Face Off Question

[beam]

The last two games I have officiated (NFHS rules), players and coaches have come to me and said the opponent is in a illegal faceoff position. They are saying that the face-off specialist has his knee or knees on the ground which is illegal (the players have otherwise been in a legal face-off position). I have not been able to find any rule stating if this is an illegal face off postion.

Can anyone shed any light? Is this a ILF rule(a coach who plays club told me they are not allowed having a knee on ground during faceoffs)? Thanks for the help

[tjslax]

Rule 4 section 3, articles 3 and 4 say nothing about putting a knee on the ground, therefore in federation play it should be allowed. (I will not quote these examples because they are long paragraphs)

[Snake~eyes]

Rule 4 section 3, articles 3 and 4 say nothing about putting a knee on the ground, therefore in federation play it should be allowed. (I will not quote these examples because they are long paragraphs)
This is the rule, I couldn't tell you if your league has special rules, tlak to the league comissioner.

[LaxRef]

If the rules don't say you can't do it, it's legal (unless the officials rule USC or something similar, which is not an issue here). They may just be confused because, say, they got called for a knee in the neutral zone and thought the call was because the knee was on the ground. It's also possible you have an official running around telling people this made-up rule and convincing people it's real. Just in case, check with your director of officials and have him send out a ruling to get everyone on the same page.

[CoachRob]

You can put your knee on the ground, or even brace your arm against your thigh/knee, so long as everything is to the left of the throat of the crosse. The "knee on the ground is illegal" is a myth.