Box lacrosse 1998, the NLL entered into the Canadian market for the first time with the Ontario Raiders. Although 5 of the league's 9 teams are based in American cities, more than two-thirds of the players are Canadian. During play, a team consists of six players: a goaltender and five "runners". A runner is any non-goalkeeper position player, including forwards, transition players, and defenders. Runners usually specialize in one of these roles and substitute off the field when the ball moves from one end to the other. When the sport originated teams played with six runners. However, in 1953 the sixth runner,
Box lacrosse lacrosse stick, each player must also wear a certain amount of protective equipment, including a lacrosse helmet with facemask, lacrosse gloves, arm and shoulder pads, and back/kidney pads. Rib pads are optional in some leagues. In some box leagues, especially the NLL, the five "runners" wear helmets specifically designed for box lacrosse. These helmets consist of a hockey helmet with a box lacrosse face mask attached instead of a hockey cage. During a typical game the number of officials can range from one to three, depending on the league and level of play. In most games there are at least