Translation issues

[dvasques]

Hello, everybody,

as some might remember, I'm from Brazil and I'm in the process of translating the NCAA rules to portuguese for use in the country.
Right now I'm on the rule 6 and I just found an issue that I'd like to clarify so I don't make the wrong interpretation.

Rule 6-1-3-a-3 says

a. No Team A player may touch a free-kicked ball until after:

3. It touches any player, the ground, an official or anything beyond Team B's restraining line.

I understand that has no effect over an onside kick try since Team A becomes eligible to receive the kick after it has crossed Team B's restraining line. But Rule 6-1-2-g says

No Team A player may block an opponent until Team A is eligible to touch a free-kicked ball.

Does that really means that on an onside kick try, Team A players have to wait for the ball to cross the line so they can block Team B and attempt a recovery of the kick?


I'll be posting more questions as I have them on the translation process.
Thanks for the help

[Robert Goodman]

Originally Posted by dvasques

Hello, everybody,

as some might remember, I'm from Brazil and I'm in the process of translating the NCAA rules to portuguese for use in the country.
Right now I'm on the rule 6 and I just found an issue that I'd like to clarify so I don't make the wrong interpretation.

Rule 6-1-3-a-3 says

a. No Team A player may touch a free-kicked ball until after:

3. It touches any player, the ground, an official or anything beyond Team B's restraining line.

I understand that has no effect over an onside kick try since Team A becomes eligible to receive the kick after it has crossed Team B's restraining line. But Rule 6-1-2-g says

No Team A player may block an opponent until Team A is eligible to touch a free-kicked ball.

Does that really means that on an onside kick try, Team A players have to wait for the ball to cross the line so they can block Team B and attempt a recovery of the kick?

Remember that there's another way for team A to become eligible to touch the free kicked ball: first touching of the ball by B, regardless of where.

[dvasques]

yes, but that still doesn't clear what I thought was the rule.
I thought that once the ball touched the ground (right after the kick) every player would be eligible to touch the ball and therefore Team A would be able to block Team B.

I know... the ball touching the ground wouldn't make Team A eligible to recover the kick, but I thought it would at least allow them to block Team B.

Am I wrong on this?

[dvasques]

although I have had an insight while translating the Fair Catch rules, I'd still love for someone to clarify my doubts on my previous posts.

But I have now realized that the tactics of free kicking the ball into the ground so it can bunce up in the air on onside kicks might have to do with taking away the option of a Team B fair catch

[Forksref]

The eligibility of a team A player to touch or recover the free kick has nothing to do with blocking an opponent from getting to the ball.

Team A players could block B players and interfere with their getting the ball until it has gone 10 yds. wherein the A players could then recover it. (after it has touched the ground AND gone 10 yds.)

[dvasques]

Originally Posted by Forksref

The eligibility of a team A player to touch or recover the free kick has nothing to do with blocking an opponent from getting to the ball.

Team A players could block B players and interfere with their getting the ball until it has gone 10 yds. wherein the A players could then recover it. (after it has touched the ground AND gone 10 yds.)

The rules are saying otherwise. That's where my doubt is. Rule 6-1-2-g says no Team A player may block an oponent until Team A is eligible to touch the ball.
And rule 6-1-3-a says Team A becomes eligible when Team B touches the ball; the ball breaks the plan and remains beyound Team B restraining line or; the ball touches the any player, the ground, an official or anything beyond Team B restraining line.

Which, in my understanding, means Team A can't block Team B until the ball travels 10 yards.

My first thought, when I read Rule 6-1-3-a, was that maybe it was supposed to read like this:
The ball touches any player, the ground or an official. Or touches anything beyond 10 yeard. But that's not the case because Team A doesn't become eligible if a Team A player touches the ball before it travels 10 yards.
Then I came to the conclusion that Team A can't block Team B on an onside kick until the ball travels 10 yards

[Sonofanump]

Originally Posted by dvasques

No Team A player may block an opponent until Team A is eligible to touch a free-kicked ball.

Does that really means that on an onside kick try, Team A players have to wait for the ball to cross the line so they can block Team B and attempt a recovery of the kick?

Yes it does. If you are working 7 man, you should each have a man or two that you are focusing on to make sure they don't get blocked early.

[Forksref]

Originally Posted by Sonofanump

Yes it does.

Rule reference?

[Sonofanump]

Originally Posted by Forksref

Rule reference?

6-1-2-h & all of 6-1-3a thru c.

What am I missing here?

[With_Two_Flakes]

Does that really means that on an onside kick try, Team A players have to wait for the ball to cross the line so they can block Team B and attempt a recovery of the kick?

Yes it really does mean that!!

Of course if Team B touch it before 10yds then Team A can recover and also can now legally block

It was a Rule change made in the early 1990's(??) due to one College teams onside kick play. I believe it was Hawaii(??) who had an onside kick play where the kicker would kick the ball and as it bobbled forward the other 10 Team A guys would surround it blocking Team B out of the way until it had gone 10yds when the kicker would fall on it. Usually only a handful of Team B players up front so it was 10 against 2 or 3 and the play was nearly always succesful. This Rule change made that tactic illegal. I'm sure I recall a BigTen official coming over to the UK to our Annual British Clinic back then and explaining the reasoning behind this Rule change.

I actually had this foul happen to my crew yesterday over here in the UK in a British College game and today I read a forum post about it, how wierd is that?
Definitely a Twilight Zone moment ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzlG28B-R8Y )


Judging by the Rules references that Forksref is giving, he is looking at the Fed rulebook, so I guess he missed that dvasques is talking about NCAA Rules.

[Welpe]

Originally Posted by Forksref

I don't know where you are getting your rule citations because there is no 6-1-3a or 6-1-2g.

Originally Posted by dvasques

Hello, everybody,

I'm from Brazil and I'm in the process of translating the NCAA rules to portuguese for use in the country.

[dvasques]

NCAA Rulebook I downloaded from NCAA.org