Effect of new rule changes

[CATLAX MAN]

I know it's not game tested yet, but I'm curious how the new 4" face-off line and the 20 second clear rule might affect play. How have teams been preparing for the effects that these rule changes may make?

Did I read somewhere that the 4" face-off line is not going to be enforced this year?

[onpoint]

Watching the 20 second rule a little in fall, I don't see a whole lot of change in the pace of the game. I think it does take a little away from the riding team in terms of trapping and turning, but I don't see it as a significant advantage for the clearing team. I think it may actually slow down the clear a little bit, because you rarely see the clearing team sitting in the "free" box for more than 10 seconds anyway. Now the goalie has the advantage of sitting behind the cage while personnel is changed and then taking his time up the field.

[John Paul]

From what I've seen in the fall and discussions with other coaches (mostly varsity), the 20 second rule will be a pretty significant change. It puts a lot more pressure on the clearing team. You'll be surprised how quickly 20 seconds goes by. Expect a very different riding strategy from most teams to take advantage of the change.

The 4 inch rule is one of the "waveable" field dimension rules in the rule book. Both coaches have to sign off on it before the game if the field does not have a 4 inch midline, and the officials should be notified ahead of time. However, when we met with the MDOC in the Philadelphia last week, their representatives, including their head honchos, said that they will enforce the spirit of the rule (making sure stick heads are separated by about 4 inches at the faceoff) without necessarily enforcing the exact written rule.

[monkeylax]

I will have to agree with JP, I believe the 20 second clear rule will have a more profound effect than many initially thought.
My only question is whether the 10-man ride will be used effectively by better teams, making for a bit of excitement when watching these games. I believe the clearing goalie will have much more responsibilty as we see riding attackmen shutting off their d-men.
I look forward to watching the games this year and see how this 20-second rule changes the clearing dynamic of the game.

[Rob Graff]

Interesting thoughts. 20 Seconds is a LONG time. I do agree that goalies will be key. I also think we'll see the pace of games pick up. should be interesting to see how various teams address these changes.

[UVAlax15]

Agreed,

I could see a slough off ride working. Shutting off everyone, and letting the goalie do the work. Making him make an errant pass or possible go over midfield.

Thoughts?

[MackLax]

The change to the face-off rule isn't as drastic as people might think. The ball is 2.5" in diameter, leaving 0.75" between each crosse and the ball if you bring the stickhead right to the edge of the 4-inch midline. Three-quarters of an inch isn't much at all, and is not much different from what guys had been doing to this point. The only difference with the 4-inch line is that guys who were crowding the ball so bad before and leaning their stickhead in on the draw over the ball prior to the whistle will be backed off. I am all for this new rule change though, as too many guys were just sitting on the ball and get tied up and it wasn't being swept out in a timely fashion to maintain the natural flow of the game.

I think the main difference from last year to this year will be if officials make stickheads even with each other (bottom of one man's stick throat even with the top edge of the scoop on the opponent's stick). This totally prevents a player from placing the skinniest part of the stick (the throat) next to the ball. From the looks of things in NE in the fall, refs were lining up the ball in the middle of the crosse rather than letting guys line up with the ball on the throat. I am also in favor of this as it promotes more hand speed to win draws. I think this rule already existed, just that it will much more enforced now.

Overall, I would say there is a huge dispartiy between enforcement of rules of faceoffs between officials, and will go so far as to note a huge disparity in the knowledge of faceoff rules between officials. I don't think this will be getting much better anytime sooner with how many new officials there are in the game due to growth of the sport. This is a good thing in one way for expansion, but tough in other ways as many newer officials aren't clear on certain specialty aspects of the game like faceoffs.

At any rate, faceoff guys will always adapt to the rules that are being enforced, I just wish their would be enforcement to a uniform degree across the board.