The Elbows

[Scrapper1]

Originally Posted by bigdog5142

No malicious intent, C rules incidental contact and no foul called. Play stopped to attend to injury.

Right call?

Incidental contact can indeed sometimes be severe. But the key to whether the contact in this particular play is incidental is whether or not the player with ball remained within his vertical plane. If those elbows are extended outside the width of his torso, then I would say that he is responsible for the contact.

[Rich]

Originally Posted by Scrapper1

Incidental contact can indeed sometimes be severe. But the key to whether the contact in this particular play is incidental is whether or not the player with ball remained within his vertical plane. If those elbows are extended outside the width of his torso, then I would say that he is responsible for the contact.

I called a PC foul in a HS game a couple of weeks ago where the very tall center rebounded the ball and then clipped the opponent with his elbow as he swung the ball around. The coach started in with "we teach him that way." My partner, who was a girls varsity coach a decade ago, mentioned in the locker room that the coach actually teaches it wrong then.

There is no way that an elbow swing at head height, as long as the defender isn't violating the vertical plane of the player with the ball, is incidental.