Screening for Dummies

[Freddy]

4-40-3: "...from the front or side (within the visual field)..."
4-40-4: "...from behind (outside the visual field)..."

Is a screen from the side ALWAYS considered "within the visual field"?
Can a legal screen ever be from the side but "outside the visual field"?

Application: A screen is set just short of contact on a player's right side while that screened player's head is looking to her left. Legal or illegal?

[ChuckS]

I would say legal, since in the definition, "within the visual field" is in parentheses. "front or side" is the key part of the definition. I think it is assumed that even though a player's head is turned one way, the head can be swiveled either way.

[Camron Rust]

Originally Posted by ChuckS

I would say legal, since in the definition, "within the visual field" is in parentheses. "front or side" is the key part of the definition. I think it is assumed that even though a player's head is turned one way, the head can be swiveled either way.

Agree. It is about where a player could see. Not about where they happen to be looking. Otherwise, a player could turn their head away from an anticipated screen to make it illegal.

Watched some video with an up-and-coming NCAA-W official the other day, she said pretty much anything from the side is considered 'in the visual field'. 'Outside the visual field' refers to a screen from behind.