Guidance — No Checking/Modified Checking
US
Lacrosse is attempting to send a consistent message regarding checking to youth
players. It is the hope of the Rules Committee that mandating no full checking
will allow the beginning player to work on the basic fundamentals of the game -
passing, catching, footwork, proper positioning, and marking - before they are
introduced to the more advanced skill of stick checking.
Once players have mastered the basic fundamentals, programs will want to
introduce modified stick checking. Players on 5th through 8th grade teams will
be allowed to use modified checking as an intermediate step towards full
checking. Modified checking is defined as checking the stick if it is below
shoulder level, using a downward motion away from the other player's body. Use
of modified checking will allow the older youth player to learn proper checking
skills, while at the same time encouraging good cradling and stick handling
skills for the attack player. Umpires and coaches should strictly enforce this
rule, never allowing checks near a player's head or face.
It should be
noted that stick-to-stick contact is not necessarily a violation of the no
checking/modified checking rule. A defender who is holding her stick in good
defensive position may force the attack player to cradle into her stick causing
contact. This is not considered a stick check, as the attack player initiated
the contact, not the defender. A similar situation would exist when the
defender puts her stick up in an attempt to block or intercept a pass and the
attacker makes contact while in the act of passing or catching the ball.
3Second Rule
Note: If the player with the ball takes the stick to
the other side of her body and thus away from the defender making a legal check
impossible, the 3-second count would be over. If the defender adjusts her
position to where a legal check could be made, or the stick is brought back to
a checkable position, the count starts again. If another teammate joins the
defender and that second defender is in good position to check, the count
starts again. The umpire will give an audible 3-second count. The purpose of
this rule is to encourage good defensive positioning and to make the offensive
player aware of her defender. The attack player must try to keep the stick away
from the defender, and, if she does not she will be forced to pass or she will
lose the ball. Even when the defender may not check, if she
is in good defensive position she will force the attack player to pass.
This will give her team a chance for a play on the ball either by interception,
by blocking the attempted pass, or by forcing a bad pass and causing a ground
ball.
Penalties for Fouls
The penalty for fouls is a free position with all players, including
the offender, moving 4m away from the player with the ball.
Major Fouls:
Major fouls are in place
to protect the safety of players in the game and give guidelines as to whether
play is dangerous or not.
There are three types of
major fouls in women's lacrosse:
- fouls involving the stick,
- fouls involving the body, and,
- fouls within the critical scoring
area.
a. Fouls involving the stick:
o
Players
may not use their stick in a dangerous manner.
o
A
defender may not swing her stick toward the body or head of her opponent nor
may she hold her opponents' stick or body.
o
A
player with the ball may not hold the ball in her stick with her hand or cradle
the ball in front of her face.
b. Fouls involving the body:
o
A
defender may not restrain or hold an opponent with her stick or body by
blocking, detaining, or pushing.
o
A
player in possession of the ball may not charge, or lean in with her shoulder
or back into an opponent.
o
A
defender may not reach around her opponent to check the stick.
o
Using
one's hands or body to gain an advantage over one's opponent - A player may not
"push off" her opponent with her hand or body to gain positional
advantage.
c. Fouls within the critical scoring
area:
1. Three-second violation (only for a player defending her
goal)
No defender may stand in the 8-meter arc for more than 3 seconds without being
within a stick's length of the attacker she is marking.
2. Obstruction of shooting space
i.
For
an attacker with the ball who is in the critical scoring area, no defender may
stand in the attacker's free space towards the goal unless she is marking the
player with the ball or another attack player within a stick’s length. This
foul is called "shooting space."
ii.
A
defender may pass through this free space when:
- the player with the ball is not looking to shoot
- the ball is on the ground or if it is being passed in the air
- she is within a stick's length of her opponent.
3. Dangerous play (by an attacker shooting on the
goal)
The attacker assumes the responsibility to control her shot and her stick after
releasing the ball. A shot may not be directed at a field player or the
goalkeeper's body, especially her head or neck. This does not apply if a player
moves into the path of the ball. Any shot taken without regard to the
positioning of other players is dangerous.
d. Penalties for committing a major
foul:
0. Outside of the 8-meter arc:
The opposing team gets a free position at the location of the foul. The person
who committed the foul stands 4 meters behind the fouled player. The rest of
the players on the field must move 4 meters away from the ball.
1. If the defense fouls within the
8-meter arc:
i.
The
offense gets a free position from the closest hash mark on the 8-meter arc.
ii.
The
player who committed the foul goes 4 meters behind the fouled player.
iii.
All
players (offense and defense) must clear out of the 8-meter arc.
Click here to see the Flash Movie
2. If the offense fouls within the
8-meter arc:
The defense gets the ball on the 8-meter arc and the attacker who committed the
foul must go 4 meters behind.
|
Minor
Fouls |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Minor fouls in girls'
lacrosse are less severe and less disruptive of play. They include: 1.
Empty stick checking - A player may not check her opponent's stick when the
opponent does not have the ball in her pocket. 2.
Covering or guarding a ground ball with the stick or body - A player may not cover the
ball with the pocket of her stick, step on the ball or cover the ball with
any other part of her body thereby obstructing the ball from other players. 3.
Using an illegal stick - A player must play with a stick of legal length and
pocket depth. 4.
Not wearing a mouth guard or eye protection – Every player must wear a mouth
guard and eye protection at all times on the field. 5.
Jewelry
- A player may not wear any jewelry at any time during a game. (Medical
Alerts that cannot be removed may be taped down with athletic tape.) 6.
Illegal substitution - A player may not enter the field before her teammate
leaves the field, and must enter the field through the substitution area. 7.
Delay of game - A player or team may not intentionally delay the game by either
failing to stand when the whistle is blown, failing to move 4 meters away
from a player on a free position, failing to wear a mouth guard or eye
protection, or behaving in any other way which in the umpire's opinion
amounts to a delay. 8.
Illegal draw - A player may be cited for an illegal draw if she draws too soon,
does not move her stick up and away, moves before the whistle after the draw
is set up, or if the ball does not go above the heads of the players taking
the draw. 9.
Intentionally the ball off her body - A player may not use her body
to deliberately impede, accelerate or change the direction of the ball. b. Penalties for committing a minor
foul: 1. Outside of the 8-meter arc: 2. Within the 12-meter fan, defense
fouls: |
|
|