Forum Questions

Had an "O" player heading downfield on a clear, he pivoted around a "D" player so the "D" had his back to the "O" player, he attempted a back hand stick check wrapping around the "O", contact was made with the stick. I called a slash, explained to coach that it was not a "controlled" lacrosse play.

No details.

Seen an awful lot of officials wearing sunglasses so far this year ! What is the official edict on this from our high command ?

This actually happened : while ball is in the air in Team A's offensive zone, Team B pushes a Team A player. I call "play on" . Ball comes down to the field on the other side of the midfield line. Team B player is about to pick it up when I kill it. No problem so far. Team A player immediately picks it up at that spot, I check for everything and then blow it in. Team A coach goes ballistic saying that the ball should have been moved up to the corner of the box , near where the push was, and then blown in. I say "no" with the thinking of why would you want to waste time moving the ball 20-30 yards, let the defense set up when you could get a quick restart and get going. What say you ?

This actually happened : Team A is up a goal in the last two minutes of the game. They are clearing when A-1 loses the ball as he crosses mid-field. The ball rolls untouched towards the corner of the attack box for A. It then rolls untouched into the box and then goes out the other side ! It happens so fast that neither of us had time to yell "keep it in" ! A-2 then picks it up. My partner is perplexed as to what to do - if anything. I immediately take control and blow it dead signalling "Illegal Procedure". Coach of Team A goes ballistic saying how can we/I call it "in and out" when neither of us said anything ! He further says that if we did say "keep it in" his player-A-2 - would not have picked it up. I responded by saying that this is one of the "quirks" of lacrosse but the call stands. What say you on this call ?

Team A is clearing the ball from their defensive half of the field. A1, A2, and A3 are in their offensive half of the field.Team A is beginning to sub players and as the ball nears midfield it becomes loose. Before anybody subs onto the field, A1 crosses over the mid-line into the defensive half leaving only 2 players in their offensive half.

I called offsides though I have to admit I can't say for certain that A had 8 players in their defensive half. It just looked bad and I guess I reacted instinctively.

I know we count forward and the rulebook only refers to teams having more than a certain number of players on each side but is there any justification for an offsides call when a team gains an advantage by having too few players on either side of the field?

The rule book says that any additional strings or laces (e,g, shooting strings, V channels) must be located within 4 inches of the top of the crosse. Is it a penalty if they are not? Or is it like strings with a hanging length more than two inches where the crosse is simply removed from the game until corrected?

Had a head coach friend ask me if he could paint his seniors' numbers on the field for senior-night...?

Take this strictly hypothetical situation and the role of the referee -not his umpires - in the authority given him to control a game : Team A takes a shot dead on in front of the goal, Ball hits the crossbar , clangs off the crossbar and goes to midfield. The "C" immediately blows his whistle and signals a goal ! Not the lead but the "C" !! The "R" gets his two umpires together and the "C" is adament that it was a good goal. Both the "R" and the other umpire saw and heard the "clang" and knew it was NOT a goal. In fact , everyone knew it was not a goal. The "C" then takes the ball and shows at the goal where it hit. Everyone sees this action. The "R" is in a tough position. His "C" is immature and showing him up. Does the "R" have the right given him to overturn this goal seeing that his other umpire agrees with him? What power would he have if the other umpire said he didn't see the ball ? And in general , what authority does the "R" have throughout the game to overturn calls, penalties and what have you if he is sure he is in the right?

At my game today we have hit the horn with 4 min left in halftime and both teams hustled back to the benches and started getting into positions for the 2nd half face off

We tried to let them know they still had time left if they wanted it and I was telling one of the coaches that they didn’t need to rush and he said something to the effect of “then why did you give us the 4 min warning?”

I explained to him why we give the 4 minute horn and it was completely new to him

After the game I wanted to look up the exact rule so I could better explain it in the future but I haven’t been able to find it in the rule book

What is the actual rule regarding the coaches conference at the 4 min mark of halftime?