How to hit someone in lacrosse. Lacrosse Tactics: When and How to Hit Legally in the Game

When is hitting allowed in lacrosse. How can players execute legal checks and hits. What are the rules and techniques for body checking in lacrosse. When should a lacrosse goalie leave the crease to make contact.

The Basics of Legal Hitting in Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a physical sport that allows for certain types of controlled contact between players. However, there are strict rules governing when and how players can hit or check opponents. Understanding these rules is crucial for playing the game safely and effectively.

The two main types of legal hits in lacrosse are stick checks and body checks. Stick checks involve using your stick to dislodge the ball from an opponent’s stick or interfere with their stick handling. Body checks involve using your body to impede an opponent’s movement or knock them off balance.

Key Rules for Legal Hits

• Hits must be made from the front or side, never from behind
• Contact must be above the waist and below the neck
• Excessive force is not allowed
• The player being hit must have possession of the ball or be within 5 yards of a loose ball
• Defenseless players cannot be hit

Violating these rules can result in penalties ranging from short man-down situations to ejection from the game. Players must exercise control and good judgment when initiating contact.

Proper Techniques for Body Checking

Body checking is an important defensive skill in lacrosse, but it must be executed properly to be both effective and legal. What are the key techniques for a clean body check?

• Approach from an angle, not straight on
• Lead with your shoulder and chest, not your head
• Keep your feet moving and stay balanced
• Make contact with your core, not just arms
• Follow through with your legs to drive through the opponent

The goal is to use your momentum and body positioning to knock the opponent off balance or alter their path. A well-executed body check can separate a player from the ball or disrupt an offensive play.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Players new to body checking often make some common errors that can lead to penalties or ineffective checks:

• Leaving your feet to make contact
• Lowering your head before impact
• Using your stick as part of the body check
• Hitting a player who has already passed the ball
• Making contact primarily with your arms instead of your core

Proper form and timing are crucial. Players should practice body checking techniques in controlled settings before attempting them in games.

Stick Checking Strategies and Rules

Stick checking is a fundamental defensive skill in lacrosse that allows players to disrupt opponents’ ball control. How can players execute effective stick checks within the rules?

The key to a legal stick check is targeting the opponent’s stick rather than their body. Players can use their own stick to:

• Poke at the ball carrier’s bottom hand
• Lift the opponent’s stick from underneath
• Slap down on the opponent’s stick from above
• Wrap around the opponent’s stick to dislodge the ball

It’s important to note that stick checks must be controlled and not excessively forceful. Wild swinging or chopping motions are illegal and dangerous.

Types of Illegal Stick Checks

Players must be aware of illegal stick checking actions that can result in penalties:

• Cross-checking: Using the portion of the stick between your hands to push or hit an opponent
• Slashing: Making forceful stick contact to any part of an opponent’s body
• Spearing: Jabbing or stabbing an opponent with the end of the stick
• Targeting the head or neck area

Referees closely monitor stick play and will call penalties for any checks deemed dangerous or outside the rules.

When Should a Lacrosse Goalie Leave the Crease to Make Contact?

Lacrosse goalies have a unique role when it comes to physical play. While they are protected from contact while in the crease, there are situations where a goalie may choose to leave the crease and engage in body checking. But when is this appropriate?

Goalies typically leave the crease to make contact in these scenarios:

• To contest a loose ball near the crease
• To disrupt a fast break opportunity
• To challenge a shooter who has beaten the defense
• To clear the ball after making a save

However, goalies must be judicious in deciding when to leave the crease. Doing so leaves the goal exposed and can backfire if the goalie fails to gain possession or stop the play.

Rules for Goalie Contact

When a goalie does leave the crease, they become subject to the same hitting and checking rules as field players. This means:

• They can be legally body checked by opponents
• They must follow all rules for legal body and stick checking
• They cannot use their larger goalie stick to cross-check or slash opponents

Goalies must quickly transition their mindset from protected player to active field player when leaving the crease. Proper technique and decision-making are crucial.

The Role of Hitting in Offensive Strategy

While hitting and checking are primarily defensive skills, offensive players can also use physical play strategically. How can attackers and midfielders incorporate legal contact into their offensive game?

Offensive players can use body position and controlled contact to:

• Shield the ball from defenders
• Create space for shots or passes
• Set picks to free up teammates
• Ride opponents after a turnover

The key for offensive players is to initiate contact in a way that doesn’t draw penalties. This often means subtle pushes and bumps rather than full body checks.

The Pick and Roll

One common offensive tactic involving contact is the pick and roll. This involves one player setting a stationary “pick” to impede a defender, allowing a teammate to cut to the goal. To execute a legal pick:

• The pick setter must remain stationary
• They must give the defender time to react and avoid the pick
• Contact should be minimal – the goal is to occupy space, not knock the defender over

When done properly, picks can create scoring opportunities without drawing penalties.

Teaching Safe and Effective Hitting Techniques

Proper instruction is crucial for developing players who can hit effectively and safely within the rules. How can coaches and programs teach appropriate contact skills?

Key elements of teaching safe hitting include:

• Emphasizing proper technique and form
• Practicing in controlled settings with padding
• Teaching players to recognize illegal vs. legal hits
• Stressing the importance of player safety
• Incorporating hitting progressions into practices

Coaches should start with basic positioning and technique drills before progressing to full-speed contact. Players need to develop proper habits and instincts.

Drills for Developing Hitting Skills

Some effective drills for teaching safe and legal hitting include:

1. Partner shadowing – players mirror each other’s movements without contact
2. Bump drills – players make light contact while moving
3. Gauntlet drill – ball carrier runs through a line of defenders making controlled contact
4. 1-on-1 ground ball battles with body positioning
5. Small-sided games with modified checking rules

Gradually increasing the intensity and speed of contact drills helps players develop control and judgment.

The Impact of Rule Changes on Hitting in Lacrosse

The rules governing physical contact in lacrosse have evolved over time, generally trending towards increased player safety. How have recent rule changes affected the role of hitting in the game?

Some notable rule changes in recent years include:

• Stricter enforcement of cross-checking penalties
• Harsher penalties for hits to the head and neck
• Expanded definition of “defenseless player” protections
• Limitations on stick checking in youth lacrosse

These changes have placed a greater emphasis on controlled, strategic contact rather than big hits. Players and coaches have had to adapt their techniques and tactics accordingly.

The Ongoing Safety Debate

There is ongoing debate within the lacrosse community about how to balance player safety with the physical nature of the sport. Some argue for further restrictions on contact, while others feel the current rules are sufficient if properly enforced.

Key points in this debate include:

• The role of proper technique in preventing injuries
• Whether certain types of hits should be eliminated entirely
• How rule changes impact the overall style and flow of play
• The effectiveness of penalties in deterring dangerous play

As understanding of sports-related injuries continues to evolve, it’s likely that lacrosse rules will continue to be refined to prioritize player safety.

Hitting Tactics for Different Field Positions

The way players use physical contact varies depending on their position on the field. How do hitting and checking strategies differ for various lacrosse positions?

Defenders

Defenders rely heavily on body and stick checking to disrupt offensive players. Their hitting tactics often include:

• Body checks to push attackers away from the goal
• Poke checks to dislodge the ball from cradling attackers
• Lift checks to disrupt shots and passes
• Slap checks to interfere with ground ball pickups

Defenders must be skilled at using contact to control space and deny scoring opportunities.

Midfielders

Midfielders need to be versatile in their use of contact, as they play both offense and defense. Their hitting strategies often include:

• Body checks during rides and clears
• Quick stick checks in transition
• Setting picks on offense
• Using body position to protect the ball when dodging

Midfielders must be able to quickly transition between offensive and defensive contact tactics.

Attackmen

While attackmen are less focused on hitting, they still use controlled contact in several ways:

• Shielding the ball from defenders
• Setting picks for teammates
• Using body position to gain leverage for shots
• Riding defenders after turnovers

Attackmen need to be skilled at using subtle contact to create scoring chances without drawing penalties.

Understanding these position-specific hitting tactics helps players maximize their effectiveness on the field while staying within the rules.

Methacton coach punches North Penn lacrosse player in helmet

A volunteer lacrosse coach from Methacton punched a North Penn lacrosse player on his helmet during a game at North Penn last Friday.

Methacton School District did not identify the coach but issued an apology for the “unprofessional behavior.”

