Category: Officials

by WisconsinLacrosse

Girl’s Umpire Training Dates

Required rules Interpretation meeting is scheduled for January 28th. You must be a current US Lacrosse Member to attend. This is open to both current and prospective officials. If you haven’t already done so, please RSVP so we can plan accordingly.  NOTE: Steinhafels requests that we park in the South parking lot behind merchandise pick-up; not near the main entrance (which is reserved for customers).  After you park, please enter in the main entrance.

Click here to RSVP

New and returning girls lacrosse officials training is planned for Saturday, February 25th at the Arrowhead High School (North Campus).
New Umpire Candidates and Returning YOUTH Umpires will have a classroom session in the Junior Study Hall from 9:00 – Noon then the West Gym from 1:00 – 4:00. You must be 16 years old by April 1st, 2017 to attend training

Returning Officials need to complete 3 hours Continuing Education. If you have attended a training or convention, that counts as your continuing ed. If not, we have some current opportunities for you:

  • February 25th – Arrowhead High School 1:00 PM -4:00 PM (meet in gym)
  • April 1 – Carroll University Schneider Stadium – field work (Time TBA)

Sign up to become a Girl’s official 

by WisconsinLacrosse

What’s the rule?

Each season the US Lacrosse Officials Education Program receives emails from coaches, players, parents, and officials on game situations wondering what the correct ruling is. Here are the top 10 questions from the 2016 season.

1. Player A is legally body checked and falls to the ground. While on the ground, he still chops at the other player’s stick with his own. I called this as illegal procedure, but the coach wanted to see it in the rulebook. Was this the right call? I could not find any ruling in the rulebook. My thoughts were it gave him an advantage to be on the ground.

A: There is no advantage gained from playing while on the ground. That player is likely more disadvantaged than the opposing players because his movement is significantly limited while on the ground. Remember that NFHS Rule 5.3 states that it is illegal to body check an opponent who is on the ground (stick checks are okay), and the rulebook does allow for the player on the ground to legally participate in play if he is able to.

2. Can a player be flagged twice for going offside once, returning to his half of the field, and then going offside again?

A: No. NFHS Rule 4.10 Situation F is clear on this game situation: “The same player going offside twice is one technical foul.” This is why many coaches will tell the player that went offside to go and play defense because the team may then play with 8 defenders (7 + 1 goalie) and increase their chances of putting the ball on the ground during the flag down.

3. Offensive player shoots and scores, the ball enters the goal first and then the player touches the crease due to his normal momentum. Is the goal good or does the player entering the crease wipe out the goal?

A: NFHS Rule 4.9.2.n states that a player “may legally score a goal and touch the crease area, provided the ball enters the goal before the contact and with the crease and his feet are grounded prior to, during and after a shot.” As long as the player does not dive (remains grounded) and he touches on or inside the crease line then the goal stands.

4. Assistant coach of Team A is holding a stick while on the sideline during a game. Coach of Team B asks for that stick to be checked. Referee rules it violates pocket depth and issues the penalty per the rules. Does the stick check apply to coaches or just to the players?

A: Under NFHS rules a coach-requested equipment check must refer to a specific player on the opposing team. The major reason is because under NFHS rules the officials must also check the required equipment of a player, and that cannot be done on a coach. According to NFHS Rule 4.27.1 these requests must be made during a dead ball and only one player’s equipment and crosse may be inspected per coach request. The coach may not ask the officials to check the assistant coach’s crosse, nor may be point to a stick on the opponent’s bench and ask the officials to check it. The request must be for a specific player on the opposing team.

5. When are horns permitted? Some folks say they are no longer allowed; or is their use more narrowly specified?

A: Horns are no longer permitted in games played under NFHS rules. All substitutions must be made on the fly. There are youth provisions permitting horns for play in the U9 and U11 age divisions if the local league authorizes their use (NFHS rulebook page 107).

6. Team A is man up and loses possession of the ball right before the end of a period. Team B (man down) gains and maintains possession when the period ends (still man down). Question: Is there a faceoff to begin the next period or does Team B (man down) get the ball?

A: There is no faceoff. Team B gets possession to start the next period at the spot the ball was when the period ended. Rule 4.3.1. Exceptions 1: “In the event of an extra-man situation or a flag-down creating an extra-man situation at the conclusion of a period, the next period shall be commenced by awarding possession of the ball in the same relative position on the field to the team that had possession of the ball (or is entitled to possession by a play-on) at the conclusion of the prior period.” This is why many coaches when there is short time on the clock but longer time on the penalty tell their players to hold onto the ball and not shoot. This is only applicable on a flag-down or when there is an uneven situation. If Team A and Team B have one player in the penalty box then even if one team has possession at the end of the period the next period will start with a faceoff.

7. A goal is scored using a stick that is found to be illegal after a coach requests a stick check to an official during the dead ball before the next faceoff. Does that goal count or should it be waived off? Also, if the player scored multiple goals are all of the goals he scored waived off?

