What does a 12U game look like?

Question

Accepted Answer

Under the 2026 USA Lacrosse boys youth rules, 12U plays one of two formats:

	7v7	10v10
Field	Cross field	Full field
Players	1 goalkeeper, 2 defense, 2 midfield, 2 attack	1 goalkeeper, 3 defense, 3 midfield, 3 attack
Long poles	Up to 3 on the field	Up to 4 on the field
Offside	More than 4 in the offensive half, or more than 5 in the defensive half	More than 6 in the offensive half, or more than 7 in the defensive half

Both formats:

Game: four 10-minute running-time quarters
Overtime: 4-minute sudden-victory periods
Timeouts: 2 per team per half, and 1 in each overtime
Substitutions: follow high school (NFHS) rules
Clearing: 20 seconds to get the ball over midfield, then 10 seconds to get it into the offensive goal area

Mercy rules: once a team leads by 6 or more after the first half, the trailing coach can choose to start with possession at midfield instead of a faceoff. In stopped-time games, a lead of 12 or more after the first half switches the game to a running clock.