Around the 1:21 mark of the game video, a North Penn player follows as his teammate forced a Methacton player out on the Methacton sideline. Then, a coach with his left arm in a sling is seen punching the player on his helmet.

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Student-athletes from both teams reacted to the punch, as multiple North Penn players quickly ran to the sidelines.  A Methacton player is seen stopping the coach from further interacting with the North Penn athlete he punched. 

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The game video does not show any prior interaction between the player and the coach; it shows the coach who hit the player being escorted out the field after the incident.

Methacton School District superintendent David Zerbe published a statement on Monday saying that “the matter has been addressed.” The statement reads:

“As Superintendent of the Methacton School District, I want to take this opportunity to apologize to the students, players, families, staff and fans of the Methacton School District and the North Penn School District for the unprofessional behavior displayed by a Methacton volunteer coach during the men’s varsity lacrosse game on Friday, May 14. Please know that the matter has been addressed. The behavior of the Methacton volunteer coach in no manner reflects the values of competitive sportsmanship nor the values of our Methacton School District community. “

North Penn officials declined to comment.

The Towamencin Township Police Department said that they are still investigating the case. Officials are in communication with the student-athlete’s family.

Nur B. Adam covers varsity sports and beyond in Bucks County. She understands Gen Z jokes and posts working from home fits on her Instagram stories. Follow her on TikTok, Instagram and Twitter @nurbaadam. Call/text at (267) 397-1404. Email at [email protected].

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Terminology – Fort Bend Panthers Lacrosse

Attack Goal Area
The area around the goal defined by the endline, the Goal Area Line and the two broken lines located 20 yards on either side of the goal. Once the offensive team crosses the midfield line, it has 10 seconds to move the ball into its attack goal area

Attackmen
Attackmen use the shortest stick so as to limit the chance of losing the ball. They generally stay on the offensive half of the field and coordinate the offense. They are usually the best stick handlers and must be quick and agile. Attackmen use a short stick (40-42 inches).

Baggataway
Lacrosse was orginally called Baggataway and was played by Native Americans for a variety of purposes: religious rituals, training of warriors, or to settle inter-tribal disputes. Often the games were played without any boundaries and with goals separated by many miles. It was not unusual to have players injured or killed during baggataway contests. The game acquired its present name because the sticks originally resembled the staffs, or croziers, carried by the French Jesuit missionaries who first observed the game. Thus, we have lacrosse.

Ball or Ball down
All players usually shout ball any time the ball is on the ground. Often this is the first indicator to the player who had it that he has dropped it. Ball can also signal the intent of a player to go after the ball instead of the man.

Body Check
Defensively using the body to hit an opposing ball carrier or while contesting an opponent for a player a loose ball. The body check must always be done above the waist and from the front or side.

Box (The Box)
The rectangular shaped area around the crease/goal. Defenders seldom press players outside of the box. The distance involved makes it all but impossible to score from outside of the box. The rules state that the offense can only possess the ball for so long without entering the box. At the end of a game the team that is ahead must keep the ball inside of the box.

Bull Dodge
protecting the stick by holding it in the outside hand behind the body, the ball carrier basically runs through the defenseman, bulling past toward the goal.

Change planes
When a shooter has a close in shot, the goalie must respect where the ball carrier starts his shot. If the shooter holds his stick high, the keeper does the same. Therefore it is most effective for the shooter to start high and shoot low, or vice versa. This is ‘changing planes’.

Checking
Using your stick to hit the stick of an opponent in possession of the ball.

Clamping
On the face-off, a player pushes the back of his stick down on the ball in the attempt to gain control of it.

Clearing
An important defensive maneuver where defending players run or pass the ball out of their goal area. Clearing is best done along the sidelines, away from the front of the goal.

“Coast to Coast” only occurs when a player nearest their endline takes the ball all the way down the field to the opposing team’s end of the field. Most of the time, this refers to clearing midfielders, or defensemen who carry the ball across midfield and into the offensive half and towards the cage. Coast to coast- from one goal to the other.

Cradling
In order to maintain control of the ball when moving along the field, players turn their wrists and arms to cradle the ball in the stick pocket.

Crease
The eighteen-foot diameter circle surrounding each team’s goal.

Crosschecking
Hitting the opponent with the part of the stick between your hands. One-minute penalty.

Cutting
An attacking player without the ball darts around a defender toward the goal in order to receive a “feed pass.” A cutting player is a cutter.

D Cut
A maneuver used by an attackman to get open for a shot. The player starts on the GLE, about 5 yards away from the goal. He then makes a rounded cut, on the side away from the ball. (completing a “D” shape) This is often the third attackmans’ move during a fast break.

Defensemen
Defensemen use a longer stick (52-72 inches) and generally stay on the defensive half of the field. Their job is to guard the opponent’s attackmen and take the ball away from them. Defensemen need to be quick, aggressive and tough. Middies us a short stick (40-42 inches).

Dodge
Any move that gets a ball carrier by a defender. Evading and passing a defender while driving with the ball.

Extra Man (aka Man Up or EMO)
Describes the team at a player advantage in a penalty situation. Opposite of man down.

Face-off
Takes place at the start of each quarter, after every goal, and after certain dead balls. Two opposing players crouch down at midfield, hold their sticks flat on the ground and press the backs of their stick pockets together. The ball is then placed between the pockets and, when signaled to start, the players “rake” or clamp on the ball to vie for control.

Face Dodging
A player with the ball cradles the stick across his face in an attempt to dodge a stick-poking defender. Generally an open field dodge that does not involve changing hands.

Failure to advance
When a team gains possession of the ball in the defensive end, it has 20 seconds to cross midfield. Failure to do this results in a “failure to advance” call and the possession is lost. Once past midfield, the team has 10 seconds to get the ball into the “box,” meaning across the restraining line and inside the rectangle made up of the endline and the two inner lines that make up the attack area. Failure to do this also results in a “failure to advance” call and loss of possession. In addition, the offensive team must never keep the ball out of the “box” for more than 10 seconds. If they do, a “failure to advance” call will be made.

Fast Break
When an offensive team quickly mounts a scoring attack enabling them to gain a man advantage over the opposing defense. Almost always a four on three.

Feed Pass
An offensive play in which one player passes the ball to a cutting teammate for a “quick stick” shot on goal.

Flag Down
Tells the offense that a penalty will be called. This means that you should do all that we can to get off a shot without dropping the ball to the ground, which will halt play.

Four-second call
When the goalie makes a save or assumes control of the ball in any way while in the crease he may remain in the crease for only four seconds. If he does not vacate the crease in that time, possession is lost.

GLE (Goal Line Extended)
An imaginary line that extends straight out from the sides of the goal line.

Gilman Clear
Defender, typically the goalie, clears the ball by throwing it as far as he can down the field. Sometimes this is a desperation move, but it is often better to create a ground ball situation in the opponents end than around our own goal area.

Goalie
Also called a goalkeeper, the goalie uses a wider stick and wears a chest protector, as his job is to stop the opponents’ shots, which may come flying at him at over 100 mph. The best goalies are either brave or crazy … or a little of both. After making a save and gaining possession of the ball, the goalie is allowed to stay in the crease for only four seconds. During that time, no one is allowed to touch him.

Ground Balls
Players compete for the control of lose ground balls by stick checking opponents away from the ball while simultaneously trying to scoop it up.

Head
The plastic of the stick connected to the handle.

In the Dirt
The often trampled area approx. 15 foot radius area in front of the goal. Shots from outside the dirt area should be bounce shots, which are more difficult for keepers to stop. Also known as the ‘hole’. A much smaller area than ‘the box.’

Man Ball
When two teammates approach a ground ball along with one opponent the one closest to the opponent will yell “Man” and engage the opponent head on to keep them away while the other yells “Ball and gets the ball. The rules say that a player on a team with the ball cannot hit someone so after gaining possession the ball carrier immediately yells “Release” turning off the aggression by the teammate and they both go on offense with the ball.

Man Down
Describes the team which has lost a player to the penalty box and must play with fewer men on the field. Man Down teams are often tricky, since it is likely that a defender was penalized.

Man-to-man
A defensive setup in which each defending player guards a specific offensive opponent.

Midfielders
Middies, as they are also called, play both offense and defense, thus, they must run the length of the field. They are usually substituted frequently in units so as to keep them fresh. Speed and endurance are essential for middies. In recent years coaches have begun using “long-stick middies” — middies with defense sticks — as defensive specialists.

