Contact above the shoulders

[jeremy341a]

Originally Posted by maven

Stationary elbow: player rebounds and "chins" the ball, elbows extended but not moving or pivoting. A moving opponent contacts the elbow.

By NFHS direction, this might be incidental or a common foul. The rationale for calling a foul here is much the same as calling one on the player who has his legs wide on the floor: he's exceeded his legal spot on the floor and the vertical space above it. Rule on whether the opponent is disadvantaged by the contact.

As I understand the direction, elbows moving with the hips in a pivot and making contact above the shoulders is an INT. Elbows moving faster and making contact above the shoulders warrants a flagrant foul.

I have called several "excessive swinging" violations so far this year, and in each case the coaches seem to be aware of the new guidance and why I'm calling the violation.

This is how we were told at our meeting.