In September the NCAA lacrosse rules committee supplemented its rules on stick dimensions to include specifications on the dimensions of the ‘crosse,’ the head of a lacrosse stick. The set of measurements was placed on page 108 of the rule book and put on hold until 2009.

But the new specifications have created plenty of buzz in the lacrosse community. Through the years, the lacrosse stick head has evolved in shape, and the most common stick now is shaped similar to a light bulb or hourglass, narrow close to the shaft and wide at the end.

That shape allows players to easily maintain possession of the ball, while defenders are forced to take more drastic measures to dislodge the ball from their opponents stick. The effects of this have been wide-ranging and led some coaches to criticize the quality of play.

‘What happens is that you coach your guys to check harder,’ Air Force head coach Fred Acee said. ‘And I don’t know if that makes it dangerous, I just think that stick manufacturers have pretty much made their sticks to accommodate mediocre athletes. Guys can play lacrosse with limited skills to some degree because it’s very difficult to get the ball out of their stick.’

This has been a growing concern of head coaches during the last several years, which led to the changes voted on in fall 2006. Navy head coach Richie Meade, a member of the rules committee, said more slashing and harder checks led to questions of the safety and integrity of the game.

‘It’s been an evolution over the last several years,’ Meade said.

Starting in 2009, stick heads will be shaped more like ovals and will be wider at the base. This will make the ball harder to cradle and easier to dislodge. But there are still concerns that loopholes will allow players to skirt the new rules. There is no regulation for how deep a pocket can be, an omission that could prove valuable for face off players.

‘You see some face-off players pinch just the back of the stick and leave the front face of the stick open but pinch the back corners so they get their plastic edge over the ball quicker in the face off,’ Dartmouth head coach Bill Wilson said.

Another issue with stick heads that came to the attention of the rules committee this year was players stringing illegal pockets. A pocket strung illegally can make a ball easier to cradle and have a similar effect as the narrow stick head. Although the rules committee advised officials to perform more stick checks this season, Meade said illegal pockets are difficult to enforce because players can string them in such a way pulling one string can make a pocket legal. Officials have also been instructed to look for players jamming their stick heads into the ground, another method to remedy an illegal pocket.

As it steps up enforcement, the rules committee hopes for an increased role from coaches in discouragement of illegal pockets. Meade said the three-minute non-releasable penalty for an illegal stick should encourage teams to self-regulate pockets.

‘It’s a devastating penalty in a game,’ Meade said.

The underlying issue in these changes is what some coaches view as a deterioration of the game’s integrity. Though Meade acknowledges there are some who do not like to see changes, others like Wilson think the changes are positive.

‘It’s a healthy change for the game,’ Wilson said.

But with nearly two years until the new regulations are implemented, all anyone can do now is speculate about the future of the game.

‘It’s an experiment,’ Acee said. ‘It’s something that has to be tested. When they make the new sticks and players start playing with them, we will have a better idea of how the new rule is going to affect the play of the game.’

Cornell, Albany remain undefeatedFollowing a Navy loss to Georgetown, Cornell and Albany are the only two teams with perfect records and are ranked No. 1 and No. 3, respectively. Cornell kept its top spot for the fourth-consecutive week after beating Pennsylvania, 20-5. Albany improved to 8-0 after a win over Maryland, Baltimore County.

Published on April 3, 2007 at 12:00 pm