March 2, 2010
Explaining the slash
by Paul Quill/
Running stride for stride with the ball carrier, the defender reaches out and initiates body contact — both hands together on his crosse — and pushes the attacker off-stride.
As he extends his arms, the head of his stick makes contact with the offensive player’s facemask.
“Hey Ref! That’s a slash! He got him on the head!”
Sorry coach, but just because a player’s stick comes in contact with an opponent’s head doesn’t make it a slash. From NCAA Rule 5, A.R. 17: “Contact in and of itself does not constitute a foul. The contact must be a definite blow.”
Now, thanks to that hard defensive pressure, the same attacker drops the ball. The defender moves in for the kill, raising his stick up and bringing it down with a vicious blow to the attacker’s hands.
I blow my whistle and throw the flag.
“Hey Ref! That’s no slash! He got him on the hands!”
Sorry coach, but landing a check on the opponent’s hands can still be a slash.
I ran into both of these situations in a recent game and figured it was time to discuss what I think is the most popular personal foul in men’s lacrosse, the slash.
According to NCAA Rule 5, Section 7, slashing includes:
a. Swinging a crosse at an opponent’s crosse or body with deliberate viciousness or reckless abandon, regardless of whether the opponent’s crosse or body is struck.
b. Striking an opponent in an attempt to dislodge the ball from his crosse, unless the player in possession, in an attempt to protect his crosse, uses some part of his body other than his head or neck to ward off the thrust of the defensive player’s crosse and, as a result, the defensive player’s crosse strikes some part of the attacking player’s body other than his head or neck.
c. Striking an opponent in any part of the face, on the neck, in the chest, on the back, on the shoulders, in the groin or on the head with the crosse (including it’s butt end), except when done by a player in the act of passing, shooting, or attempting to scoop the ball.
The rules note that a player’s gloved hand is considered part of the stick when it is holding the shaft, unless that hand is also in contact with the ground.
What does this mean?
a. Your checks must be under control, even when they are on your opponent’s hands. You can argue forever on what’s vicious and reckless; it’s strictly a matter of opinion. As a player or coach, it pays to know the ref’s opinion; I threw my flag on that defender because I thought his check was vicious and reckless, even though it landed on his opponent’s hands. In fact — because stick control is the issue rather than contact — I’d have thrown a flag on him if he had completely whiffed on the check!
b. If a player with the ball takes his hand off his stick to “block” an otherwise legal stick check from a defender, there is no slash. That said, if the offensive player keeps his hand off the stick and keeps it still, the defender can’t take another whack at it. That would be a slash! (A.R. 20)
c. If you throw a stick check and it lands on any of the body parts mentioned, the flag flies!
The level of play also plays a major factor in determining a slash; the hack that gets flagged in a freshman game may not be called a slash that night at a Boston Cannons game.
There will always be controversy on what is reckless and vicious — it’s typically dangerous if your team is getting hit, but a love tap if your team is swinging — but the key for officials is to keep the slash calls consistent throughout the game, and for players and coaches to pick up on the cues of what draws the flag.
Is it spring yet?
