Catlax wrote:I guess I can't understand why coaches and players are supposed to be able to yell all game about how the officials should call this foul or that foul, but the one thing that the rules actually empower the coaches to make the officials call is somehow taboo.
LaxRef, your previous post annswers your own question. Most coaches don't just get angry over poor calls, they (we) get angry over refs that are not rule savvy. That is an increasingly large problem as the sport grows and the demand for refs increases. Not your fault, just a fact of the game.
When I say "rule savvy," I mean really interested in deciphering the intricasies of the rules. The rules are often poorly written, and there are some things that you'll never understand without lengthy study and discussion (see "simultaneous fouls").
But, frankly, very often when I see coaches and players get angry with refs for not having the rule correct, the refs actually are correct and the coaches and players are wrong. If I had a dollar for every time a coach or player called for goalie interference on a loose ball outside the crease (when the part of the goalie's stick outside the crease is checked), I could retire early.
Most of the coaches and players don't read the rulebook. I'd like to think all of the officials do, although I'm sure there are some who don't.
In any case, the rules could be a lot clearer on a lot of topics, which would help players, fans, coaches, and officials alike.
Catlax wrote:Secondly, most coaches think that it's bush league because of the way coaches request stick checks. On this thread alone, we have had people discussing the merits of calling for a stick check when you need an extra time out. That is inappropriate.
Is this any different than intentionally fouling in basketball at the end of the game to stop the clock? The rules allow it, so coaches take advantage of it.
Catlax wrote:Also, if a coach is going to call for a stick check and has good reason to believe an opponents stick is illegal, why wait until the end of the game or after a goal? Why not call it at the beginning of the game? The answer is easy. Because calling for a stick check after the player scores a goal or late in the game is another remedy for your team not being able to stop the player from scoring or giving you an EMO advantage at the end of the game. To many of us it's gamesmanship, pure and simple. Again I refer you to the look on Coach P's face when Starsa called for the stick check.
Again, that's the way the rules are written. And the rules are written by the coaches, so if they don't like that they should change it. They could easily revoke the provision about taking the goal off the board.
And lets not forget that the coach certifies before each game that he has inspected all of the equipment and that it is legal. If the coach doesn't want to get screwed by a stick check, he shouldn't lie and say the equipment is all legal when it isn't. To me, THAT'S bush league.
Catlax wrote:Finally (on a seperate note), please explain to my why you never see a defensive stick checked at the quarters? I've seen many defensive sticks that had pockets as deep as moon craters, but I've never coached a game where a ref has checked a long stick.
There are several reasons. The biggest is that we're supposed to pick players we think might be using illegal equipment and/or people who've scored a lot or handled the ball a lot. We were specifically told in our training not to pull a long stick or--god forbid--a goalie stick unless we had a strong reason to. They said to leave that up to the coaches with their equipment check requests.
Another is that if we check a long pole on team A and a short stick on team B, the team B coach is likely to think that we're trying to screw him over--especially if the D stick is legal--by not checking the stick of one of the team A goal scorers.
Frankly, another problem is that some officials don't remember the length for long poles and don't want to screw it up.
I've seen two long sticks checked in 8 years of officiating. One was by an official who had an eagle eye and grabbed an illegal stick almost every check; he pulled a stick from a LSM that had been facing off and scoring. The other was by an official who just thought it would be a good idea for a changeup, but they screwed up the numbers and gave a 3:00 penalty to a stick that was legal (I was not working the second game and found out what happened afterward).
(You've asked a number of very reasonable questions here, and I obviously have a much different perspective on these issues than you do. There's nothing personal here at all, I just disagree with some of your opinions, that's all.
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