|
Sounds more like making excuses for not making a tough call.
Well, speaking ASA & NFHS, I'm going the other way.
8.7.Q & 8-6-13 has no requirement for the act to be intentional or malicious. If you check the clip at :44, you will see the runner still upright just prior to contact (actually higher than the player making the tag), leading with a knee.
Just bending a knee and lifting one's feet does not constitute a slide. In NFHS where they define a legal slide, this action doesn't even come close to meeting the specification of a leg and buttock being on the ground.
I'm calling the runner out. It is a shame it was a poor "attempt", if that, to slide, but being poor at a performance mechanic does not absolve the player and certainly wouldn't be any comfort to the player on the other end of the collision.
Personally, I wouldn't put it by some of these coaches to teach this method of contacting a defender simply so they have a back-up argument if the call doesn't go their way.
__________________
The bat issue in softball is as much about liability, insurance and litigation as it is about competition, inflated egos and softball.
|