2-Man NFHS FO MECHANIC

[pboyd]

The Convention made it clear that the NCAA FO official (3-Man mechanics) can essentially take any position on the faceoff as long as he is motionless (no pointing and no chopping) on the whistle initiating the FO. The FO official stays home and the Center and Bench officials move to cover their respective goals on the whistle.
I'm interested in how members of this forum think this will change the NFHS 2-Man FO mechanic in terms of the officials position on "Set" the the officials arm position and movement (or lack thereof) on the whistle?

[laxfan25]

I see no reason why similar mechanics won't be used in HS. The reasons for the change are valid - better view and less chance of someone using our motion to get a jump, so outside of still saying Down and Set - why not use it?

[LaxRef]

I agree with LF25. (Again? Jeez, this is no fun. I came here looking for a good argument! :chuckle:)

The only possible issue I see is that when you raise your arm the wing officials know you've said "set" and can call a FO violation for early movement. I think this is pretty rare, though.

[Lthomas]

I also believe that the mechanic should be used in High schools. The reasoning for removing the chop is valid. Pointing at the ball seemed meaningless anyway. Use the mechanic at high school level is my vote.

[CardinalPuff]

the only instance where i found the "chop" was appropriate is when the face-off man is deaf, a situation that is entirely reasonable and foreseeable....you've ended his FO career.....

[Lax Fan26]

I agree with LF25. (Again? Jeez, this is no fun. I came here looking for a good argument! :chuckle:)

The only possible issue I see is that when you raise your arm the wing officials know you've said "set" and can call a FO violation for early movement. I think this is pretty rare, though.

Your verbal "SET" should be loud enough to rattle the teeth of the assistant coach, so your wing refs should hear it. :lol:

[MElaxRef]

Making the verbal "SET" so soft that only the face-off players can hear the command prevents the wing men from jumping the whistle.

Tough on deaf FO specialists, though.

[eme]

The word "set" has no bearing on the wing players. As long as they are not on or over the line before the WHISTLE is the key.

Now here's your trick question: Wing middie gets a running start and is

a) in contact with the ground behind the line when whistle blows
b) in the air behind the line when the whistle blows and lands beyond the line after the whistle
c) is in the air over the line when the whistle blows

[LaxRef]

Your verbal "SET" should be loud enough to rattle the teeth of the assistant coach, so your wing refs should hear it. :lol:

I believe the official mechanic was that "SET" was only for the face-off men, not for anyone else.

[laxfan25]

The word "set" has no bearing on the wing players. As long as they are not on or over the line before the WHISTLE is the key.

Now here's your trick question: Wing middie gets a running start and is

a) in contact with the ground behind the line when whistle blows
b) in the air behind the line when the whistle blows and lands beyond the line after the whistle
c) is in the air over the line when the whistle blows
a) legal
b) legal
c) legal

I don't believe he would be considered "over the line" until he alights on the ground on the other side - you are where you left from - until you arrive where you are going! If he could levitate, he would have a huge advantage!

[Rileylax]

"The only possible issue I see is that when you raise your arm the wing officials know you've said "set" and can call a FO violation for early movement. " The FO Official's placing of whistle to lips should be enough of a signal.

[MElaxRef]

By using a whistle on a lanyard for face offs, you can say "down" and "set" with a whistle in your mouth. With the new NCAA FO mechanic, there is no movement at all to tip the wing men.

I agree with LF25 on the answers to eme's quiz.

If a wing man is consistently taking a run at the wing line and timing his approach based on your "set" move, then it is time to delay the whistle a fraction of a second, so that the wing middie is
d) in contact with the ground beyond the wing line when the whistle blows.

Once is all it takes to stop this practice.

[stripes182]

"The only possible issue I see is that when you raise your arm the wing officials know you've said "set" and can call a FO violation for early movement. " The FO Official's placing of whistle to lips should be enough of a signal.

During an NFHS face off, my whistle is in my mouth as soon as the players begin to take their positions. That way, "Set" and the whistle can be in the same breath and avoid almost all jumping problems. So, I'm not sure that your idea is the most efficient signal. What's more, the players on the wings and behind their respective restraining lines technically aren't in violation until the whistle blows. Just my $0.02, anyone else have any thoughts?

[eme]

You are correct Stripes 182. The command "Set" only has relevance for the two FOGOs.

[BlueJaysLaxFan]

Our association meeting tonight had a discussion on the 2 man NFHS FO mechanic, and it looks like we will eliminate the pump/chop. So it's now "down", "set", tweet with no hand movement.