LaxTV Forums | A Forum About The MCLA

I know a lot of guys on here work with youth programs during the summer...let me ask you a question?

Last night in a summer league game with my 7th-grade team, the other coach asked for a stick check against one of our middies. The stick was illegal (no butt-end) and we sat for three minutes, non-releasable.

Now I know the coach was well within his rights to ask for the check, but I just couldn't believe it. I could see why Petro was so upset when Starsia asked for the stick check on Jake Byrne in the semis.

Just curious...would you ever ask for a stick check in a 7th-grade summer league game??

IMHO, a completely classless move. But more importantly, was that the only problem with the stick - it didn't have an end-cap? Did that then make it too short? If it was just missing an end-cap, the stick is taken out of the game until one is added - there shouldn't be a penalty attached - and definitely not a 3 min. NR!
NFHS 1-7.3
ART. 3 . . . All hollow crosse handles made of metal or synthetic material shall have a plastic or wood plug on the end or be adequately taped to prevent injury. A metal handle that does not have a cap-plug on the end shall not be considered illegal; at the next whistle, it shall be removed from the game until corrected

Sounds like a candidate for the opposing coach in the lacrosse remake of the Bad News Bears.

In the future will you please be at all of my games??

To the best of my knowledge, that was the only issue. I took the butt off of my stick and slapped it on the illegal stick.

By the way, we scored three times while we were a man down.

byualum wrote:In the future will you please be at all of my games??

To the best of my knowledge, that was the only issue. I took the butt off of my stick and slapped it on the illegal stick.

By the way, we scored three times while we were a man down.

That must be why Sonny volunteered me to moderate the rules and officiating forum. Now you can see that ref at another game and point out the error of his ways, in a nice manner. that way when you ask for the double-horn to question the misapplication of another rule, he'll take your word for it, figuring you know the rules better than him.
Also, you misspoke again, it's NOT an illegal stick!
Sounds like the man-down didn't hurt too much. Of course how many did the OTHER team score during the 3 min. siesta?

laxfan25 wrote: Of course how many did the OTHER team score during the 3 min. siesta?

None...6-0 final.

Classless? Maybe.
Within the rules? Certainly.

Bear in mind that you must qualify your question when asking about a particular situation. Was the game played under NCAA rules? NFHS (National Federation of High Schools) rules? Club Rules? Some combination of the above?

Lets discuss this (and other officiating) topics in the correct forum.

The butt end cap and ball stop are rules that often are misapplied. I have worked with some very senior officials that even miss that one. I only learned it going back over the rules later in the year to find something to improve on my job. High school coaches should really learn the rules and not be afraid to call that double horn. Most coaches do not use their timeouts, so feel free to use it to question a rule application even if you don't know.

Sonny wrote:Classless? Maybe.
Within the rules? Certainly.

I guess I never understand it when people say it's classless to call for an equipment check. The rules give coaches that option, and the coaches should be able to use it.

What's classless, IMHO, is to use illegal equipment, or to certify that your players are using legal equipment when they aren't.

That being said, I think a coach has to be an idiot to call for an equipment check unless he's sure his own players are using legal gear. I've seen it backfire on coaches a lot of times.

The reason I say classless is that you have to consider the level of the game. I would certainly coach or officiate things a tad differently when it's a middle school, summer league contest vs. a college/H.S. game.

Sonny wrote:The reason I say classless is that you have to consider the level of the game. I would certainly coach or officiate things a tad differently when it's a middle school, summer league contest vs. a college/H.S. game.

On that, I agree. The point of youth sports (and summer league) should be to have fun and learn the game, not to win at all costs.

We had a ref during summer league, made a ton of questionable calls, think his initials are SP.......

LaxRef wrote: I guess I never understand it when people say it's classless to call for an equipment check. The rules give coaches that option, and the coaches should be able to use it.

As Sonny said, the only reason I called it classless is because it was a 7th grade summer league game. Just a little over the top in my book.
I agree with you though that at the higher levels I would have no problem calling for an equipment check. It's there for you to use, and is one of the few ways of getting a goal taken off the board. I know on the LaxPower forums they were really dumping on the caoches that used that call in the playoffs. That is the time you want to use it the most! If your team is legal, no big deal. But if your bending the rules (being charitable here) you should suffer the consequences.
Certainly not bush league IMHO.

cjwilhelmi wrote:We had a ref during summer league, made a ton of questionable calls, think his initials are SP.......

Just think Corbin... when I do your games at GAC next Spring, I will call the faceoff violations right from the start of the game (with zero warnings!). No excuses there Mr. Face-off artist!

But you can ask for a free equipment check on the other team. I won't think any less of you.

Sonny wrote:But you can ask for a free equipment check on the other team. I won't think any less of you.

Already reached rock bottom?