Can some senior high school officials please give their definitions of a "moving screen"? I, like other refs, hear "call the moving screen" fairly regularly and I want to get it straight in my head exactly what a moving screen is.

Thanks.

Ken

Ken,

It's a lot more than a once sentence answer. However, I will tell you this much.... there can be no illegal screen foul until there is contact. Fans and coaches often want an illegal screen when the offensive screener is moving, but until there is contact, we've got nothing.

You'd need to get an NFHS rule book because there are different rules depending on whether the screen is visible to the player being screened and some other things....

Z

Thanks Zebraman. The same crowd must hang out at my games because I hear "that's a moving screen" when players are moving in the same direction with no contact. Maybe I can just stock it up to yet another instance where I need to call the rules of the game and not listen to the idiots in the stands.

Ken

Years ago, setting a moving screen was a violation, I think.
Somebody will correct me if I am wrong, and perhaps tell when this change was made if I am right. In a nutshell, a moving screen is a blocking, or sometimes a holding foul by an offensive player attempting to make room for a teammate. You call this foul pretty much as you would on the defender restricting the movement of the opponent he/she is guarding.

Well, going back to 1959, you're wrong. I've never heard of that one. Urban myth, maybe?

JR
I seem to recall the rule too, maybe mid-80's or so.

Can't think of anything even close around that time, Barb. Maybe MTD Sr. remembers.

For all intents and purposes, the definitions of guarding and screening have not changed since the 1963-64 season for both NFHS and NCAA. That means that there is no prohibition of a moving screen. What it means that when a moving screen is set and contact occurs, who is responsible for the contact is determined by whether the screen is set correctly or not.

MTD, Sr.