What the heck is a parry?

[CMHCoachNRef]

Originally Posted by AremRed

Got it. So if the goalie does anything I deem to be control and/or possession and then touches a second time...BOOM.

AremRed,
If you understand the intent of the Law/Rule, enforcement will be easier. WHY would such a Law/Rule even be on the books to begin with? The reason for the Law/Rule is to be able to prevent a goalkeeper from being able to delay.

Let's say a team is ahead 1 - 0 with a few minutes left. The trailing team sends a ball into the penalty area toward the goalkeeper. If the goalkeeper catches the ball. He/She then has six seconds to release the ball back into play. On the other hand, if the goalkeeper intentionally knocks the ball down the ground near his/her feet, the goalkeeper can stand over the ball or dribble around his own penalty area not needing to pick up the ball until being pressured by the opposing team. The six second time period does not start in this case until perhaps 5 - 10 seconds or more after the initial scenario.

As you are trying to determine illegal parry vs. legal play, consider the time of the game, the score of the game, and the level of the game (most younger/inexperienced goalkeepers would never know to attempt to parry). As has been pointed out several times already, an illegal parry is very, very rare indeed. One reason is that if a ball can be easily parried, it also likely could be chest trapped by the goalkeeper.