Out-of-bounds
When a shot goes out of play, the player closest to the sideline where the ball went out gets the ball.

Passing
An integral part to quickly moving the ball. Players throw overhand or underhand to each other. In most cases a high pass is easier to deal with than a low bouncing dribbler. Slowly thrown lobbed passes give the defense time to react and often result in the catching player being hit before the pass arrives.

Pick
An offensive player without the ball positions himself against the body of a defender to allow a teammate to get open and receive a pass or take a shot. Picks must be stationary and ‘passive’.

Pocket
The head of the stick in which the ball is held and carried. The pocket is strung with leather and/or mesh netting. In order to be legal, the top of a ball cannot be seen when looking at the pocket from the side.

Poke Check
A defender jabs his stick at the exposed stick end or hands of an opposing ball carrier in an effort to jar the ball loose. These checks are very effective in that the checking player stays in balance and keeps a cushion of space between himself and the ball carrier.

Quick Stick
When the ball reaches an offensive player’s stick on a feed pass, he catches it and then shoots it toward the goal in one swift motion.

Raking
A face-off move by a player who, in trying to gain possession of a ground ball, places the head of his stick on top of the ball and sweeps it back. Raking is done standing still. This means that often people who rake will be legally hit by an opposing player. Raking is a very bad habit that is difficult to unlearn. EXCEPTION: Goalkeepers can rake or ‘clamp’ a ground ball legally from the crease.

Release
Players shout release when they succeed in scooping a ground ball. This indicates to teammates that they can no longer make contact with the opponents to drive them away from the ball. Doing so is a penalty.

Riding
When an attacking team loses possession of the ball, it must quickly revert to playing defense in order to prevent the ball from being cleared back out. In most ride situations, the goal-keeper will be left un-marked.

Roll Dodge
An offensive move in which a bal carrier, using his body as a shield between a defensive player and the cradled ball, spins around the defender. To provide maximum ball protection, the ball carrier switches hands as he rolls.

Support
When a player without the ball moves into a position where the player with the ball can make a clear pass.

Scooping
The manner in which a player picks up loose ground balls. He bends toward the ground, slides the pocket of his stick underneath the ball, and lifts it into the netting of the stick.

Screen
An attacking player without possession of the ball positions himself in front of the opposing goal crease in an effort to block the goalkeeper’s view.

Shaft
A hollow aluminum or composite pole connected to the head of the crosse.

Skip – To pass to a non-adjacent teammate. Also known as a star pass. (like drawing a star)

Slap Check
A stick check (inferior to the poke check). The defender uses his stick to slap the stick of the offensive player who has the ball. Poke checks are preferred since it is easier to keep you feet moving and stay balanced during the check.

Slashing
Striking an opponent’s body other than his hand with your stick. (To an extent, striking the arms is allowed.) One-minute penalty.

Slide
When an offensive player with the ball has gotten past his defender, a defending teammate will shift his position to pick up that advancing player.

Split Dodge
A move similar to a crossover in basketball. While running one direction, a player with the ball quickly steps in the opposite direction and changes hands leaving the defender going the other

Square Up
To position one’s body in preparation to pass. This means to aim the leading shoulder towards the target.

Stick Check
In an effort to dislodge the ball from the “pocket,” the defending player strikes his stick against the stick of an opposing ball carrier in a controlled manner.

Unsettled- Situation
Any situation in which the defense is not positioned correctly, usually due to a loose ball or broken clear, or fast break. Teams that hustle score many goals during unsettled situations.

V Cut
A maneuver used by an offensive player to get open for a pass. The offensive player feints in causing his defender to react and move, he then cuts sharply away (completing the “V” shape) See also “D cut”

Warding Off
While in possession of the ball, using a free hand to control an opponent’s stick or body

Zone Defense
When defenders play in specific areas of their defensive zone, rather than covering man-to-man.

Lacrosse player dies after chest hit

The death of a Cornell men’s lacrosse player, apparently caused by a ball hitting him in the chest, will likely re-ignite the debate on whether the sport’s players are wearing enough equipment.

George Boiardi, a 22-year-old senior who had been a multi-sport athlete at Landon School in Bethesda, died Wednesday evening at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, N.Y.

Though not suggesting more equipment is the answer, Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala said: “A young man lost his life, and we have to find a way to try to prevent this from happening again.”

With 2:33 left in the Big Red’s game against Binghamton in Ithaca, N.Y., Boiardi was hit with the ball while defending a shot on goal.

According to reports in the Ithaca Journal, Boiardi, a four-year starter and defensive midfielder, took a few steps before falling to the ground.

Though emergency crews tried to revive him on the field, Boiardi never regained consciousness and died at the hospital.

The official cause of death will not be determined until after an autopsy.

A blow to the chest can cause a rare, often fatal event called commotio cordis, in which the blow interferes with the heart’s electrical impulses, causing a heart attack. However, Newsday reported that Boiardi was bleeding from the mouth after the incident, a symptom not usually attributed to commotio. The bleeding, Newsday said, likely indicated a fatal vascular rupture.

Dr. Richard Hinton, a sports orthopedic surgeon at Union Memorial Hospital and co-chairman of the Sports, Safety and Science Committee of US Lacrosse, the sport’s governing body, said it is a little unusual for commotio cordis to affect an athlete Boiardi’s age.

Still, the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research’s annual report, conducted from fall 1982 to spring 2002, recorded five lacrosse deaths from commotio cordis.

Among them:

In March 2001, Todd Bernhardt, a freshman at Rochester Institute of Technology, died a week after he was hit with an errant shot before RIT’s game against Springfield (Mass.) in Philadelphia.

Louis Acompora, a freshman goalie at Northport High in Long Island, N.Y, was killed after taking a shot in the chest in March 2000. Acompora’s parents were the driving force behind a law that requires one portable defibrillator in each high school in New York.

Eric Sopracasa, a defenseman at Massachusetts, died in May 1999 when he took a ball in the chest during a practice.

“Once is too many times for this to happen,” said Pietramala, who recruited Boiardi to play at Cornell before leaving to coach his alma mater. “I’m not a doctor and don’t know the solution to the problem, but I do know this: We have to find one.”

Others have campaigned for rules requiring field players to wear more and better equipment, such as chest protectors. Goalies are required to wear the chest padding, but not field players.

Shoulder pads are required for field players, but the extent of coverage and padding that shoulder pads offer differs based on player preference.

Defenders, who don’t get checked as much as offensive players, are known to wear smaller and lighter shoulder pads – some that barely reach their chests.

Said Landon’s Rob Bordley, who coached Boiardi in lacrosse and football: “Maybe this tragedy will result in people re-examining the equipment to make sure that we maximize this protection to this area. I don’t know. I’m sure the NCAA will wrestle with these issues.”

In a statement yesterday, Eastern College Athletic Conference commissioner Phil Buttafuoco encouraged the lacrosse community “to evaluate the type of equipment that is being used by the student-athletes.”

Still, according to medical professionals, avoiding these tragedies may not be as simple as wearing more equipment. Acompora was wearing a chest protector when he got hit with the shot.

“It has to be a firm blow, but it’s not necessarily the amount of the blow,” said Dr. Bill Howard, director of Union Memorial Sports Medicine Center. “The timing is also what matters. You could still wear pads and get hit with a pretty good jolt.”

Said Hinton: “Most people will look at this and say why don’t they make these guys wear chest protectors, but there is no experimental data to suggest that chest protectors would prevent this. “

Dr. Barry Maron, of the Minneapolis Heart Institute, said the role of equipment in limiting the effect of commotio cordis is unresolved.

“There is a lot of anecdotal info that the chest protectors out there are not as protective as they may assume,” said Maron.

Sun staff writers Erika Niedowski and Lem Satterfield contributed to this article.

Research by LC professor and students reveals new facts on lacrosse impacts – University of Lynchburg

Getting hit in the head during practices and games is part of being an athlete. It is common knowledge that really hard hits can cause concussions and other serious brain injuries.

Dr. Tom Bowman, associate professor of athletic training, and a group of students are researching the frequency and severity of impacts in men’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s soccer.

Dr. Bowman said one of the impacts they measured in men’s lacrosse team members last spring was “like driving your car into a tree at 40 miles per hour. ”

Eleven male lacrosse players volunteered for the testing. The student researchers found that the men suffered 651 impacts per 1,000 exposures (practice or game). In other words, men can expect to get hit in the head 3.5 times for every five times they play.

