
4. Where to buy — used, online
SidelineSwap is the real used market — over 22,000 active lacrosse listings, and nearly every seller accepts offers.
| Safe to buy used | Typical range | Never buy used |
|---|---|---|
| Sticks | $20–175 | Helmets |
| Gloves | $29–69 | Shoulder pads made before 2022 |
| Arm pads | $24–63 | Mouthguards |
| Cleats, bags | varies | Cups |
5. Where to buy — new, local
Dick’s House of Sport in Live Oak — 4100 Ikea-RBFCU Pkwy, 210-200-6000. It is the only Dick’s in San Antonio that lists lacrosse. The Rim, San Pedro, Alamo Ranch and South Park do not.
It is the best walk-in-and-try-it-on option in the city, and they sell complete equipment packages.
The nearest actual lacrosse store is in Austin — Lacrosse Unlimited, 6203 N Capital of Texas Hwy, (512) 732-0002. About eighty minutes. There is no lacrosse store in San Antonio. That is one of the quirks of playing this sport in San Antonio, and it is worth knowing before you plan a Saturday around it.
6. Where to buy — new, online
Lacrosse Monkey · Universal Lacrosse · Lacrosse Unlimited · Lax.com
Bundles beat itemizing, every time. A Warrior Evo Rise youth set with stick and helmet runs about $365; a complete kit lands around $475 all in. Buying those pieces separately costs more. A set like that is also the single easiest thing to put on a birthday list — the gift guide breaks the pieces out by price.
7. The stick
Buy a complete stick, and buy the inexpensive one.
That is not a budget compromise — it is the right call on the merits. Expensive heads have tighter, more pinched pockets that are genuinely harder to catch with. A beginner learns faster with a wider, more forgiving pocket, which is exactly what the entry-level sticks have.
- StringKing Complete 2 Jr — about $70. The default recommendation.
- StringKing Starter · Powell complete sticks · RC1 Complete
One thing nobody tells parents: loosen the throat strings so the ball sits at legal depth. A brand new stick out of the package usually throws high until the mesh breaks in. That is normal, not a defect.
If you want to know why the thing in his hands looks the way it does, the stick has a genuinely great story behind it.
8. Sizing by age — the numbers that are actually rules
Most of what a store will tell you about sizing is preference. Stick length is not preference. It is written into the rulebook, it changes as your player moves up, and a stick that is the wrong length is an illegal stick. This is the one sizing chart worth having on your phone.
8.1 Stick length by level
| Level | Field player stick | Long pole (defense) | Goalie stick |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6U | No minimum | Not used | Not used |
| 8U | 37″–42″ | Not used | 37″–54″ |
| 10U | 37″–42″ | 47″–54″ | 37″–54″ |
| 12U | 40″–42″ | 52″–72″ | 40″–72″ |
| 14U | 40″–42″ | 52″–72″ | 40″–72″ |
| High school | 40″–42″ | 52″–72″ | 40″–72″ |
Source: 2026 USA Lacrosse Boys Youth Rule Book.
Those are total lengths — head and shaft together, which is how a complete stick is sold and how an official measures it. A complete stick off the rack is already in range for the level it is sold for, which is the main reason a complete stick is an easy first purchase.
The single most common purchase mistake in youth lacrosse. A 10U defenseman uses a shortened pole — 47″ to 54″ — not the 60″ pole the high school kids carry. Buy the adult length for a fourth grader and it is not just too big for him, it is illegal at his level. When he moves up to 12U, the long pole range opens to 52″–72″ and the full-size pole becomes the right buy.
8.2 Gloves, and how to know they fit
Gloves are sized in inches and sold in youth, junior and adult runs, and every store and every site has a chart that maps a hand to a size. Use theirs — the sizes are not standardized across brands, so the chart on the product page is the one that matters.
What is worth knowing is the fit test, because that is the part a chart cannot do for you:
- The fingertips should reach the end of the fingers without pressing into them. A little room is fine and expected — a kid grows into gloves over a season.
- The cuff should still cover his wrist when he extends his arms out in front of him. That gap between the glove cuff and the bottom of the arm pad is the spot that takes a stick check, and a glove that is too short opens it up every time he reaches.
- He should be able to make a full fist and rotate his wrist freely. If he cannot close his hand around the shaft, the glove is too stiff or too small, and it will show up as dropped catches.
8.3 The helmet fit check you can do at home
A helmet that fits is a helmet that does its job. This takes about a minute and does not require a store.
