John,

Thank you for your input!
Kathy

Kathy,

It’s the player’s fault if the stick is illegal, although for a youngster, the coach and parent should help the player get it right.

A kid that has any question about his pockets' legality should just take it to a coach to check. The check is easy, and they all know how to do it. They see it ten times a game.

Also, any referee will help a player with checking the legality before a game, and there is no penalty for an illegal stick if you take it to them before the game starts. Most pockets can be fixed in a minute or two, so the player can still play with it if he checks early enough and has time to tighten it.

I say tighten it, because that’s the big infraction -- a pocket that’s too deep. A stick can be short, but that’s rare. All shafts are sold legal. A player would have to purposely cut the shaft to come up short in a stick check.

As to the seriousness of the offense, it’s a three-minute non-releasable penalty. That’s a big deal if the game is close. A team can score a bunch of goals in that much time. It’s a serious thing, and the coach usually has some harsh words for offenders.

I saw a Johns Hopkins player win a faceoff a few years ago, and then he could not dislodge the ball from his stick. He was called for the penalty and as he came to the sideline, Blue Jays coach Dave Pietramala grabbed the stick out of his hands. As he yelled at the player along the sideline, he smashed the stick against the fence behind the bench. Pietramala was definitely serious.

Hope that helps!
John