More disturbing, the research showed that of 108 head impacts in games that should have drawn a penalty, only two were called, Dr. Bowman said. He hopes that findings like these may encourage referees to become stricter when enforcing rules.

Dr. Bowman said very little research has been done on head impacts outside of football, and to date, no research has been published on soccer. With the help of his students, he hopes to change that. “Division III has the highest rate of participation and the least research,” said Dr. Bowman, whose efforts to change that have been recognized by the Virginia Athletic Trainers’ Association (VATA), which named him the 2015 Athletic Trainer of the Year for Research.

“Our intention is to make sports safer. It’s what our careers are all about.”

Dr. Bowman admits he has some personal reservations about children’s exposures. “I played football for eight years growing up, but it will be a tough decision if my son wants to play,” he said.

After collecting data on men’s lacrosse last spring, athletic training majors Lydia Vollavanh ’15, Elizabeth Koehling ’15 and Kathleen O’Day ’15 analyzed the data, which included watching video of every practice and game to see how athletes were hit. The students are preparing several abstracts on the results of the men’s lacrosse survey to submit to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association with hopes of presenting their research at the national meeting in June.

Athletes who agree to be part of the program have a sensor called an xPatch by X2 Biosystems hooked behind their ear. The xPatch contains a gyroscope that measures the “g” forces every time the head is hit. The hit can be head to head, head to body, head to stick or ball, or head to ground.

Lydia has been studying what is termed the impact of mechanism on the head, that is, what caused the hit to an athlete’s head. In the men’s lacrosse study, she found — not surprisingly — that the softest blow was when someone’s head hit a body as opposed to a stick, helmet or the ground.

A club soccer player, Lydia said the study has not changed her mind about participating in sports, nor would she discourage others, but she said knowledge is important. “People need to be aware of the dangers they’re putting themselves in,” she said.

Lydia, who aspires to work with professional soccer teams in England, said having the chance to do this level of research at the undergraduate level is amazing and that the LC athletic training program is top notch. “People don’t understand the impact our faculty have on the athletic training community as a whole,” she said.

Lacrosse player Austin Stewart ’16 says he doesn’t think he has had any severe blows to the head. “It is tough to describe the experience because it happens so fast and you get back up and keep playing so you don’t really have time to let that feeling soak in,” he said. “I have experienced a hazy green vision in the past when experiencing contact to the head that goes away almost instantly.

“My biggest fear is that the amount of contact in the sport of lacrosse is underestimated, and the helmets are not protective enough, and not nearly as protective as football helmets.”

He said the study makes him more aware of the dangers of head injuries within the sport, but he is hopeful that helmets become “more about safety and less about style in the future.”

Steve Koudelka, head coach for men’s lacrosse, said he is grateful for the research and also thinks improving men’s lacrosse helmets would be the most effective way to reduce head injuries. Soccer players, however, have no such option. “Concussion rates are higher for women than men in soccer,” Dr. Bowman noted, adding that he guesses that they probably get hit more often and report more often than men.

All-American soccer player Angela Bosco ’14 said the study has made her more aware of the trauma she has experienced. “Two years ago, I got a concussion in our game against Virginia Wesleyan,” she said. “All I remember was I was going up to head the ball and the next thing I knew I was on the floor. I was definitely not myself after I got hit; they had scored shortly after that and I had no idea where I was. I asked my coach to take me out because I was so confused and, sure enough, I had a concussion.

“I would say yeah, I am definitely a little concerned about blows to the head affecting me long term, even minor ones. It is pretty scary seeing the results of some of the hits that you experience during soccer.”

This article appeared in the Spring 2015 edition of the University of Lynchburg Magazine. For more content from this issue, visit http://www.lynchburg.edu/spring2015

There is no place for late hits/head shots in (youth) lacrosse

As some of you know I have been around lacrosse on so many different levels for quite a while. I love it like it’s my own child and it’s given me everything I have in my life. There are clearly some great things going on with the sport and clearly some big issues. Among the things I love are the growth in participation,  the fact that elite NCAA players are coming from all over the U.S, and the growth in television coverage.

Amongst the issues in my mind are the rising costs of participation and the early recruiting mess.

However to me the most startling is the lack of quality officiating during tournaments and in general all youth play and the emphasis on physicality and in particular shots to the head and late high hits. I recently spoke with a true legend in the game. A guy who coaches HS lacrosse, coaches in the MLL, coached Team Canada to the World Championship, played at Hopkins and grew up in Canada. His take? Lacrosse should not be a collision sport it should be a physical contact sport. Is he soft? Am I soft? If you think so come watch me coach or view some highlights of how I played the game. Physicality is a part of the game and for high school, NCAA , and professional players that have further developed brains and the ability to dodge to avoid the checks I have slightly more tolerance for it, not the late ones. For 4^th, 5^th, 6^th, 7^th graders, I have no tolerance and NO ONE is taking this serious. One of my teams played in an event in Maryland last fall, in one tourney game there were 12 penalties, about eight of them were high hits to the head. None of the high hits inspired an ejection, a three to five minute penalty, a warning to the players, NOTHING. This then is ok with the tournament director? Is it ok with the refs not to protect 6^th graders further? Was this the world championship or a game amongst 6^th graders in the fall?  Is it not in the interest of US Lacrosse to try something to police this? What to me is ironic is that the NCAA, where the players can dodge and do have more developed brains ARE taking head shots serious just not the lawless irresponsible world of youth lacrosse. Is this just an anecdotal situation?  Am I just upset about what I witnessed last fall in Maryland? You tell me from what you have seen. My answer is hell no, I have seen this happening more and more during the last three years and its getting no better. It’s getting no better because there is no leadership. It’s really not something that can be argued, these type of hits are NOT part of the game and not safe for youth players.

So why wouldn’t the tournament directors simply tell the referees high LATE hits are unacceptable and will be met with game ejection? How simple is it for the ref to speak to the game coaches pre-faceoff and remind the coaches/players “all head shots/late hits are game ejection”, would it still happen? Would people be that pissed off if Joey gets ejected for an egregious late hit or head shot? Isn’t that like taking the keys from a drunk driver, no one argues with that right? The kid could sit one game and learn his lesson; would it hurt the team that much? If it does is the game that important to you? And if it is then don’t freaking hit a kid high in the head in the first place. The only argument would be its subjective, it leaves it to an official to eject a player for a high hit and maybe it wasn’t. I say why in the heck not err on the side of caution, if this cleans up the youth game and a few kids need to suffer by getting ejected? So be it, look at the flip side risk.

Anyway, love to see someone argue with me that head shots and high hits are good for lacrosse and especially youth lacrosse. Just look at how the multi billion dollar empires of the National football league, NCAA football, or the NHL views head shots, everyone seems to care except youth lacrosse. If everyone agrees let’s mandate the tournament directors and leagues where care more about our kids safety, take more leadership, educate the refs, and keep these boys enjoying the game the way it should be. Our young kids should be taught how to play. How to dodge, how to develop great stick skills, to have fun. It’s just not fair to the kids, it’s not safe for the kids, and it’s the responsible thing for everyone to start taking this serious.

Should girls lacrosse be more like the boys’ game?

Video: Lieto: Allow more physical contact in girls lacrosse

Mahopac coach Jim Lieto talks about ways to improve girls lacrosse. He thinks more physical contact should be allowed. That would reduce tedious play stoppages and give the defense more ability to stop the offense in the high-scoring game.

Nancy Haggerty/lohud

Somers trailed Lakeland/Panas by two goals last month with less than two minutes to play.

Tusker Jess Campbell got inside and rifled a shot.                                             

Score.

One-goal game. Lots of drama ahead. Possible overtime.

Well, no.

The whistle blew.

A Lakeland/Panas defender had been in Campbell’s “shooting space.” In other words, she was between Campbell and the goal. That’s a no-no in girls lacrosse.

Campbell’s goal was waived off. Normally, Campbell would have been awarded an eight-meter shot with defenders positioned away from her and only able to move after she moved. She may or may not have scored, but the odds are with the shooter.

In this instance, though, no shot was awarded.

The ref cited Campbell for dangerous play. Apparently, Campbell’s stick clipped a defender on her follow through. Campbell was given a two-minute penalty and Lakeland/Panas was given the ball.

Game over, essentially.

Different games, different rules

Many fans of boys lacrosse, where defenders routinely stop shots with their bodies and where Campbell would probably have been checked while shooting, might be mystified by the calls.

