High School Lacrosse Gets A Rules Makeover For 2012 Season

Lacrosse is the fastest-growing youth sport in America, with more and more clubs, groups and organizations popping up throughout the country. At the recent JZ Sports Camp, run by Lake Zurich High School athletes Jimmy Bohn and Zach Till and attended by 25 elementary school boys from the area, the majority mentioned lacrosse as the sport they had the most fun playing.

Lacrosse is actually the oldest team sport played in this country; originated by Native Americans in Canada and North America, it dates back to at least the 17th century and probably much earlier. The game was a lot different when Canadian or North American Natives played it — up to 1,000 players could be on the field at any given time — but many of the fundamental rules of the game have remained remarkably unchanged and intact.

Starting in the late 19th century, lacrosse became the most popular sport in Canada, as assorted amateur, collegiate and professional teams emerged. And it became an increasingly popular college sport in the eastern region of America; before the emergence of football on university campuses, lacrosse teams were prevalent at schools in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Lacrosse is no longer confined to Canada and the eastern portion of the country, as the sport is now played throughout the Midwest and the rest of the United States as well. Throw a dart at a map and no matter where it hits, you’ll find youth lacrosse leagues in addition to high school and college lacrosse teams. As the sport grows in leaps and bounds, there will be numerous tweakings and fine-tunings in an attempt to get the sport just right, at least in the eyes of the powers that run it.

The National Federation of State High School Associations Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee recently concluded a meeting last month in Indianapolis with some changes to the game at the high school level for the 2012 season. One of the most noteworthy is the elimination of the 10-second count to return to the goal area. There also was clarification of rules in regards to offside situations and a “Get it in/keep it in” command for game officials. All rules changes were voted on and approved by the NFHS board of directors.

Rule 4-15-1, regarding advancing the ball into the goal area, was expanded to describe three situations. A team shall bring the ball into the goal area within 10 seconds: after crossing the centerline with possession; after initially gaining possession in the offensive half of the field; or after regaining possession in the offensive half of the field following a defensive possession. This change dispenses with the need for a player to continually get a touch in the goal area every 10 seconds. Kent Summers, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Boys Lacrosse Rules Committee, said the 10-second rule change will allow teams to run their offense more efficiently, as well as simplifying the counting requirements for the officials.  

In Rule 4-11, “a team is not considered offside if a team with too few players at either end of the field has not gained an advantage because the player(s) in question are off the field of play.” The official should withhold the whistle or flag in this situation, and observe how the potentially offending player re-enters the game. Summers said that a team, in fact, has not gained an advantage in this situation and may be at a disadvantage by having too few players on the field. He said that if the team with too few players gains an advantage by delaying the substitution, then the correct call by an official should be an illegal procedure foul rather than an offside foul.

In Rule 4-34, the committee drafted the “Get it in/keep it in” command for officials to use in two situations involving offensive possession. The situations when the new rule is to be enforced are “under two minutes remaining in the game when the game is not tied” and “stalling.” When the ball is outside the goal area, the official verbally announces “get it in,” forcing the team in possession to advance the ball into the goal area within 10 seconds and keep it in. The “keep it in” command forces the team in possession to keep the ball in the goal area. Regarding stalling, the committee revised Rule 6-10-2 to state that the warning will be made when, in the judgment of the officials, a team in possession of the ball is keeping the ball from play by not attacking the goal. The phrase “in the judgment of the officials” replaces the word “obvious” when ascribing an official’s reason for making such a determination. Summers explained that what is obvious to one official may not be the case with another.

The final major rules change states that “a player who accumulates five minutes of personal fouls has fouled out of the game but has not been ejected.” Previously, the rule required five personal fouls. Summers explained that it is “extremely rare” for a player to accumulate five personal fouls. The old rule didn’t serve its purpose — to act as a deterrent against excessive roughness or to using an illegal crosse.

There were several other rules changes that the committee also approved, including:

• Rule 1-2-1 Penalty: If, because of a logo or any other reason, the home team’s field is without a clearly marked center line, possession of the ball goes to the visiting team to begin the contest.
• Rule 4-3-3: The crosses and gloves shall rest on the ground along the center line parallel to each other, up to, but not touching, the center line.
• Rule 4-7-1: If at any point the ball becomes stuck in the front or back of the crosse, there shall be an immediate whistle and the ball awarded to the opposing team. This rule applies when a player loses his crosse and the ball remains in or under the head of the crosse.