Players celebrating/Showboating after a goal

[Sonny]

FYI... there is a good article I just read on my lunch time break in the latest issue of Referee Magazine on Celebrations. Good food for thought.

[Lax_Stats]

The way Sonny explained it, I don't think I would flag this celebration, but I would have had to have been there and seen it. Perhaps I would have flagged it as calling undue attention to oneself. I like what LaxFan25 said and that certainly would be a good response from the official as well. I like to make this call based more one whether it seems to be an honest spontaneous response to scoring a goal or whether it seems more to be choreographed or an "in your face" sort of celebration. I sure would hate to penalize a kid for celebrating his very first ever goal scored. Remember, the wording of the infraction says that the official must consider the act to be unsportsmanlike. Case in point, did they penalize Mikey Powell for doing his front during a game 2 years ago?!?!?

[UofMLaxGoalie11]

Case in point, did they penalize Mikey Powell for doing his front during a game 2 years ago?!?!?

that was done in the middle of play if im not mistaken, rather than in celebration. Im sure you could still call it for something though. $20 says everyone would have booed the refs if they called that on him.

[Lax_Stats]

Yes, I realize this was done in the middle of play. My point is that Wouldn't this be considered "calling undue attention to ones self"? Doing a flip in the middle of the game for the sheer purpose of "showboating" could certainly be flagged as USC as it isn't part of the game, dodging, or post goal celebrating in any way, shape, or form.

[TexOle]

What is this the No Fun League? The NFL is even working to curb celebrations. Some of the celebrations might be worthy of a delay of game call. One of the things that has always been shared with me is to get the game going quickly which prevents some of the celebrations and after goal actions. Just say the celebration prevented the start of the game from continuing in a timely manner. I realize that this is a really bad call, but it does get the point across. You don't call the USC which is really serious, but you do send a message to the teams that this behavior is not acceptable. It is controversial, but how does a coach argue that call. Does he ask for the USC? Also in my limited experience I have found that it is often best to understand the current circumstances.

[yourmom]

This may be a little bit of a tangent but i got to talking about this topic with my dad and of course it led to the NFL. He argued that with even as much money as they do have, he can't wrap his head around the fines that they don't seem to mind paying.

My argument though, is that these fines are but small marketing costs for the player. A slightly above average player starts drawing more attention to himself before a contract year and now he is worth way more money. He gets a better contract, the team sells more of thier apparel, and there's more face time on espn. Makes sense to me.

Now they just need an accountant that can write it off as a business expense.

[Lax_Stats]

Every situation is different, but if I were you and you haven't read the definition of "delay of game" and "Unsportsmanlike conduct" recently, it might be good to read them again as a refresher. It isn't fair to the offended team to only warn a coach or give them a technical foul if their actions have clearly earned them a personal. I would in fact call the personal if it was warranted as it sends a much clearer louder message to the coach and team than downgrading a personal foul to a technical foul. Have the knowledge and courage to make the appropriate call and make it! Oh, and the coach wont argue your call and ask for an USC unless he wants one called on himself. Read page 61 Rule 5 section 10 sub section a.

[TexOle]

You are right Laxstats. I probably call more USCs than anyone I know. My thought on calling the technical is to send a warning and give an advantage. Here is a great example of why the USC is just hard to justify at times at the HS level in MN. It could mean an ejection and after two NR USCs the player ejected and suspended. With a short season this could end a players season and maybe career. One of the main goals of many officials in HS games is to help players learn to respect the game. The sport is growing here. If making a bad like this helps send a message that can avoid problems in the future then I am for it. Again I will admit this is a bad call, and if a ref ever pulled it on me I would be going nuts.

I can remember doing a baseball game where making a bad call like this saved a lot of people. It was in a youth game. I had a player taunting the other team. I should have ejected the player, but then that would have been a bad situation for everyone. All I did was the player out when they were definitely safe. The coach was irate, but when I explained what the real penalty was they calmed down immediately. Everyone knew that the behavior exhibited was not going to be tolerated, and the situation was over.

Would I ever pull this crap in a college game? Never! The USC is not as big of a deal, and I expect a lot more from those guys. They have no reason to get a warning.

[LaxRef]

You are right Laxstats. I probably call more USCs than anyone I know. My thought on calling the technical is to send a warning and give an advantage. Here is a great example of why the USC is just hard to justify at times at the HS level in MN. It could mean an ejection and after two NR USCs the player ejected and suspended.

I once had a HS player get his two USCs in about a 3-second span. Away from the ball, he put his long pole over the attackman's shoulder, down the front of his body, kind of hooking him from over the top, and he drove him face-first into the turf, and the first flag flies. Quite possibly before the first flag hit the ground, he gets off the guy and cross-checks him in the back! Second USC, and he's done for the game, and the next game.

[Lax_Stats]

I was once called out when sliding into 3rd base in a softball game when the tag was a good 12 inches from me. When I questioned the umpire as to how he could call me out when the tag wasn't even close, he explained that he was trying to discourage sliding!! Of course I replied by saying, WHAT?!?!?!!? This kind of "made up officiating" has no place in sports on any level IMHO!!! It makes it so the athletes playing the game have no idea what to expect next since the actual rules of the game just got thrown out the window. Rules will always be up to interpretation and the officials judgement, but a good official will always strive to have a strong grasp of the appropriate interpretation of the rules and how to apply the rules in such a way that neither team is inappropriately advantaged or disadvantaged.

[Lax_Stats]

Sounds like 2 great calls to me LaxRef!! Some players are just punks and it sounds like this guy was one of them.

[Kevin OBrien]

I understand the reasoning during blowout games where choreographed celebrations would be frowned upon, but what about close games? Couldn't a joyous time after an important goal be alright to do a traditional move or high five with a teammate as long as it is brief and does not taunt the other team?

Sure, you can high five and celebrate a little. Few officials will flag that. But don't:

*Throw your crosse (always illegal!)
*Do the Ickey Shuffle (you're probably too young to know what that is!)
*Pull out a sharpie and sign the ball.
*Take a cell phone out.
*Chest bump every teammate on the field.
*Ride your stick like a horse.
*Do anything else that calls "undue attention" to oneself.

I don't think there's anything wrong with a brief, spontaneous celebration. As a rough guideline, if you're still obviously celebrating by the time the lead has run in, signalled "goal" for 3 seconds, gotten the ball out of the goal, and exchanged it with the center official (or trail in a 2-man game), that's probably getting to be too long.

Sweet...no mention of my patented "throw stick down, lay on it, pretend to paddle out to the surf and jump up and pretend to surf" celebration. Now all I've got to do is score...