While not quite like comparing badminton to football, girls and boys lacrosse are two very different games.

North Rockland athletic director Joe Casarella, watching a girls game filled with eight-meter shots and other stoppages this spring, quietly growled.

“Put pads on them and let them play,” he said.

Judging from comments emanating from the stands, he’s not alone in that thought.

But don’t hold your breath waiting for that to occur.

Headgear

After two or three kids on Hen Hud’s team got concussions last year, coach Rob Molfetta mandated his players wear girls’ lacrosse rubber headgear this spring.

“I don’t want to see these kids get hurt. It’s not going to stop everything but it will stop (some injuries from) incidental contact,” Molfetta said.

Molfetta, who previously opposed helmets, has an ally in Mahopac coach Jim Lieto, another recent convert.

Lieto doesn’t mandate his team wear them but thinks they’ll eventually be mandated because players are stronger and faster and, in turn, so are their shots.

Currently, U.S. Lacrosse and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFSHS), which jointly decide on game and equipment rules, does not mandate headgear. It only says if headgear is worn, it must be malleable (as opposed to goalie and boys lacrosse helmets).

Only Florida requires its girls lacrosse players to wear headgear. Some studies question their effectiveness. 

“With helmets, the first argument is if you put helmets and pads on them, you make the game more physical,” said former longtime Yorktown coach Ellen Mager. “If you teach players how to play the right way, you shouldn’t need helmets. “

The right way she refers to is a far cry from the boys game.

“You’ll never see girls suited up,” said Lieto. “It’s the one thing traditionalists in lacrosse hold on to.”

“I’m dead set against going to the boys rules. The girls (game) is just more free-flowing,” said Molfetta. “It’s a purer form of lacrosse.”

Bill Broggy, who’s both Fox Lane’s girls lacrosse and football coach and is a former boys lacrosse coach, said, “Become more physical and there’s a loss of finesse because you then take out the beauty — the cutting, the passing and dodging. … It’s a great sport.”

But it’s a sport in which rules that are heavily weighted to protect unpadded players end up favoring the offense.

High scores result.

More aggressive defense?

While celebrated, a female player notching her 100th varsity goal is not rare. In fact, on any given week locally, this occurs multiple times. Even passing 200 career goals is not uncommon.

By contrast, fewer than 10 local boys have hit the 100-goal mark for their careers this spring.

Lieto would like to see defenders given more freedom to play defense with minor contact, which now results in play stoppages.

“I’d love to see it more like soccer with body contact,” Lieto said. “I’m all for you can’t hit another girl with a metal stick. But allow them to bump shoulders. … I’ve always thought, ‘Allow more. Body-to-body, yes. Stick-to-stick, yes.”

Nanuet coach Michelle Esteban said of boys checking, “It’s too much. Like in hockey, they’re in it to hit somebody.”

But she said girls referees should let play happen more often.

“I’m okay with a little pushing, a little give-back,” she said. “I’m not okay with a big girl plowing a smaller player over.”

Lieto said interpretation of U.S. Lacrosse rules varies area-to-area with more contact, for instance, allowed in Section 9. But Esteban said even within Section 1, referee’s interpret the rules differently. She complained about legal stick-on-stick checks sometimes being whistled but head slashes going unpunished.

Caitlin Kelley, U.S. Lacrosse senior manager of the women’s game and rules administrator, declined to say what possible changes will be discussed during next month’s U.S. Lacrosse/NFSHS rules committee meeting.

Recommendations will be forwarded to both bodies’ board of directors for consideration, she said.  

Many would like to see the high school game tweaked to resemble that played in college, where rosters are dotted by multiple former local stars.

One is former Mahopac standout Kim Harker. She’s a junior on Northwestern’s NCAA tourney-bound squad. Her love of lacrosse has grown with college’s more relaxed rules.

“You can’t check them and hurt them but there’s a lot more contact allowed in the college game,” said Harker.

“Obviously, people watch boys lacrosse and say, ‘That hit was insane,’ “ said Bronxville senior Allie Berkery, who’ll join Harker at Northwestern next year. “But making (boys and girls lacrosse) more like one another would not be beneficial. I think the way college women’s lacrosse is now is awesome.”

College rules have changed to quicken the game, Harker noted. If a player scores with the defender in the shooting space, the goal stands.

Esteban would love to see that in high school.

“That (high school) rule kills me. You’re rewarding the defense for bad positioning,” she said.

And, in the college game, if a player is fouled outside the “critical scoring area,” that player may simply pause, then keep running without a referee stopping things, something Mager likes.

“The referees want to keep the game flowing,” Harker said.

Mofetta, who formerly coached at St. Thomas Aquinas and Iona College and whose daughter Tricia is head coach of Pace University’s women’s team, mentioned bolstering defense by adapting the college rule allowing defenders to enter their crease.

Lieto, a former Marist College men’s lacrosse player, noted he scouted one local high school game and about 60 percent of goals came off eight-meter stoppages. He suggested instead of free shots, the offense retain possession on the sideline and the offending defender be removed for 30 seconds.

Shooting-space calls will never go away, he said, remarking, “They’ll never let girls get in the way of a shot.”

Could the girls game be better?

Mager said boys and girls lacrosse should be celebrated for what they are and not compared.

But Molfetta, who thinks the girls game is faster and better displays players’ athleticism, isn’t so sure.

“To me, I’m an advocate of girls. Why don’t the boys change to the girls rules?” he asked. “You know how great that game would be? Think how fast that would be.”

Twitter: @HaggertyNancy

Cross-Checking Foul in Boys Lacrosse – Lauderdale Lacrosse – Traveling Lacrosse Club Team (Landsharks)

By Gordon Corsetti

Larry Palumbo

This post is part of a multi-part series breaking down personal fouls in youth and high school boys lacrosse. Quotes and explanations below are specific to NFHS and US Lacrosse Boys’ Youth Rules. The post has been reviewed by Walt Munze, the national NFHS rules interpreter.

The Rule

Rule 5.2: “A player may not check his opponent with his crosse in a cross-check position. That is, a check with that part of the handle of the crosse that is between the player’s hands, either by thrusting away from the body or by holding it extended from the body.”

The Penalty

Personal Foul for 1, 2, or 3 minutes.

How it Works

The cross-check penalty is written very simply and is also the shortest rule in the personal fouls section of the rulebook. Despite clear wording, cross-checking is widely misunderstood, and before explaining the rule and the official’s perspective on this call I must stress that:

There is no such thing as a cross-check hold.

The term “cross-check hold” does not exist in the NFHS rulebook. A player may be penalized for a hold or a cross-check, but not a hybrid of the two. Cross-checking is a personal foul and is called when an official judges that safety, not fairness, is a concern.

That safety concern is well founded because getting hit with the exposed metal of a crosse carries a greater risk of injury than getting hit the chest or shoulder. A hit where the crosse is the initial point of contact forces all the energy from the body check into a smaller, more targeted area. For those who haven’t played, an odd but apt comparison is that it’s painful when your foot is stepped on, but it’s excruciating when the other person is wearing stilettos. It isn’t a matter of force, but how that force is applied to the body.

Keep in mind the principle that contact in and of itself is not a penalty. Merely running up to an opposing player and tapping him on the shoulder or chest with the metal between the hands does not set off alarm bells when visualizing that level of contact. However, a player running from a few yards out and leveling another player with one hand on the butt end and the other on the throat brings greater concern to mind.

Common Situations

If a player runs towards another player with his hands apart, the official is already thinking that he might have to make a call. If that player then body checks his opponent with his hands apart and his arms thrust forward, then he just gift-wrapped a cross-check call for the official.

Similarly, if a player runs with his hands apart straight out in front, which is more often seen at the youth levels, as soon as he runs a player over, it’s a pretty clear cross-check call to make.

When a player body checks with his hands apart but his stick is off to the side and he hits with his shoulder, that is not a cross-check. That is a body check with the stick out of the way. This goes back to the rule – in order to be a cross-check, the stick has to be the initial point of contact.

Youth Modification

There is no specific youth adjustment to the cross-check rule, but the personal fouls section does state: “US Lacrosse expects stricter enforcement of the Cross Check, Illegal Body Check, Checks Involving the Head/Neck, Slashing, Unnecessary Roughness and Unsportsmanlike Conduct rules than is common at the high school level.”