A: The goal should be waved off, the shooter serves the penalty time (1-minute deep pocket, or 3-minutes for any other violation), and the ball is awarded to the opposing team at Center X. Rule 5.5 Situation F states: “Team B is a man down and A1 scores. Before the next whistle, it is discovered A1 was playing with an illegal crosse. RULING: Goal does not count. A1 serves a one- or three-minute non-releasable penalty.” The only goal that gets waived off is the goal scored right before the equipment check that discovered the illegal crosse. If the player scored goals earlier then they remain on the board.

8. During play an official blew his whistle. The defense stopped playing once the whistle was heard, but the offensive player continued to advance toward the goal. He made a shot after the whistle and scored. The officials counted the goal. Should play have been stopped after the whistle?

A: Rule 7.13.3 states: “In the event of an inadvertent whistle, play shall be suspended immediately. The team with possession or entitled to possession when the whistle was blown shall retain possession.” In this situation the goal should not count because the official blew his whistle creating a dead ball. Had the ball been loose outside the crease possession would be awarded via AP. Loose inside the crease awarded to the defensive team. If a team had possession, they would retain possession for the next restart. Rule 4.9.2.f further clarifies that a goal is not counted “after one of the officials has sounded the whistle for any reason, even if the sounding of the whistle is inadvertent.”

9. If a player has five minutes in penalties, he has fouled out. However, if the player in question had three 1-minute fouls. He served 4.5 minutes for them, as we were in a running clock game. So is the 4.5 minutes of time served count towards the five minutes or is it based on the actual time called out by the referee for the foul(s); 3 minutes?

A: The rulebook is quiet on this calculation for running time games, and the convention is to use the penalty time that would be assessed in a stop-time game for the purposes of determining disqualification. Three-minutes of personal fouls (4.5 minutes in running time games) would mean the player still has two minutes of penalty time before being disqualified. As a point of clarification technical fouls do not count toward minutes before being disqualified, only personal fouls.

10. If there are 5 long poles on the field, what is the penalty? Illegal stick, 3 minutes non-releasable or something else? Offending team did not have possession.

A: This is not considered an illegal crosse. This is illegal procedure and is a technical foul according to NFHS Rule 6.5.2.p: “having more than four long crosses in a game.” If the ball is loose this is a turnover to the opposing team. If the opposing team has possession of the ball while there are 5 long poles on the field then a flag should be thrown.

The Officials Education Program enjoys reading and answering the questions. If you have a question from a game this summer let us know by filling out the form here.

by WisconsinLacrosse

How did you miss that?

The following is a post written by Gordon Corsetti, Manager of Officials Education for US Lacrosse.

We say officials have the best seat in the house. While it’s true that we are the closest to the action we can’t watch the game the same way everyone else does, which is typically watching where the ball goes. I love being on the field officiating, but I only see one-half or one-third of the entire game depending on if I’m working in a two- or three-person crew. That’s because proper mechanics demand that at least one official watches the action that no one else is paying attention to away from the ball.

In a two-person game the field is split diagonally between the two officials in settled situations. The Trail Official is the furthest from the goal and takes a position just above the attack box. The Lead Official is near Goal Line Extended (GLE). Depending on where the ball is on the field, one official is responsible for the area immediately around the ball, while the other official scans the off ball action. They are known as the On or Off official.

The clearest distinction between the two officials’ responsibilities is on a shot. When a player shoots the only official responsible for watching that player is the Trail official. This official stays with the shooter watching for late hits. The Lead official tracks the ball as soon as it leaves the crosse, and often has no eyes on the shooter at any point after the shot. These separate responsibilities make it possible for one official to cover the goal, while having another official focused on the safety of the player. That’s an easy situation though, let’s do a tougher one.

In transition, a penalty could occur on the far side of the field opposite the new Lead Official (the official running to GLE during the clear), and the new Lead Official may call a personal or technical foul near the far sideline because that official has an unobstructed angle to the play. The new Trail Official coming up field may not even have eyes on the play if there are two players behind that need to be watched to make sure nothing bad occurs away from the play upfield. But even if the new Trail Official is running up he might have a lot of bodies in front of him and has no way to make the call even if he is closer than his partner.

If more coaches understood the basic mechanics of officiating (the Men’s Officials Rules and Penalty Course is available on learning.uslacrosse.org) and why we stand where we do, I think a lot of calls would make a lot more sense. For example, I officiated a tournament not too long ago where I was the Trail official in a settled play. The offensive player shot the ball near the crease, missed the goal, was pushed from behind, and landed in the crease. I put my hand into the air for a loose-ball push, and at the same time my partner as the Lead put his hand in the air and whistled the play dead for a crease violation. I asked what he had, and he said “White stepped in the crease.” I replied, “Yes, but he was pushed in first. The ball stays with White.”

