NCAA Rules Bulletin 3/3/08

[LaxRef]

This just in:

MEMORANDUM

February 29, 2008

TO: Head Men’s Lacrosse Coaches and Officials.

FROM: Willie Scroggs, chair

NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Rules Committee.

SUBJECT: Preseason Rules and Officiating Updates.

This correspondence is intended to help clarify a few rules and officiating mechanics as the 2008 season begins. Please pay close attention to these directives and clarifications.

1. Points of emphasis. As a reminder, the committee selected several points of emphasis for officials and coaches this season. They are listed below:

• Back Checks. Back checks on the hip and lower back must be called more frequently and more consistently.

• Head and Neck Contact. Checks to the area of the head and neck must be called without fail.

• Moving Picks and Impeding. Moving picks and players using the head of the stick to impede the movement of the defender is a concern of the committee. Officials are instructed to call moving picks more consistently and pay attention to players using the head of their sticks to impede the movement of the defender. The intent is to eliminate contact or interference with an extended stick in relation to moving picks.

2. Officiating Mechanics. Several questions raised at the NCAA preseason clinics are answered below for guidance in some situations not covered in the rules book.

a. The mechanic for calling a face-off violation is as follows:

1) Blow the whistle;

2) Give the illegal procedure signal while at the same time pointing in the direction; and

3) Call out the color of the team the ball will be awarded to on the restart. The whistle should be blown as quickly as possible on the restart (no more than five seconds).

4) On a faceoff when the ball moves into the defensive side of the midfield line, Player A1 will be instructed to pick up the ball. As A1 crosses the midfield line, the whistle should be blown to start play.

5) On a faceoff when the ball moves into the offensive side of the midfield line A1 will be instructed to pick up the ball. The whistle will be blown immediately to start play.

6) The legality of shoulder pads should first be the responsibility of the head coach, athletic trainer, equipment manager and the team physician. If an official believes a player is not wearing shoulder pads, request that the player show his padding. If there is no padding, access a penalty.

3. Face-off violations. The following are several areas of guidance dealing with a violation of the faceoff:

a. If a faceoff player commits a violation and then directs the ball away from the faceoff box and the officiating crew determines the directing of the ball was intentional, a technical foul for delay of the game must be assessed. If another player other than the faceoff player intentionally delays, a technical foul shall be assessed.

b. If a wing player commits a violation, the center faceoff player must leave the field and a substitute must replace him.

c. Situation: In the final minutes of a close game, faceoff player A1 moves before the whistle. The coach of Team A immediately calls a timeout to avoid a quick restart and a possible break by B1. Ruling: Legal play. During the timeout, A1 is allowed to be substituted for and he does not have to leave the field on the whistle to start play.

d. If there are simultaneous technical fouls before a face-off, the ball shall be re-faced as provided in Note 4 on page 33 of the 2008 rules.

4. Stick checks. The following scenarios should assist officials when dealing with stick checks:

a. Situation: A player is using double ball stops. Ruling: The official shall make the player remove one of the ball stops. A warning may be issued or, if during a check the stick is illegal, a penalty shall be assessed.

b. Situation: An official requests the stick of A1. Before handing his stick to the official, A1 pulls his strings or jams the head into the ground. Ruling: A one minute unsportsmanlike penalty shall be assessed on A1. The crew shall not conduct any other stick checks on either team during the dead ball time.

c. Situation: A1 scores a goal and immediately pulls the strings of his stick. Ruling: A one minute unsportsmanlike penalty shall be assessed and the goal shall not count. The key point is that A1 pulls his strings IMMEDIATELY after scoring a goal. If A1 plays with his strings or pushes in his pocket just before the next face-off, those actions should not be penalized.

5. Ten- and 20-second count situations. The new rules relating to the 10- and 20-second count led to some questions in particular situations. The following scenarios should assist in the understanding of these rules:

a. Situation: B1 throws a clearing pass to B2 that goes over his head and touches the ground across the midfield line. Does a 10-second count start when the ball touches the ground across midfield? Ruling: Yes.

b. Situation: May a player throw the ball beyond the midfield line, creating a loose ball, in order to stop the 20-second count? Ruling: Yes.

c. Any loose ball that crosses the midfield line and ends a 20-second count will start a 10-second count for the attacking team once it touches the ground.

d. Ruling change in A.R. 60 on page 47 of the 2008 rules. Situation: Team A is in its defensive end clearing the ball when A1 drops the ball. The ball is kicked over the midfield line, ending the 20-second count, then it is kicked back in Team A’s defensive end and A2 picks up the ball. Ruling: A 10-second counts starts, not a 20-second count, when the ball is kicked over the midfield line into A’s offensive end.

