Quote:
Originally posted by JRutledge
I would not rule holding the ball with their legs a kick. Absent of a specific ruling that would suggest that as the proper interpretation, I will just stick with a "striking" action as my general rule of thumb. I think that would be too broad if you penalized every player for holding the ball underneath them.
Peace
|
I would probably agree that I would have a lot of explaning to do if I called a violation just because a player was on the floor with the ball on their legs. But the NCAA does specifically address using the legs to hold the ball firmly. The violation wasn't just because the ball was there in the first place, but that the player then used the legs to hold unto it firmly while the defender tried to get it. That's certainly not "striking" the ball, but it is using the legs as an unfair advantage. It seems a lot like the errant pass going off a defender's leg - the ball hitting the leg is not a violation, but intentionally moving the leg into the path of the ball is. I would think that same line of reasoning applies to NFHS, even though only the NCAA spells it out.