- Sit it level. The front edge sits just above the eyebrows — not down on them, not pushed up onto the forehead.
- Fasten all four chin strap points and snug them. The chin cup should sit on the chin, centered, with the straps forming a V under each ear.
- Grab the facemask and rotate the helmet side to side, then front to back. The skin on his forehead should move with the helmet. If the helmet slides and his head stays put, it is loose.
- Have him open his mouth wide. He should feel the helmet pull down slightly. If nothing happens, the chin strap needs tightening.
- Check the back. There should be no gap between the shell and the back of his head, and the helmet should not rock forward when he looks down.
Most youth helmets have an adjustable fit system, so a helmet that is slightly loose in September usually adjusts rather than needing replacing. Do the check again at the start of every season — heads grow, and pads inside a helmet compress with use.
9. What to replace, and when
The good news in this sport is that most of the kit outlasts the kid. Here is what actually drives a replacement, in the order you will hit it.
| Item | What triggers the replacement | Roughly how often |
|---|---|---|
| Cleats | Outgrown. Almost always the first thing to go. | Every season or two |
| Mouthpiece | Chewed through, or it stops seating on the teeth. Never shared, never bought used. | Every season |
| Gloves | Outgrown — the cuff stops covering the wrist, or he cannot close his hand. | Every year or two while he is growing |
| Stick | He moves up a level and the legal length changes — 37″ minimum at 8U and 10U, 40″ from 12U up. Mesh also stretches out and stops holding the ball. | At the level change; restring sooner |
| Arm pads | Outgrown, or the sleeve stops staying up on the arm. | Every couple of seasons |
| Shoulder pads | Outgrown, or they predate the ND200 standard. ND200 has been mandatory for boys field players since January 1, 2022, and for goalies since January 1, 2021. | Check the marks before anything else |
| Helmet | Age, impact history, or a voided certification. Bought new, checked against the database. | The three-to-five-year window |
Source: USA Lacrosse chest protector FAQ and the NOCSAE ND200 statement.
The one to put on a calendar. Every other item on that list tells you when it is done — a cleat pinches, a glove stops reaching, a stick stops holding the ball. A helmet does not. It looks the same at year six as it did at year one. Write down the month you bought it, keep the receipt, and let the date make the decision rather than the appearance.
Two things quietly extend all of it. Let the gear dry after practice instead of living zipped in a bag, and put the player’s name in the helmet and in both gloves — the amount of youth equipment that goes missing rather than wearing out is genuinely the bigger number.
A restring is worth mentioning separately. Mesh stretching out is not the stick wearing out — it is a piece of mesh and an evening, and it makes a two-year-old head throw like a new one. The same goes for a rebounder or a set of training tools: those are bought once and do not get outgrown at all.
10. What it actually costs — and why we do what we do
| Route | Boys field player | Goalie |
|---|---|---|
| Everything new | $300–500 | $400–650 |
| The smart mix — used where safe, new helmet and pads | ~$250 | Varies — ask us first |
Look at those two numbers next to each other. The difference between the expensive way and the smart way is about $250 — and the smart way is not less safe, because the two pieces that matter are new in both columns. Gear is only one line on the season budget, and the full cost breakdown has the rest of it.
Cost is the number one reason kids never try this sport. Not interest, not talent, not time. Cost.
That is why the SA Armadillos keep extra gear on hand, and why we price the way we do. If equipment is the only thing standing between your kid and a first season, tell us — we will get them on the field. That is not a promotion. It is the reason the program exists.
11. That is everything
Check the two marks. Buy used where it is safe. Do not overspend on the first stick. Expect them to outgrow all of it.
A first-year player does not need better equipment. They need equipment that fits, a stick they can actually catch with, and a wall. Everything past that is a decision you can make next year, once you know they love it.
Paul Taylor
Varsity Head Coach, Central Catholic High School
Founder, Great American Lacrosse
Paul Taylor is the varsity head lacrosse coach at Central Catholic High School in San Antonio and the founder of Great American Lacrosse, which runs the SA Armadillos club teams and the Summer Showdown Camp. He has coached lacrosse in San Antonio for over a decade.
Train with Great American Lacrosse
Great American Lacrosse runs year-round programs in San Antonio — the Speed & Skills Clinic, the SA Armadillos club teams, winter rec, private training, and the Summer Showdown Camp. Open enrollment, every level, beginners welcome.