Rankings in orange circles compare this sport with nine other sports offered for this gender before customization – meaning each of the three health categories is given an equal one-third weighting. The ranking is comprised of data collected or developed from various sources (75% of score) and expert opinion (25% of score). The healthiest sports in each of the three categories – physical activity, safety and psychosocial benefits – and in each data measurement are ranked No. 1. Note: Some sports did not have significant differences between each other in the data. Learn more about our methodology.
6th
out of 10
Physical Activity
Expert Opinion Rank: 7th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Lacrosse physical activity at practices ranks sixth among the 10 boys sports studied by North Carolina State University. Lacrosse has 45.8 percent vigorous activity; the 10 boys sports average 48.5 percent. Thirty percent of lacrosse practice time focuses on skills compared to 17 percent on fitness.
1 North Carolina State University research observing high school athletes in North Carolina, 2017-18.
9th
out of 10
Safety
23.1
Injury Rate2(9th out of 10)
16.1%
Injury Time/Loss3(10th out of 10)
0.54
Catastrophic Rate4(9th out of 10)
7%
Injuries Requiring Surgery5(7th out of 10)
4.6
Concussion Rate6(9th out of 10)
Expert Opinion Rank: 8th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Lacrosse has the second-highest injury and concussion rates among boys sports, according to the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study. Injuries to the head/face are the most common, followed by hip, thigh, upper leg and knee. Lacrosse players miss the most amount of time due to injury among the evaluated boys sports.
2 Injury rate per 10,000 exposures, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
3 Percentage of all injuries resulting in greater than three weeks of time loss from the sport, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
4 Non-fatal catastrophic injury/illness rate per 100,000 exposures, National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, 1982-2016.
5 Percentage of all injuries requiring surgery, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
6 Concussion rate per 10,000 exposures, National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study, 2016-17.
10th
out of 10
Psychosocial
Aspen Psychosocial Survey7
3.41
Personal Social Skills(6th out of 10)
2.741
Cognitive Skills(3rd out of 10)
3.528
Goal-Setting(7th out of 10)
3.803
Initiative(2nd out of 10)
3.513
Health(8th out of 10)
1.637
Negative Experiences(9th out of 10)
Substance Abuse
Cigarette Use8
23.4%
(10th out of 10)
Binge Drinking9
51.9%
(10th out of 10)
Marijuana Use10
45.4%
(10th out of 10)
Academic Achievement
Cut Class11
36.7%
(10th out of 10)
A/A- Student12
28.7%
(8th out of 10)
Graduate From College13
61.6%
(4th out of 10)
Psychological health14
How We Define Our Metrics
4.25
Self-Esteem(6th out of 10)
2.3
Fatalism(8th out of 10)
3.64
Self-Efficacy(10th out of 10)
2.4
Loneliness(2nd out of 10)
1.99
Self-Derogation(T-6th out of 10)
4.01
Social Support(T-9th out of 10)
Expert Opinion Rank: 10th Out of 10
Key Characteristics: Lacrosse rates seventh among the 10 boys sports in the Aspen Institute/University of Texas psychosocial survey, though the gap isn’t large compared to No. 1 football. Developing initiative and cognitive skills are strengths for lacrosse. The sport has excessively high rates of cigarette and marijuana use, binge drinking and cutting class, according to Women’s Sports Foundation data.
7 Aspen Institute/University of Texas psychosocial benefits survey of high school athletes nationally, 2018. Scoring ranges from 1-4, with 4 being the best except for the Negative Experiences category.
8 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport smoking cigarettes in the past 30 days. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
9 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport binge drinking alcohol in the past two weeks. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
10 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport using marijuana in the past 30 days. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
11 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who cut class for a full day in the past month. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
12 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who have an average grade of an A or A-. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
13 Percentage of high school seniors in the sport who expect to graduate from a four-year college. Data from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters.
14 Average scores of high school seniors in the sport in psychological health report card. Data for these six categories came from Monitoring the Future Study (2010-15) and analyzed by Women’s Sports Foundation in Teen Sport in America: Why Participation Matters. Scoring ranges from 1-5, with 5 being the best for self-esteem, self-efficacy and social support.