LaxTV Forums | A Forum About The MCLA

I coach a youth lacrosse team and the other night at our game an opposing player broke his stick in the middle of the shaft into to pieces. The players then picked up the other half and ran off the field. I was under the impression that if a stick breaks it cannot be touched, and the player must leave play. Can anyone give me some insight on the ruling in this situation.

I don't believe there are any hard and fast rules here - safety is the paramount issue. Some people feel that running off the field with broken pieces is dangerous (right up there with running with scissors), others feel that leaving pieces on the field can also be a hazard.
My preference is for the player to grab the broken stick pieces and head directly to his bench, if he can do so without getting involved in the play, which usually isn't a big issue. I have sometimes picked up the pieces myself and gotten them off the field.
I certainly would never penalize someone if all he does is take his broken stick and take it off the field. Trying an "ice-pick" check with the broken shaft might raise my ire however.

I really wish we could stop using the hockey rule book for lacrosse in Minnesota.

My thoughts are that I would rather have a player immediately remove the stick from the field. These sticks do not have splinters or anything else that can cause damage to the field if moved immediately. They also do not move and often have sharp edges which poses more risks to players on the field. Get the thing off in a hurry.

I prefer for the player to take it off the ice—I mean, field when his stick breaks, but he doesn't need to. I proposed and A.R. on this a year or two ago and it wasn't included.

I had people look at me like I had two heads yesterday when I insisted that the goal by team A released both releasable slash penalties against B, so I understand your hockey frustration.

A broken crosse = No crosse. Unlike hockey, you can't play lacrosse without a crosse.

As long as the player in question does not participate in the play or obstructs others from participating in the play - play on. The problems develop said player tries to play without a crosse or attempts to pick up his crosse or disrupts others in the play without his crosse. He has to yield his position on the field if he doesn't have a legal crosse in his hands.

Sonny wrote:A broken crosse = No crosse. Unlike hockey, you can't play lacrosse without a crosse.

As long as the player in question does not participate in the play or obstructs others from participating in the play - play on. The problems develop said player tries to play without a crosse or attempts to pick up his crosse or disrupts others in the play without his crosse. He has to yield his position on the field if he doesn't have a legal crosse in his hands.

Agreed. The problem is that a lot of people think the player with the broken crosse must carry the pieces of the broken crosse off the field, and a lot of others think the player must drop the pieces and run off the field. Neither is true.

Most people do understand that the player without a crosse may not participate in the play in any manner.