One common fan complaint at the youth level is, “They didn’t call that in the high school game last week!” I am certain the fans are telling the truth, and I also bet that none of the parents at the U13 game let their player climb into the driver’s seat and take the wheel like a 17-year-old may do. Youth players are not high school players. The game is the same, but the rules are different to match the skills of most youth players, as well as their mental and physical development.

Gordon Corsetti is manager for men’s officials education for US Lacrosse. Still have questions about how tripping works? Leave a comment below or submit a question here.

US Lacrosse

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90,000 Visas to the United States in Moscow will not be available. Will it hit the Russian national teams? Slightly

Analysis by Sergey Lisin.

Analysis by Sergey Lisin.

• Today, the US Embassy in Moscow announced that will stop issuing nonimmigrant visas from May 12.
• The volume of consular services was reduced earlier, the number of slots for requesting a visa to visit the United States in Moscow was limited, people had to submit requests to the US consulates in other countries. Most often they applied to Warsaw, but for this they first had to make a Schengen visa, and then, having arrived in Poland, apply for an American one.
• This situation also affected the national teams of Russia, which planned to participate in international competitions in the United States.With one amendment – before the coronavirus.

Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Filippov

COVID-19 changed everything, and so did the international sports calendar. Judge for yourself – after the outbreak of the pandemic, only one world championship was held in the United States – in snowboarding and freestyle, and then they moved it there simply out of despair, since all other countries could not agree with their health authorities. The Russian national team had obvious problems with visas, only not because they could not get slots in the Moscow consulate, but simply because the World Cup was moved very late, the team was sitting in Italy and was forced to urgently look for a consulate in the EU, which would be ready deal with their visas.

In fact, in the near future in the United States, only one start in the Olympic form of interest to Russia is strictly planned – the World Championships in Athletics in Eugene, in 2022. Everything else is questionable, and this is not surprising – the country is leading in terms of the incidence of coronavirus, and by a noticeable margin.

Photo: © Caroline Brehman / Contributor / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. / Gettyimages.ru

If you look at the sports calendar for 2021, then in the USA they planned to hold the following major tournaments:

• BMX World Cup, May 25-30 – moved to Netherlands for August
• Stage of the “Diamond League” in athletics, August 21 – so far in the plans
• US Open, August 30 – September 12 – so far

plans

• World Archery Championships, September 16-26 – so far in the plans
• “Skate America” ​​in figure skating, dates are not yet known, the previous tournament was held without Russians (Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov withdrew) and almost without foreigners due to coronavirus restrictions

Well, that’s all, although, of course, there is still a lot of golf, the World Lacrosse Championship and small tennis tournaments.Plus a few marathons (if they are not canceled either). Thus, the only Russian national team that could potentially have problems with visas to the United States is the archers. Athletes will go to Eugene privately, as “neutrals”, and the tournament program assumes that only two of our athletes will want to go there, with a high degree of probability: Maria Lasitskene and Angelica Sidorova . And then, if less than two weeks after the completion of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, they will have the strength to do so.Tennis players, you see, sit in the EU so often that in principle there should not be any problems with applying for a visa there.

Lasitskene and three other athletes were admitted to the competition in neutral status

As for 2022, its international calendar is still so abstract that it is too early to analyze which of ours may not be allowed to enter the United States. The coronavirus can just rewrite everything.

Photo: © Anadolu Agency / Contributor / Anadolu Agency / Gettyimages.ru

So, despite the high-profile political component, the situation is not so terrible for athletes, the closure of, for example, Germany, where there are a lot of starts in Olympic sports both in summer and winter, could have hit our national teams much more strongly.

Of course, the situation itself is alarming – we have people in the NHL, for example. Perhaps someone from the world of mixed martial arts will face this problem. But again, these are separate, isolated cases, in which the risks can be amortized simply by taking care of the question in advance.We have already lived in this situation for several years, however, Khabib also fought in the USA, and even our journalists went to this fight, receiving visas not in Moscow. In fact, nothing has changed.

Read also:

90,000 People who became geniuses after being hit on the head. | Blogger Julyjulia on SPLETNIK.RU June 16, 2014

Most of us dream of waking up one fine day and discovering a new talent, skill or knowledge of a foreign language. Some have experienced this in reality.One of them is Jason Padgett.

Jason Padgett : Mathematics and Physics

Dropout in high school, Jason worked in his father’s furniture store, and disappeared at night parties. Until one day he was hit in the head and the 31-year-old suddenly became a genius in physics and mathematics.

Jason was diagnosed with savant syndrome (savantism), in which trauma to the brain can suddenly give the victim unexpected talents in mathematics, the visual arts, or music.

43-year-old Padgett is one of the few people in the world capable of freehand drawing of fractals – self-similar geometric shapes with a huge number of repeating links. It takes Jason weeks or even months to create one fractal.

Jason Padgett

Orlando Serrell: calendar calculations

While playing baseball, 10-year-old Orlando Serrell was knocked down by a ball to the head. The boy did not tell his parents about this, and the doctors did not examine him.

For a whole year, Orlando suffered from incessant headaches. When the pains finally stopped, the boy discovered an amazing ability: he could absolutely accurately name the day of the week by date.

In general, any calculations related to the calendar, Serrell performs in the blink of an eye. He can instantly name the number of days between any two dates, or, for example, how many times during 1000 years March 12 fell on Thursday.

Orlando Serrell

Tommy McHugh: Poetry and Visual Arts

Former prisoner, 51-year-old Tommy McHugh survived two subarachnoid brain hemorrhages in 2001.

Damage to the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain caused Tommy to constantly rhyme words and paint pictures. When the canvases ran out, McHugh began painting the walls of his house.

I feel a kind of femininity in me. My head is now full of rhymes, pictures and different images. – Tommy McHugh

Tommy McHugh

Tony Chikoria: music

Orthopedic surgeon Tony Chikoria was struck by lightning in 1994 while walking in the park.A nearby nurse managed to save his life, and Dr. Chikoria’s health gradually recovered.

Soon the doctor discovered an inexplicable desire to listen to classical pieces of music on the piano, and then play himself. At the same time, until then, Chikoria never came close to any musical instrument.

He started buying sheet music, learned to play the piano on his own, and then began composing complex pieces of music.

Tony Chicoria

Alonzo Clemons: sculpture

As an infant, Alonzo Clemons suffered a serious head injury after falling to the bathroom floor.

With an IQ of 40 and unable to read or write, he grew up in an orphanage for children with disabilities.

From an early age, he demonstrated an amazing talent for sculpture. As soon as he saw an animal for even a few seconds, he immediately sculpted it from scrap materials, for example, from soap.

Now 56-year-old Alonzo is a renowned American sculptor whose work sells for tens of thousands of dollars.

Alonzo Clemons

Ben McMahon: Chinese

When Ben McMahon fell into a coma after a car accident, his parents feared that he might never get out of it.

However, a week later the Australian student came to his senses – and spoke in Chinese, more precisely in its Mandarin Chinese dialect.

Everything is in a fog, I only remember that when I woke up and saw a Chinese nurse, I immediately thought that I was in China. As if in a dream, I suddenly spoke Chinese. – Ben McMahon, 22

Prior to that, Ben took a basic Chinese course at school, but did not complete it. In the end, he managed to remember English words again, but his unexpected ability for Chinese did not disappear.

Ben is currently working as a guide to Australia for Chinese tourists and a TV show in Chinese for immigrants.

Ben McMahon

Lachlan Connors: the musical prodigy

Lachlan Connors, much to the chagrin of his mother, had no ear for music since childhood. He could not even play the dog waltz on the piano.

But the teenager was fond of sports, which led twice to serious concussions while playing lacrosse.After that, Lachlan began to have epileptic seizures and hallucinations, so he had to say goodbye to contact sports.

However, brain injuries led to an unexpected side effect: 17-year-old Connors suddenly discovered the ability to play various musical instruments, without making any effort.

Experts believe that the teenager probably has epileptic seizures similar to those experienced by the great composer and virtuoso Frederic Chopin throughout his life.

The teenager, who just a couple of years ago, “a bear stepped on his ear”, now plays 13 different musical instruments, including piano, guitar, ukelele and harmonica.

Lachlan Connors

Daniel Tammett: Mathematics

Having experienced an epileptic seizure at the age of three, Daniel Tammett became obsessed with numbers.

