RE: Stalling

[ritzy]

I know that the NCAA is trying to clarify stalling again this year. I'm confused (a little bit) by the following paragraph from Rule 6-11, p 78 of the rule book:

Once the team is warned, a stalling violation is called if the ball goes out of the attack area in any manner and the offensive team touches the ball before the defensive team gains possession.

Consider the following situation: Team A warned for stalling, "Keep it in". A1 makes errant pass which rolls out of the box toward midfield. Team A stays away from the ball. Team B stays away from the ball. The quarter ends.

I know that I am probably over reading the rule a little bit, and of course the hypothetical situation is exaggerated. However, in my mind Team A is guilty of stalling exactly when the errant pass rolls out of the box, and the call should be short play-on (allow for the possibility of a Team B fast break) then whistle and award the ball to Team B.

Is this correct? If so, what is the purpose of the phrase and the offensive team touches the ball before the defensive team gains possession?

[Ryan Hanavan]

Consider the following situation: Team A warned for stalling, "Keep it in". A1 makes errant pass which rolls out of the box toward midfield. Team A stays away from the ball. Team B stays away from the ball. The quarter ends.

I know that I am probably over reading the rule a little bit, and of course the hypothetical situation is exaggerated. However, in my mind Team A is guilty of stalling exactly when the errant pass rolls out of the box, and the call should be short play-on (allow for the possibility of a Team B fast break) then whistle and award the ball to Team B.

Is this correct? If so, what is the purpose of the phrase and the offensive team touches the ball before the defensive team gains possession?

I believe there is room for judgment by the officials. They are allowed to give team b a chance to gain possession of the lose ball, especially if it leads to a fast break opportunity. This flexibility also allows the officials to blow the play dead if neither team is advancing.

I am also pretty sure if it is a situation where seconds are left in the quarter, team a loses the ball out of the box, neither team touches, and the quarter ends, the warning carries over to the next quarter.

I am no more than a high school official and these really are just my thoughts/opinions. I'm sure some of the more experienced officials will have a better answer.

[LaxRef]

Consider the following situation: Team A warned for stalling, "Keep it in". A1 makes errant pass which rolls out of the box toward midfield. Team A stays away from the ball. Team B stays away from the ball. The quarter ends.

I know that I am probably over reading the rule a little bit, and of course the hypothetical situation is exaggerated. However, in my mind Team A is guilty of stalling exactly when the errant pass rolls out of the box, and the call should be short play-on (allow for the possibility of a Team B fast break) then whistle and award the ball to Team B.

Is this correct? If so, what is the purpose of the phrase and the offensive team touches the ball before the defensive team gains possession?

I believe there is room for judgment by the officials. They are allowed to give team b a chance to gain possession of the lose ball, especially if it leads to a fast break opportunity. This flexibility also allows the officials to blow the play dead if neither team is advancing.

I am also pretty sure if it is a situation where seconds are left in the quarter, team a loses the ball out of the box, neither team touches, and the quarter ends, the warning carries over to the next quarter.

I am no more than a high school official and these really are just my thoughts/opinions. I'm sure some of the more experienced officials will have a better answer.

I'm going to try to get this fixed in next year's NCAA rules, since it is a little fuzzy. The rules do say that the stalling violation occurs when the offense touches the ball, which is probably not what they mean.

Also, under NCAA rules a stalling warning ends when a goal is scored, the deense gains possession, or the period ends resulting in a face-off. Thus, if you have a situation where Team A is man-down and stalling and the period ends, Team A's possession carries over, but so does the stalling warning.

[laxfan25]

This discussion was covered previously with another group of refs, and the feeling was that if time is waning, you should whistle as soon as feasible, since the attacking team cannot retrieve the ball if it leaves the attack box. A delay in the whistle is actually aiding and abetting the stalling - so end it quickly.

[ritzy]

This discussion was covered previously with another group of refs, and the feeling was that if time is waning, you should whistle as soon as feasible, since the attacking team cannot retrieve the ball if it leaves the attack box. A delay in the whistle is actually aiding and abetting the stalling - so end it quickly.

I agree with this ruling, but this is *not* what the rulebook says officials should do.