2016USLacrosseRulesforBoysYouthLacrosse.PDFVIP

2016 US Lacrosse Rules for Boys Youth Lacrosse The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) 2016 Boys Lacrosse Rules Book shall govern US Lacrosse boys’ youth play, except as amended below. The US Lacrosse Men’s Game Committee has approved these exceptions to the NFHS Rules. Send questions about the US Lacrosse Rules for Boys Youth Lacrosse to the US Lacrosse Men’s Game Rules Subcommittee at boysyouthrules@. Please do not contact NFHS about the following rules. Overarching Principle The game is to be played with emphasis on the proper development of individual stick skills, team play, player safety, and sportsmanship. 2016 Points of Emphasis US Lacrosse endorses the points of emphasis in the 2016 NFHS Boys Lacrosse Rules, and adds the following points of emphasis for youth play: VIOLENT COLLISIONS – Some body contact is permitted at all levels of boys’ youth lacrosse, with progressively more age-appropriate contact permitted as players become more physically mature and learn proper checking techniques. However, sports medicine research indicates that the severity of certain injuries may be reduced if a player can anticipate and prepare himself for an oncoming hit, and other sports medicine research indicates that peripheral vision may not be fully developed in many boys before approximately age fifteen. Therefore, there is no justification for deliberate and violent collision by any player at any youth level, especially intentional player-to-player collisions with defenseless players (so-called “blind side” and “buddy- pass” checks), checks involving the head and/or neck, and excessive body-checks (“take-out checks”). The 2016 NFHS Rules and US Lacrosse Boys Youth Rules more clearly define such violent collisions and in many cases increase the severity of the penalties that prohibit them. All partic