e. Situation: While A1 is in his attack area, he throws a pass to A2, which goes outside the attack area toward midfield. In the loose ball scramble, B1 pushes A3. Ruling: The official should signal a play-on until B2 picks up the loose ball. When B2 picks up the ball, the official must immediately blow the whistle, and award the ball to Team A, which now has 10 seconds to get the ball back inside their attack area.

f. If there is a whistle that stops play (e.g., out of bounds, foul, etc.), the team that gains possession is afforded the entire time allowed by rule. Situation: Team A shoots and hits the goal cage. The ball deflects and bounces across the midfield line, starting a count. In the battle for the loose ball, B1 is flagged for a loose ball push. Ruling: Team A is awarded the ball and has 20 seconds to cross the midfield line.

g. These situations are an extension of A.R. 51 on Page 45. Situation 1: B1 throws a clearing pass to B2 that goes over his head and touches the ground across midfield. Does a 10-second count start when the ball touches the ground across midfield? Ruling: Yes. Situation 2: May a player throw the ball beyond the center line, creating a loose ball, in order to stop the 20-second count? Ruling: Yes.

6. Player out of bounds. This situation deals with a player out of bounds and how this play is officiated:

Situation: A1 attempts to scoop a loose ball near the sideline, but does not gain possession. In the process, his momentum carries him out of bounds. B3 then attempts to scoop the ball but also is not successful, causing it to go out of bounds, striking A1 who is out of bounds. Ruling: The ball becomes out of bounds when it hits the ground or an object out of bounds, in this case A1. B3 is the last player to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds. The ball is awarded to Team A.

7. Timeouts in overtime. By rule, Team A receives an additional timeout at the start of overtime. Team A had used all of available timeouts in regulation. The coach of Team A calls for a timeout after his faceoff player violates just before the whistle to start the overtime. Can the coach’s timeout request be granted? Ruling: No. In A.R. 109 on Page 57, when a team takes a timeout between quarters or at halftime, the timeout is charged to the preceding period. However, if Coach A had a timeout at the end of regulation, this timeout could be granted. Note: If a team has exhausted its timeouts and an official grants a timeout request, that team will be charged with a delay of game technical foul.

Thank you for your time and attention to these directives and good luck this season. WS:nkb

[Sonny]

Situation: A1 attempts to scoop a loose ball near the sideline, but does not gain possession. In the process, his momentum carries him out of bounds. B3 then attempts to scoop the ball but also is not successful, causing it to go out of bounds, striking A1 who is out of bounds. Ruling: The ball becomes out of bounds when it hits the ground or an object out of bounds, in this case A1. B3 is the last player to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds. The ball is awarded to Team A.

Discuss.

[LaxRef]

Situation: A1 attempts to scoop a loose ball near the sideline, but does not gain possession. In the process, his momentum carries him out of bounds. B3 then attempts to scoop the ball but also is not successful, causing it to go out of bounds, striking A1 who is out of bounds. Ruling: The ball becomes out of bounds when it hits the ground or an object out of bounds, in this case A1. B3 is the last player to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds. The ball is awarded to Team A.

Discuss.

Well, I'm glad that they've made a clarification, although I'd have preferred it been done the opposite way. You could make the argument that A1 is participating from OOB, which is illegal procedure on A1.

[Timbalaned]

Situation: A1 attempts to scoop a loose ball near the sideline, but does not gain possession. In the process, his momentum carries him out of bounds. B3 then attempts to scoop the ball but also is not successful, causing it to go out of bounds, striking A1 who is out of bounds. Ruling: The ball becomes out of bounds when it hits the ground or an object out of bounds, in this case A1. B3 is the last player to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds. The ball is awarded to Team A.

Discuss.

really then they aren't being true to what the rule says. If it were true, then it wouldn't have been out of bounds til it hit the A kid, so it should be B ball. They should change the wording of it to when the ball breaks the plain of the sideline/endline, then it is out of bounds, because that is how they are calling it in this one. Not when it hits something or the ground.

[LaxRef]

Situation: A1 attempts to scoop a loose ball near the sideline, but does not gain possession. In the process, his momentum carries him out of bounds. B3 then attempts to scoop the ball but also is not successful, causing it to go out of bounds, striking A1 who is out of bounds. Ruling: The ball becomes out of bounds when it hits the ground or an object out of bounds, in this case A1. B3 is the last player to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds. The ball is awarded to Team A.

