Faceoffs the center of attention at MIAA lacrosse meeting
Coaches: They’re integral to game
Lacrosse coaches want nothing more than to get their players out on the field in a safe manner. They also want to make sure those players will recognize the sport they are competing in.
One of the major topics of conversation in Thursday’s MIAA Boys Lacrosse Committee meeting centered around faceoffs and whether there would have to be any modifications to what many coaches feel is an integral part of their sport.
Andover coach Wayne Puglisi spoke about the need to minimize faceoff modifications as much as possible. Committee member Justin Domingos, the athletic director at Plymouth North, echoed many of the same sentiments, pointing out that hockey currently is being contested with faceoffs.
Eliminating faceoffs could possibly mean one less player on a team getting an opportunity to play since the FOGO (faceoff get off ) guy in many cases is one of the more important members of the team. Given the fact lacrosse was one of a handful of sports not contested last spring due to COVID-19, coaches feel it is extremely unfair.
“Many players only face off for their team,” said Concord-Carlisle boys lacrosse coach Tom Dalicandro. “Faceoffs have become such a specialized position. If that is taken away from those players they will essentially have two years of high school lacrosse taken from them. If hockey can face off inside then I would think lacrosse can (outdoors).”
If there is an advantage to being a spring sport this year, it stems from the fact that lacrosse and all other sports being contested in the spring can learn from the modifications in the three prior seasons (Fall I, Winter and Fall II).
“I think there is a big benefit in that we are playing in the fourth season,” said Dan O’Brien, assistant principal at Belmont. “We can take lessons from soccer and hockey and put it to full use, things like spreading out the bench and extending the coaching box.”
Earlier in the meeting, girls
at-large representative Mary Lou Thimas spoke of the NFHS Rules and Guidelines and one of them touched directly on that topic. The idea was to alternate start at the center with draw positioning to start each half and after goals. This is not alternate possession and does not impact it for penalty administration during the game.
Other rules considerations centered around the pregame meeting. The bullet
points were to limit attendees to one coach from each team and lead official, ensure the pregame meeting is away from the sidelines, all individuals maintain a social distance of 6 feet and mask use by coaches and official is recommended during the meeting.
There was mention of suspending the use of the coin toss. The visiting team will start with possession and the home team will choose
which goal to defend. In closing, eliminate handshakes following the pregame meeting and at the conclusion of the game.
The lacrosse committee seemed to be fine with the new alignments in which each of the four divisions statewide would have roughly 55-56 schools. There was some minor discussion regarding a possible Div. 1A, but interest was lukewarm at best.