He won prizes in mathematics at school, but his unusual abilities were only discovered at the age of 25.Specialists diagnosed Tammett with high-functioning autism with savant syndrome, which allowed him to literally juggle with numbers.

So, for example, he correctly named 22,514 digits in pi for 5 hours and 9 minutes. He also speaks 10 languages, including Icelandic, which Daniel has learned by argument over the course of a week.

35-year-old Daniel describes the mental calculation process as follows:

When I multiply two numbers, I see them in the form of two pictures.Then the image begins to change and develop, and suddenly a third appears. This is the answer. I calculate, almost without thinking about it, just imagining pictures in my mind.

Daniel Tammet

Tripod in carry-on baggage

The other two answers at this point suggest that you are likely to be fine.
This would not be my expectation.

Many people report that they have had no problems, but here are some reports of confiscated tripods:

• Here someone comments on twitter

  Having a tripod safely confiscated despite being allowed to fly on 7 other flights this summer is not the only case #cheersfrance

• and now the story “was not confiscated after he argued long enough.”

• One reported tripod seizure here, but many others do not report any problems.

• UK Customs Confiscation Report here

that is, it seems that although you will often be fine, there is no guarantee that the tripod will not be confiscated sometimes.

I found the Australian guards to be some of the toughest. On several occasions I have seen them set up their own X-ray and screening system at the gate.I saw these people confiscate unopened bottles of drinks that were bought from the vending machines in the lobby at the gate (i.e. after passing the main security).

I had an inkjet refill cartridge that was confiscated by the Chinese Domestic Security at Guilin Airport during a trip to Guangjho. The tanker was closed. It had 3 tiny inner needles – perhaps 10 to 20 mm long – and they were wrapped inside the filler. As a weapon, it would be much lower than the food tray.

I have heard many stories of manicure scissors being confiscated. They can be useful for inflicting pain if you push them up someone’s nostril – but kicking them in the shins will hurt them much more.

The jet tanker has already successfully passed the route NZ-Brunei_HK-China. Inner Guanjo-Guilin.

that is, security personnel should not be reasonable, logical, rational or fair. They can assess what they want as a threat and can do it.The tripod has long, pointed parts and can also be used as a swinging weapon (the fact that jumping onto a tray table and breaking it will create a much more dangerous weapon doesn’t matter). Looks like Doc was exceptionally lucky and / or charming. Your tripod can survive the trip. But if this had not happened, I would not be surprised. I would not take a tripod that I was not ready to lose due to carry-on luggage.

Alternatives:

Something like a gorilla or tripod in a bag with beans would be much more likely to survive and could be almost as useful.

A customs / security officer who has a REALLY bad day can simply mistake a gorillapod for a jet tanker and confiscate it. But few would mistake a bag of beans for a nail clipper.

Examples of Gorillapods or clones and examples of use in difficult situations.

An example of a three-pod legume.
Also handy if you come across a leopard (or whatever).

Using tripods:

http: // photographylife.com / wildlife-photography-tips-use-a-bean-bag

Tripod for baby bag.

http://www.acasarella.net/2013/03/diy-camera-bean-bag.html

http://www.thepinkc.net/technology/how-to-make-a-bean-bag-tripod/

http://doityourselfdivas.blogspot.co.nz/2012/10/diy-beanbag-tripod.html

Commercial tripods

http://www.etsy.com/listing/127443514/camera-bean-bag-portable-tripod-circus

http: // www.amazon.com/Pocket-Adjustable-Camera-Support-System/dp/B004DP4UE0

http://www.visualdepartures.com/steadybag-better-camera-support-than-tripod/

http://www.outdoorphotogear.com/store/wildlife-imaging-bean-bag.html

http://photo-info.co.nz/articles/green-pod

Note: gorillipods are unlikely to make good pillows.

90,000 Mikhail Glukhov about his sudden performance – Realnoe Vremya

Interview with an inconspicuous old-timer of Ak Bars, who has been making the team strong for 6 years

Photo: Maxim Platonov

Mikhail Glukhov’s Kazan career began at the beginning of 2014.However, even after 6 years, most of Ak Bars fans know him only as a trouble-free hard worker, doing a lot of rough work and ready to lie under the puck. This season, however, the striker revealed himself in a new way – he became the nominal leader of his line, who regularly scores points. Realnoe Vremya talked with Glukhov about his sudden performance, his love for dogs, the failure of Ak Bars last season, an atypical vacation for hockey players, and much more.

“I would not mind if the pucks were thrown at me and flew”

– You have been in Kazan for the seventh year, but Kazan fans still don’t know who Mikhail Glukhov is off the ice.How did it happen?

– Someone probably knows. Depends on how they are being watched. I try not to use social media. There was one page, but I don’t really use it and I post little about myself – a non-public person.

– Isn’t it a shame that there was practically no interview with you, you are rarely called to the mixed zone?

– No, no. I myself do not really strive for much attention, I try not to appear in plain sight. I’m not a media person, I’d rather stay at home with my family.We are constantly on the road – either trips, games, or at the base. We are rarely at home, so in my free time I try to be at home, with my wife, daughter, dog.

– This year everything has changed for you – the pucks went off, there was a double. What happened to you this season?

– I don’t know, I’m just working. I’m not some kind of hammering forward, more a defensive player. Often we go out in the minority, we try to take the puck on ourselves, that is, to do the rough work. Last year there were a lot of moments when the game was not going well.It looks like the gate is free, but either you throw it past, or the goalkeeper will catch it, or something will happen.

This year I try to shoot more often and catch the puck – thank God, it turns out.

Well, I didn’t score that much, about seven goals like (that’s right, seven goals in 43 matches, – approx. Ed. ). It’s just luck, sometimes the puck can fly from the skate. So this year, one might say, luck is on my side, thank God.

– What you describe can be a psychological barrier?

– Maybe, as I said, I was worried, I wanted to score more goals, give passes, score points, but it happens that the game does not go well.

And you try, every day you work on yourself, you stay for additional training to work on some elements. And I always tell young guys – you should never give up and give up, you always have to work to the end. Yes, at first it doesn’t work, but you have to endure, work, and it will come.

– They say that partners are also trying to play on you this year. Do you feel support?

– I hear about this for the first time ( laughs ). How can you specifically throw a puck at me, in the sense of causing injury, or something ( laughs )? Yes, I do not even mind if they throw at me all the time, and goals will fly from me. I would be all for it!

– Partners in the locker room are not greedy for tricks. Especially when you score – Fisenko gets the most from him.

– Yes, we often joke about each other, this is normal, we are all funny guys. We all understand each other’s jokes, and I have only a positive attitude towards this. All our guys are adequate, everyone laughs, we can all joke at each other.

“To score from behind the goal, like Svechnikov, you need to be very arrogant and self-confident”

– Last year Artem Lukoyanov gave his best season, this year he seriously slowed down. And you, on the contrary, seemed to take on the leadership in the link.Can this be related somehow?

– Honestly, I don’t even know. We are all worried now, too [for Artyom]. He also has chances, but he cannot score, and that’s all. In addition, he had an injury. God forbid, he will break through in the playoffs and everything will be fine.

In such a situation, we can only work and endure. Who scores there is not so important. All links work for us, everyone can bring results. Yes, today it does not work for some, tomorrow for others, but we try to be one.

– This season, with the help of journalists, the motto “Goals don’t smell” stuck to you.But you had not only “trash” pucks, but also normal beautiful pucks. Trying not to be arrogant, why are you humorous about your goals?

– This phrase was after that goal when the puck hit me in the leg and bounced off. But “the goal does not smell” – they said so since childhood. What difference does it make how you scored, at least with your head or with your foot – the score is on the scoreboard, the team won, and that’s it. It is clear that when there is skill, the guys score beautiful goals. Svechnikov, over there, from behind the gate what kind of things he gets up to – a handsome man, a master, what can you say.

– Could you score a lacrosse goal like this?

– I think this is very difficult. In training, of course, sometimes you try. But to do such things in the game, you have to be very confident, arrogant. You also have to not just try, but score – in general, you will be a fine fellow. In training, it happens.

“Bilyaletdinov never limited his attacking actions. If you can, run and score. ”

– You have a reputation as a hard worker striker who does more of the rough and power work.When did you yourself realize that the way to snipers is closed to you?

– When I was young, they took me to Atlant. I didn’t have any special equipment, but I had physical data, speed, impudence, I could climb on a nickle in front of the gate, I could run into the side of someone. Only through this did I prove that I wanted to be in the team.