Two coaches on the Blue team were not pleased with me and while my partner readied the ball for play they asked me what happened. I told them their defenseman pushed the shooter into the crease after he shot the ball, giving the ball to the White team. Then one coach told me that that call wasn’t my responsibility. He then told me that while in the Trail position all I was supposed to call was offside.

If I only had to call offside when the Trail Official then lacrosse officiating would be one of the easiest jobs I could think of! I’m only responsible for one thing? Great! I’m just going to stand on the midline and focus only on this four-inch line, and when a player gets destroyed on a late hit I’ll calmly inform the coach that I’m only supposed to call offside.

I’m being facetious here to drive home the point that the official furthest away from where the ball is may be in the best and only position to make the correct safety or fairness call for the situation. We have fundamental mechanics that are drilled into us in every training class and field evaluation because the referees that came before us experimented with a lot of different ways to officiate the game until they broke down the most effective ways to position officials to watch for safety and fairness.

Gordon Corsetti is manager of men’s officials education for US Lacrosse. You can support US Lacrosse officials education efforts through the US Lacrosse Foundation.

by Stephen Perez

View from the 3rd Team

I have just finished my 25th year as a high school and collegiate official. I wonder where the time has gone, and even though I have been working for a long time, I still want to be better.

After a season, I have found it to be helpful to think about what I did to improve myself over the last season – did I study the rules, more? did I attend a clinic? What did I do to become a better official?

If the answer is nothing, then, while experience helps, just working year after year, may not make you a better official. If you want to be better, you have to practice at being better, and to do that, one must educate him/herself.
Being an official is an incredibly difficult hobby. You invest your time away from family, and you invest money in all the accoutrements that are necessary to be prepared and play the role of an official.

We do that, why?

When people ask me, why, I say that it feels really good to be able to administer a highly competitive game, where the players, play, and the coaches are able to coach. In the best games, there is a sense of trust between the two teams and the officiating crew. The players, play. The coaches, coach.

Each of the three teams are able to do what each has prepared themselves for. Yet, those games do not happen by chance, they are the result of your willingness to be a constant learner.

First, read the rule book. More importantly, develop a common sense and fair play understanding in how to apply the rules. Next, attend more trainings and clinics. I learn something at every clinic and because of that, I have more arrows in my quiver of experience, to draw out, when I’m in the middle of a game. Last, want to get better. None of this matters, if you do not want to improve.

One conclusion that I have come to after all these years is that the better I am, the easier my games will be. Simply put, It is to my benefit to improve.

 

Stephen Perez is the President of the Wisconsin Lacrosse Officials Association 

 

Read more: Become an Official

by Dave Wollin

WI Lax is looking for a Jamboree Director.

Wisconsin Lacrosse Lovers,
US Lacrosse Wisconsin is looking is  for an event director for the Spring Jamboree. 
The planning for the 2017 WLF Spring Jamboree is underway. March 25 and 26th  at Woodside Sports Complex, Wisconsin Dells. 
The Jamboree is a great event to kick off the 2017 season.It’s an opportunity to knock the winter rust off the players and train new officials.
The Jamboree director will manage a committee format with duties for each of the 7 members of the committee. In this way, it will not be an overwhelming amount of work for any one person. the attached document is that outline. The WLF will  train and update each new member of the committee with background information. 
The Spring Jamboree needs volunteers .  If you are interested and/or would like more information, fill out the form below. 
We need to fill this position by mid November.
Thank you for considering volunteering to keep this outstanding opportunity in existence for all Wisconsin Lacrosse players.

Secretary

form routed to the Secretary

by Randy Kohn

The Crease – a note from the WLF President

Hello Lacrosse Enthusiasts!

The MLB Playoffs are starting, along with the Regular Season of the NHL.  The NBA is starting their preseason games and the NFL has completed its fourth week and we are under six months until the 2017 Lacrosse Season starts.  Don’t blink too long because it will be here before you know it.

One more year in the books and we (WLF) have experienced another double digit growth of our game.  THANK YOU to all who have done the “heavy lifting”!  Most of your efforts will never be recognized, but you should know that what you have done is very worthy.  None of us own the game because we are merely “renters” of the game until our time has come to pass it on to those behind us.  So, I say to you all… remember that we are the Ambassadors to the future of our game.

Whether you are an Administrator, Coach, Official, Umpire, Player (or the fee and equipment paying parent… been there, done that) we all have a mission to do to make sure that those who are playing today “fall in love” with the sport and carry on the game after we “retire”.  They are the next wave of Administrators, Coaches, Officials and Umpires.

We have more new Programs looking to join the WLF and are always looking for more Coaches, Officials and Umpires.  Also, a lot of local Programs need Board Members to help out.  Some folks wear so many hats in their area to make sure that the game is played, it sure would be nice to give them some help.  We are Wisconsin residents; we know how to get things done!

I wish you all a fun filled Fall Season.  In all honesty… Can any State hold a candle to Wisconsin in the Fall?

See you on the field,

Randy Kohn

On Wisconsin!