NCAA rule changes for 2013 and their impact

Every year, the NCAA makes rules changes  – some years fewer, some year more. Those rules have a way of flowing down to High School and Youth Lacrosse. The MLL has its rules, but in our sport, the NCAA is "King of the Hill." This year, the NCAA made, in my opinion, dramatic changes to the rules of the game. Below, I list the key changes the NCAA has made and provide the perspective of an NCAA DI player whose Fall practices and Fall Ball activities provide a "real world" commentary on the NCAA's changes.

NCAA Rules changes discussed herein:

• eliminate the horn on dead ball out-of-bounds situations

• Institute a 30 second shot clock after a stall warning has been issued

•  extend the length of the substitution box

• change the shape of "shooting strings" within NCAA legal heads

First, here's an article featuring the opinions on the rules changes:

http://insidelacrosse.com/news/2012/09/24/rule-changes-approved-panel

I asked an NCAA DI player who is working with these rules in Fall Ball what his opinions of the following rule changes are:

• No dead ball horn
• Longer substitution box
• 30 seconds to shoot after stall warning
• Defenders 5 yards off the ball carrier. Is this true?
• Stringing changes

He responded as follows:

The no dead ball horn makes the game a track race. In practice, we are getting up and down the field with almost no breaks in the scrimmage. The longer substitution box doesn't play a huge role, except in the clearing game the middies try to get little advantages to maybe get a fast break or get open. The stringing rule has had no effect whatsoever and is a pretty pointless change as far as I'm concerned. I'm a fan of the 30 second shot clock: it's really plenty of time to get a quality shot, and it doesn't restrict the offensive strategy by being forced to keep it in the box. 

2013 will see big changes in the pace of the game. Looking forward to the season!