Taylor's Takes: The Rules Debate

As one of the fastest growing sports in the world, lacrosse is having to continuously adapt rules from age group to age group. With each year, there are changes made at every level to continue to help propel the game forward while keeping players of all ages safe. 

In this week’s Taylor’s Takes, I’ll be focusing on rules both new and old that have recently come up in debates.

Some are rules that I’d love to stick around, and others I’m hopeful will change in upcoming years.

SHOOTING SPACE

One of the hardest calls for refs to consistently make these days is shooting space. With players now able to shoot more accurately from so much farther away, we’ve seen many more (and some very questionable) shooting space calls the past few seasons. Some of these calls are legitimate, while others leave many — including myself — scratching their heads.

Despite the varying interpretations of the rules by some referees, I still think the shooting space call is integral to our game from both a safety and game flow perspective. Players are shooting exponentially harder these days given the advanced stick technology, and injuries would be through the roof if shooting space wasn’t called. 

THREE SECONDS

This is another call that I think is integral to our game from a safety perspective. I played without shooting space or three seconds during my time at Athletes Unlimited, and it was harder for us to not only produce shots, but also shoot safely and consistently during a match depending on if a team was in a man or zone defense. If the rules are looking to progress away from three seconds in the entirety of the eight-meter fan, I personally wouldn’t be opposed to having markings similar to the basketball paint where teams can’t hang out in front of the cage for three seconds. My hope is that the rule stays as is, but if not, maybe that could be an option? 

THE DRAW

There are many who want to get rid of the draw and play the full-field game in a similar fashion as Sixes with goalie clears immediately after goals. I may be a bit biased here as a center, but I think the draw is one of the major parts of our game that makes it so unique. There’s so much technique, teamwork and communication that goes into every draw, and I think we would be mistaken to take this niche part of the sport away.

I’ve been pleased with the adjustments made regarding draw resets and alternating possessions over the years, and I think they have improved that part of the game tremendously.

SHOT CLOCK LENGTH

The shot clock by far has been the best improvement our sport has made in recent years. The pace of play is much higher on both ends, offenses are putting more shots on cage and defenses are being rewarded for solid defensive stands. The only change, if any, I would ever want to see would be to the length of the shot clock.

I believe that college teams are skilled enough to get quality shots off within 60-75 seconds and that lowering the overall time would see a faster game than we already have. However, I’m also content with the 90 seconds we’re seeing in today’s game.

MIDFIELD GREEN CARDS

This year’s new green card rule has been the most controversial of all rule changes in recent memory, as it has essentially eliminated the ride from our game. I understand and appreciate the rules committee’s emphasis on player safety, as I, too, think our game was getting overly aggressive, especially between the restraining lines.

But by enforcing such strict rules about contact in the midfield, the ride — one of the most exciting parts of our game — has become almost non-existent. We’ve also increased the length of games by 30 minutes or so, which makes the viewing experience more difficult both in person and on television.

I would love for us to find a happy medium — one where the ride can still exist while also punishing those players who cross check, swing excessively, etc.