In reply to: Question about face-offs for people who know lacrosse posted by mikeybates
After every basket?
They are not the same sport.
Think of it this way. The guys without a good face-off player want to get eliminate face-off. It is "unfair" that the other team is better at something. See John Desko's quote in 2014 when Syracuse didn't. Now, compare his quotes in 2017 when he does have one.
And I know this is just a personal opinion. I just like the clearing/riding game more than face offs, and I'm not a fan of how much time there is in between a goal and the face off. I'd rather it have more flow. But I get it completely and don't anticipate that it will ever change.
Having coached girls/women's lacrosse at the high school and college level for 18 years now, I've had teams that were great at winning the draws and some that were terrible. I have been on both sides of that coin, but I still prefer to get rid of it. Just my opinion, and I know I'm in the minority.
In most games the faceoff ratios fall between 65/35 and 50/50 so making the change you describe would not drastically alter most results. However, it would improve the flow of the game. I am in favor of implementing the changes.
I realize that the team with the player nearest the ball retain possession when an errant shot goes out of bounds. It seems almost all the time that the offense retains possession when this occurs. Would a shot clock that covers the entire length of possession be considered or something else?
And I think it should be considered in the men's game. The women have a 90 second possession clock in college that starts immediately when their hey get the ball, no matter where it is. It will reset for certain fouls though. I think it's been a great addition to that game. I think stalls ruin the game and so I was glad to see them add it and hope something like that comes to the men's game.
As for alternating possessions, Navy's old coach, Richie Meade has been lobbying for alternating possessions for quite awhile now to speed up the game. Opponents have said that it hurts the chance of FOGO guys to get college scholarships or even find a way to play. I don't think that's enough of a reason to keep the face off though.
I don't like the idea of a dedicated middie as a fogo. They should be able to play offense and defense. When Hopkins was dominate from 2001 to 2007, they had stretch of dominate face-off guys that could also play. Harrison, Peyser 1 and Peyser 2.
I'm not a fan of that. I don't know how to change it, or if anyone cares enough to even think about changing it, but I think they should be able to play the whole field as well.