This is my job. If I cannot score beautiful goals, then I have to hunch back, plow, carry the piano, and benefit the team as best I can. In the minority to play, catch the pucks on yourself.Everything is simple here – if you know how to score goals, then go and score, but if you cannot, you have to go out and take with other qualities.

– Can’t the coach say that you don’t allow yourself too much in the attack? For example Bilyaletdinov, who had restraining links.

– It never happened. If you can, run and score, no one will say a word to you. But if you cannot, then you must take something else.

If, for example, you dribble and lose the puck on the blue line, they will score in the return line, and you will be jailed.Or vice versa – you have skill, “draw”, beat, score a goal … And will they really say to you: “Don’t do this anymore”?

– A lot of power play is just the quarterly style of play. Judging by the performance this season, is it more suitable for you than the previous ones?

– Of course it suits me, I like this style. You always attack, but at the same time you must always keep the defense.

– Which coach was more comfortable for you to work with?

– I don’t like to discuss coaches, everyone has their own requirements, you can’t say that someone is good or bad.

How can you? That year you won the Cup, but this year you come out and don’t want to win it again? When you won it once, you still want to. There is no such thing that the Cup is – and that’s it, nothing else is needed. This is nonsense

“The playoffs will show whether such a serious team update was necessary”

– If we remember last season, now there is an understanding of what happened in the playoffs a year ago?

– Obviously, no one wanted to show such a result – in the first round the score was 0-4 after the championship season.Apparently, they did something wrong.

– Is it not about the notorious loss of motivation after taking the Cup?

– How can you? That year you won the Cup, but this year you come out and don’t want to win it again? When you won it once, you still want to. There is no such thing that the Cup is – and that’s it, nothing else is needed. This is bullshit.

Here we have Danis [Zaripov] – a five-time [Gagarin Cup winner], and he wants more, because he knows what it feels like. Once you have tried it, you can no longer stop, you want to get even more.And what, that they played like that, the coaching staff should already figure out what the problem is.

– This season there has been a major renewal of the roster. Was this reboot necessary to start from scratch?

– It will be necessary to judge after this season, now it makes no sense to talk about it yet. Now there is a regular season, in the playoffs everything will be completely different. Later it will be possible to say whether this reboot was necessary.

As you yourself saw, when the coaching staff changes, new coaches take on some players, and this is natural.Each coach picks a team for himself.

– The playoffs will begin in two weeks. Do you have a desire to take revenge on Avangard? Or does it make no difference who to beat on the way to the Cup?

– If we meet with them, it will be a very interesting series. Even in the regular season, all three games were very interesting and charged. In the last match, the guys played great, pulled out in the last 13 seconds, it was a tense game.

All teams have now aligned. If you get to the team from the seventh place, it does not mean that you will calmly pass it in the first round.There will be a stubborn struggle. Here, for example, Khabarovsk beats CSKA. But in general, it does not matter who to win.

Well, they lost and lost, but they felt what it was. In other national teams there were two or three young guys, and our whole team is like that, they played against adult players. Next time they will be even stronger

“They go to the NHL to try themselves. If you don’t go, you will regret your whole life. ”

– The failure of our team at the Swedish Games – what is it? Talent crisis?

– I’m generally okay with this.All the guys there are new, young. There is nothing wrong with the fact that they have lost – this is also an experience. Where else can they try themselves? This is not such an important tournament. Well, we lost and lost, but we felt what it was. In other national teams there were two or three young guys, and our whole team is like that, they played against adult players. They will be stronger next time.

– Do you need a Eurotrip at all?

– Probably needed to attract and check young guys at the international level.There is still something in this.

– Now the trend in the KHL is that everyone is leaving for North America. Even Andrei Chibisov, who never really shone here, left for the AHL. What’s happening?

– They are not just leaving. So, they are waiting there, someone noticed, called. He can’t just say, “I’m going to the NHL,” and leave.

Those who move from the KHL to the AHL are waiting for their chance when they will be promoted to the NHL in order to prove themselves there. And Andryukha Chibisov is a good guy, a powerful player.For him, there is generally a style suitable, he is a machine and a hard worker.

Anything can happen. Here Kovalchuk was at first in Los Angeles, something did not agree with the coach – as a result, they exchanged, and now he is simply handsome at Montreal, the best there. That’s the difference for you – I got to a good coach, everything is fine at once.

Everyone goes there because people want to play in the NHL, to try. Because next time there may not be that chance. If you called and refused, then you will regret it all your life. And if it doesn’t work out there, then you can return.But it’s worth a try, because they may no longer be called. The same Shipachev went – here he is gaining 100 points, but there he did not go.

Nobody condemns him, on the contrary, everyone supports him. Because we are all the same players, everyone can make the same mistake. It’s a pity that this happened, but all the same guys are all handsome

“I feel sorry for such clubs as Lada and Novokuznetsk Metallurg

– How do you feel about the limit on legionnaires in the KHL? Does it interfere with the competition?

– On the other hand, those clubs that have money will recruit twenty foreigners, and there will be no competition.Maybe this is even correct. Those who do not have money will have a whole team of young people. And the limit somehow constrains and provides an opportunity for the development of Russian players.

– How did you feel about the return of your former club, Lada, to the VHL?

– Not very positive. Such a great club, a very nice city, an arena … It’s a pity, and Novokuznetsk Metallurg.

I am very sorry for such clubs as “Lada”, “Metallurg”, which brought up so many children.So many goalkeepers from Novokuznetsk all over Russia, in the NHL.

– Is Voronkov to blame for the failure in the MFM final with Canada?

– He didn’t want to take it and leave. This is a game, emotions. There are young guys, they have a final, the responsibility is high. He wanted the best, but it turned out like this. Nobody condemns him, on the contrary, everyone supports him. Because we are all the same players, everyone can make the same mistake. It’s a pity that this happened, but all the same, the guys are handsome.

“Everyone on the team knows my dog ​​Monya.In restaurants I constantly swear because of her. ”

– You are from the small town of Orsk. What did Mikhail Glukhov dream about as a child?

– I had two idols, whom I followed all my childhood. The first is my uncle Vitaly Kazarin, who played hockey until he was 41 years old. I even played with Danis Zaripov at Mechel. And also Vadim Epanchintsev is an Orsk legend.

I was little, I went to the games of the “South Ural” in Orsk, I looked at Uncle Vital. Then at the age of 12 they took me to a boarding school in Magnitogorsk, where I lived for three years.I already went to hockey there when Epanchintsev came with Severstal and when he was the captain of Ak Bars.

I didn’t have such a thing that I wanted a certain team, I just wanted to play in a good team, to achieve something

Every time any of his teams came, I came, he always gave me clubs. We are still on good terms with him, we keep in touch. I looked at them, spied on their techniques, studied, I had something to strive for.

At the age of 16, they were already taken to Elektrostal.At that time, Elektrostal was the farm club of Voskresensk Khimik, and in the very first year we moved to Mytishchi.

Rzhiga took me then – I was like a limiter. At the age of 17 he got into the first team. There was a break before the playoffs, we went to the Czech Republic for a week, and Rzhiga took me as a young man. I was just stunned then – in the team I changed clothes with such players! There were Valera Zelepukin, Andrey Potaychuk, Alexander Prokopiev, Shkotov, Zherdev young, and Czech players. There was such a team!

I didn’t have such a thing that I wanted a certain team, I just wanted to play in a good team, to achieve something.

– Judging by your Instagram, you prefer simple gardening work to rest in Bali or the Maldives, as is customary among hockey players.

– No, I go there too ( laughs ). And so – this is my home, I grew up there, there are parents, brothers, sisters. We are going – all children, we communicate, we have a rest in soul and body, and no sea can replace this. I prefer fishing, sauna, barbecue … This is the best rest.

– In Kazan, do you allow yourself to somehow relax, hang out outside the family?

– How can I leave my family at home and go hang out? If teammates call families, then we will all go together, why not? We always try to take the child with us.I always take my family with me, even the dog is always with us everywhere.

In our team, all my family know, as well as the dog Monya. Even in restaurants, if they are not allowed with a dog, I swear.

We love a great family vacation. We go to Raifu, take a walk in Sviyazhsk. Ride tubing, snowmobiles – we love active rest.

Eric Dobrolyubov, Nargiza Amrullaeva, photo by Maxim Platonov

SportHockey Tatarstan SKP Tatneft Ak Bars
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