NCAA Lacrosse Faceoff Rule Changes

Within the past decade or so, the sport of lacrosse has become increasingly more and more popular throughout the United States and especially along the west coast. As the game has grown, we’ve seen numerous improvements and great enhancements to the game, mainly at the college level. But recently, the NCAA has enforced certain rules regarding the ways and techniques of the face-off in lacrosse. Previously, two opposing plays laid their sticks down on the ground parallel to each other with the back of the sticks facing one another. When the referee blows the whistle, each player clamps down and tries to muscle the opposing player away from the ball. This method of play required extreme talent and was a blast to watch. This year, the NCAA enforced new rules that completely changed the faceoff game forever. No longer can players clamp on the ball and hold it in the back of their sticks and each player must start 12 inches from the other player. These rules have sparked an extreme amount of controversy and discussion among players. The majority of players and fans are against the rule changes for obvious reasons. In this article, current and former players argue their points about the dilemma and I agree with them all.

In the article, speakers’ main points were that the new rules enforce more violent contact, required less skill from the players, and were not as exciting to watch. Coming from men who specialize in the field of face offs in lacrosse, their argument is very powerful and they know exactly what they’re talking about. The new rules force players to rake the ball out and initiate a “scrum” or groundball. This type of play is probably the least interesting aspect of lacrosse and most responsible for injury among players. With a day and age where all sports agencies are advocating for safer play, why potentially make this game more violent and risky for the players? It doesn’t make sense. Some specialists are even going as far to say that not all of these rules will stay in effect past one season of NCAA play. The discussion has gotten so extreme among lacrosse fans that a petition has started to circle to bring back the old rules and veto the new ones. I really think everyone’s big question is, why do the rules need to be changed in the first place? The faceoff was one of the most interesting and different aspect of the game and the NCAA decided to change everything about right out of the blue. I personally think this will ruin the game for certain players and potentially steer away future players. The rule changes are random, unbeneficial, dangerous, and weigh down the excitement of the game of lacrosse. 

 http://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/face-off-specialists-react-to-ncaa-rule-changes/29458