Tierrasanta A I

  NOCSAE TEST EMBLEM ON HELMET

One of the basic helmet requirements is that it have a visible exterior NOCSAE emblem on the helmet.  Although it rarely comes up, there are occasions when this emblem is covered with stickers of the player’s choice or it has received a special paint job that covers the etched emblem so it is no longer visible.  The officials cannot assume this emblem exists for all helmets if it is not visible.  The existence of this emblem is a critical safety issue. 

ILLEGAL STICKS:
The league decided in 2008 that the penalty for a stick determined to be illegal because of a slight measurement deficiency was too heavy handed for middle school lacrosse.  A concern was noted that the sticks were either illegal at time of purchase or so close to minimum specs that it didn’t take much for the stick to unintentionally become illegal. There are three measurements that are causing concern:

         Minimum overall length of stick is 40” 

         Minimum width at widest point of head is 6-1/2”

         Minimum length of head is 10” Illegal sticks carry penalty of 1-3 minutes. 

A stick that is illegal because of deep pocket is a 1 minute penalty.  If a stick was found illegal because it was altered to gain an advantage, the penalty will be 3 minutes.  By default, if a stick is illegal because it did not meet the minimum dimensions, it is deemed to have been altered to gain an advantage and therefore subject to a 3 minute penalty, regardless of whether altered by the player intentionally or as a result of normal play on the field. Based on discussions with Bob Duggan, he is not aware that sticks are frequently found illegal because of the measurement issue. 

The SDCLA has implemented a modification of the rule so that a 1 minute penalty will be assessed for not complying with the dimensions, unless the official concludes it was clearly altered by the player for the purpose of gaining an advantage.  

UNNECESSARY ROUGHNESS:
Historically, the middle school league has not had a meaningful problem with unnecessary roughness.  However, we have had some circumstances where some injuries or dangerous situations might have been avoided had all coaches been familiar with the SDCLA policy regarding unnecessary roughness.  The intent of the unnecessary roughness rule is to protect players from being hit in a violent manner.  The rule exists for all levels, from middle school to high school to college and international lacrosse.

Section 5-8 includes in its definition Article 3: any avoidable act on the part of a player that is deliberate and excessively violent, whether it be with body or crosse.  This may include a legal body check.The following is guidance that Bob Duggan, the head official, provides to the officials to help them understand the amount of body checking that may be appropriate for the different levels of lacrosse they officiate:

High school varsity – Body checking allowed within the confines of the unnecessary roughness rule.

High school JV – More than Division I, but less than varsity.

Middle school – Division I – Significantly more that Division III, but significantly less than high school varsity.  No take-out checks are permitted by any player.  The definition of a take-out check is:  “checks in which the player lowers his head or shoulder with the force and intent to take out (put on the ground) the other player.  The fact that a check results in a player put on the ground does not meet the definition  --  unless he lowers his head or shoulder with the force and intent to put the other player on the ground.

Middle school – Division III - Body checking will be deemphasized and almost non-existent. The body contact should amount to no more than pushing and shoving in the proximity of ground balls. 

The guidance on our Division I is in accordance with the 2008 Rules for Youth Lacrosse in the back of the Boys Lacrosse Rule Book.  The guidance on Div III is an adaptation of the Youth lacrosse rules for players in 4^th and 5^th grade.  Although Div III covers 5^th-6^th graders, we feel the guidance on no body checking is appropriate. 

The penalty for unnecessary roughness is suspension from the game for 1-3 minutes depending on the official’s judgment of the severity and perceived intent of the foul.  We have asked Bob Duggan to encourage officials to use 2-3 minutes as the guidance for assessing penalties related to body checking. 

We need the coaches to understand that it is their responsibility to teach their players to play within the confines of this guidance.   Although we look to the officials to enforce the rules of the game, the coaches have a responsibility to recognize when the level of physical play is becoming unsafe.   In this regard, Bob Duggan will inform the officials that before each game they will review these rules with the coaches to make sure everyone is on the same page.  If there is concern about the game becoming too rough, coaches from either team are encouraged to request a meeting between coaches and officials between quarters to review the league policy again and consider whether both coaches need to discuss policy with their players before the next quarter begins.  Naturally, the coaches have the ability at any time to call a team time-out to have this discussion if there is an immediate concern for player safety.   

1. click the small red admin button on the left side of the sdcla page, this will open up the log-in window for administrators.

2. enter your username and password

3. choose a team to administer (only if you are in charge of more than one team)

4. expand the schedules folder on the left by clicking on the plus sign

5. Click on the Calendar Folder; Click on the scores folder; then click the small pencil icon to the right of the game you are trying to update

6. Enter score and any summary of the game, then click update and check the page to see that the scores are there.