Discuss.

really then they aren't being true to what the rule says. If it were true, then it wouldn't have been out of bounds til it hit the A kid, so it should be B ball. They should change the wording of it to when the ball breaks the plain of the sideline/endline, then it is out of bounds, because that is how they are calling it in this one. Not when it hits something or the ground.

There are nuances here that you aren't seeing.

First of all, on a shot, we care about when it breaks the plane of the sideline or the endline. But in other cases, it's not technically OOB until it touches something.

In most cases, there is no practical difference, but if the ball is in the air OOB and A1 jumps from inbounds, bats the ball back onto the field, and then lands OOB, the ball is still in play and there is no whistle. I would guess that about 90% of the attempts at this play, at least in high school and the MCLA games I've seen, are unsuccessful (either the guy steps OOB before jumping, or he lands OOB while still in contact with the ball).

Your area may have issues where this play is not called correctly; I can't speak to that.

Anyway, the issue at hand is who gets the ball when it goes OOB. The answer is that the team opposite the one that touched it last gets possession (NCAA 4-6-b-1). Here, with this ruling, they are stating that the ball becomes OOB when it touches something OOB (player A1), and that since it last touched B1 before becoming OOB the ball goes to Team A. Contrast that with the following A.R.:

A.R. 35. Player A1 falls so that half of his body is inbounds and half is out of bounds. The ball deflects off B1, who is inbounds, and then the ball touches a part of A1 or his crosse which is (1) inbounds; or (2) out of bounds. RULING: In both cases, the ball is considered to have gone out of bounds off of A1. Award the ball to Team B.

Here, A1 is partially OOB and they give the ball to Team B. This, I believe, is inconsistent.

There is one potential problem here: suppose A1 knows about this ruling and is OOB when he sees the ball in the air going OOB of B1. B1 still has a chance to catch the ball before it lands OOB, but A1 intentionally touches the ball first, making it OOB off of B1, right? Well, here we have two tools at our disposal: we can rule A1 participating in the play from OOB (illegal procedure, ball to Team B) or we could cite A1 for not immediately returning to the field of play after going OOB (1:00 releasable USC penalty).

[troche]

What about a coach standing in the coaches box?

Ball is OOB in the air... Opponent Player is running after it and the coach catches the ball....

Whether the coach reaches for the ball, or just can't get out of the way...
is there a difference?


Tim Roche
Eastview Lacrosse

[LaxRef]

What about a coach standing in the coaches box?

Ball is OOB in the air... Opponent Player is running after it and the coach catches the ball....

Whether the coach reaches for the ball, or just can't get out of the way...
is there a difference?

If the coach reaches for a playable ball, I think I have at minimum an illegal procedure (not explicitly listed, but I think I could sell it because if it's illegal for a player to participate from OOB I can't see how it could be legal for a coach to do it) and maybe a USC.

If the coach isn't paying attention, I have nothing.

If the coach is paying attention and just stands there, not going after the ball but not giving ground, I think I again have no call. The coaches are entitled to their space in the box.

[troche]

I agree it would warrant a USC, but if the coach knew what he was talking about.. it sure would be an interesting debate.



Tim Roche
Eastview Lacrosse

[Jolly Roger]

Can a coach in the coach's box hold a lacrosse stick?

[Sonny]

really then they aren't being true to what the rule says. If it were true, then it wouldn't have been out of bounds til it hit the A kid, so it should be B ball. They should change the wording of it to when the ball breaks the plain of the sideline/endline, then it is out of bounds, because that is how they are calling it in this one. Not when it hits something or the ground.

Lines mean different things in lacrosse. Always have.

Some are like basketball, some are like football.

The new ruling conflicts with Rule 4/AR 35, as LaxRef notes.

[laxfan25]

Situation: A1 attempts to scoop a loose ball near the sideline, but does not gain possession. In the process, his momentum carries him out of bounds. B3 then attempts to scoop the ball but also is not successful, causing it to go out of bounds, striking A1 who is out of bounds. Ruling: The ball becomes out of bounds when it hits the ground or an object out of bounds, in this case A1. B3 is the last player to touch the ball before it goes out of bounds. The ball is awarded to Team A.

Discuss.

I'm OK with this, assuming A1 isn't trying to play the ball, he is just getting struck by B3's actions on the ball. It's not different than if B3 was in front of A's bench and hit a player on the sideline. You wouldn't say that A16 was playing the ball and hence A has too many men on the field.
Yes, it conflicts with the half-in/half-out AR, but at least we have some clarification.