Why doesn't lacrosse just remove body checks from the game. The game currently allows it and coaches teach it, but kids get penalized and leave the field confused when the flags get thrown. So can someone please define legal versus illegal hits.
I would really like to see this discussion get rolling. My son is a slim but solidly built defender who often gets flagged for hits that appear legal to me. It seems to me that he is being flagged for being 3 inches taller and bigger than the other kids. So I would really like to know what an illegal hit is, as well as the criteria that refs are looking at when throwing flags.
From my perspective, all hits to the head, above the shoulder, and from behind should be eliminated. What confounds me, however, is when my kid gets flagged for hits not meeting this criteria. I am further troubled by the fact that my kid is routinely confused about why he keeps getting flagged for body checks. On one hand the kids are taught that the only way to slide and take away a shot that is already in motion is to attack the body, but at the same time we are increasingly flagging this behavior. Perhaps I just need to have a better understanding of the rules. Can someone please weigh in?
Also, I would like to see refs counsel the youngsters who get flagged for the more aggressive hits we are talking about. If we really want the game to be safer, the perpetrators (our kids) need to understand why the flags are thrown. I know that in the case of my son, he typically does not understand why he was penalized. In my opinion, this education falls on both the refs and coaches at the youth level.
