View Full Version : Explain the slow whistle
ColtsLax
10-23-2005, 08:32 PM
ive read the rule book, and i still cant wrap my head around the slow whistle. what does it mean, and why do we have it?
LaxRef
10-23-2005, 08:56 PM
ive read the rule book, and i still cant wrap my head around the slow whistle. what does it mean, and why do we have it?
The basic idea is that if team A has the ball and team B commits a slash, than stopping the play immediately actually rewards team B, since it kills team A's scoring play and allows team B to set up their defense.
Thus, if team A has possession and is fouled, we don't stop the play (if team A maintains possession), we throw the flag and yell "Flag down!" Then team A gets to try to score before the guilty team B player starts serving their penalty. It is similar to a delayed penalty in hockey (and will be even more similar in NCAA lacrosse this year due to an upcoming rule change).
BTW, I hate the term "slow whistle"; the term "delayed whistle" would actually be much more accurate.
Does that help?
_lax4life_
10-23-2005, 09:56 PM
The basic idea is that if team A has the ball and team B commits a slash, than stopping the play immediately actually rewards team B, since it kills team A's scoring play and allows team B to set up their defense.
Thus, if team A has possession and is fouled, we don't stop the play (if team A maintains possession), we throw the flag and yell "Flag down!" Then team A gets to try to score before the guilty team B player starts serving their penalty. It is similar to a delayed penalty in hockey (and will be even more similar in NCAA lacrosse this year due to an upcoming rule change).
BTW, I hate the term "slow whistle"; the term "delayed whistle" would actually be much more accurate.
Does that help?
Isnt the penalty enforced after Team A drops the ball or the ball is on the ground?
dram183
10-24-2005, 12:19 AM
why is it that in certain games(not certain if it was college games, coulda been MLL, where the rules might be different), play wasnt stopped until the other team gained possesion?
In the MLL the slow whistle exists after a flag down until a foul by the offended team, ball goes out of bounds or offending team gains possession or the shot clock expires.
New college rule for 2006 has the slow whistle existing after a flag down until ball goes out of bounds, offending team gians possession, offended team has a violation or ball comes out of the box. What is unclear to me is what defines the box during a flag down. Some people have said it was the old box but others say it is sideline to sideline box.
LaxRef
10-24-2005, 07:20 AM
Isnt the penalty enforced after Team A drops the ball or the ball is on the ground?
No. There's a whole list of things that stops the slow whistle. "Ball on the ground" is not one of them, since then you wouldn't be able to make a bounce shot. See http://www.lacrosseforums.com/showthread.php?t=27639 for all of them conditions.
LaxRef
10-24-2005, 07:23 AM
why is it that in certain games(not certain if it was college games, coulda been MLL, where the rules might be different), play wasnt stopped until the other team gained possesion?
Don't ever confuse the rules of a pro league with any other league. The MLL has different rules from NCAA, and NCAA is different from NFHS.
BTW, you have no idea how much the HS football refs complain about coaches, players, and fans telling them that they're idiots because they don't call it the way the NCAA and NFL officials do. Those coaches, players, and fans need to read the NFHS rulebook. It's almost like watching court cases in England and thinking that qualifies you to be an lawyer in the U.S.!
LaxRef
10-24-2005, 07:24 AM
New college rule for 2006 has the slow whistle existing after a flag down until ball goes out of bounds, offending team gians possession, offended team has a violation or ball comes out of the box. What is unclear to me is what defines the box during a flag down. Some people have said it was the old box but others say it is sideline to sideline box.
And last year during the experiment it was the offensive end of the field. I think we'll just have to wait to see the NCAA rules.
(No one at St. Louis seemed to know what the rule was going to be, either.)