Sept. 8, 2006

We've all seen this in men's college lacrosse:

Defensemen will poke, prod and sometimes wind up and wail away at the stick of an attackman or midfielder in an attempt to dislodge the ball, only to see the ball carrier continue cradling or lose, if anything, his entire stick.

Or, faceoff midfielders will clamp down on the ball with the back of the stick head and later flip the ball in the air before securing it in the pocket.

Or, ball carriers will run through a gauntlet of opponents, tripping, stumbling and rolling to the ground -- all while maintaining possession of the ball.

Such occurrences may become a part of the past.

Among its rule changes for the upcoming season, the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Rules Committee also adopted, effective with the 2009 season, additional crosse specifications (see release) that should make legal stick checks more effective and faceoffs more competitive.

"We spent a great deal of time on this," said Willie Scroggs, chair of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Rules Committee. "We were sensitive to the manufacturers, but the integrity of the game is important.

"There've been many situations where a player will be able to have an artificial hold on the ball because of the way the stick was made. That hurts the integrity. The changes we're making will not hurt the popularity of the game."

Adjusting stick design was one of the first things on the committee's radar screen when it became its own entity two years ago (previously rules officials and championship administrators were grouped together in the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Committee). Scroggs invited manufacturers to provide input at that time and again in May. It was at this second meeting that rules committee members relayed to manufacturers widespread concern by many involved in the college game that the ball was becoming increasingly difficult to dislodge -- a situation that called into question the spirit of the game and the safety of the ball carrier.

"We told them we needed to address the issue in a more definitive manner this year because we'd had more input. We understood the impact on manufacturers' ability to make sticks, their expenses, the molds they must create, etc.," said Scroggs, adding that manufacturers requested a three- or four-year lag time so that current inventories would not become obsolete.

The rules committee measured all sticks on the market and compared them to sticks of the past before settling on specifications for the front and the back of the stick head. The new requirements are designed to ensure that the ball will become dislodged with a "more normal check, rather than beating someone to death," said Scroggs, and that the ball cannot be lodged in the back of the stick.

Among rule changes that will take effect this year, non-releasable unsportsmanlike penalties will be levied against players who attempt to alter the depth of their pocket by pulling strings or jamming the head into the ground prior to handing the stick to an official upon request -- even if the pocket is subsequently found to be legal. (Additional penalty time will be required if the pocket is found to be illegal or the crosse altered in any way.) A goal scored prior to such inspection, before which the player adjusts his strings or jams his crosse, will be disallowed.

Scroggs noted that players using so-called "pull strings," which can alter the depth of the pocket from legal to illegal and vice versa, was becoming common, and he called that a "serious violation of the spirit of game," challenging coaches to ensure that players show up for a game with legal and unaltered sticks.

Also in effect this season, teams may now call timeouts when a ball carrier crosses their offensive restraining line (previously, possession must have been in the attack zone). The committee also clarified stopping play and awarding possession when a goalkeeper's equipment became broken or dislodged.

Scroggs added that a point of emphasis this year is penalizing checks to the back of a ball carrier during which the defender is making no legitimate effort to dislodge the ball, or has no opportunity to do so.

"Part of the role of this committee is to keep the game as safe as it can," said Scroggs. "It's rough and tough enough as it is without [an attitude of] `anything goes' on the ball carrier."