Photo by Jake Ryan Images By Lee Roggenburg During the last high school season I witnessed both the best and the worst of our great sport. Tremendously competitive Districts. Growing crowds and spirited students. Intense defense and strategic offense. And a narrowing of the gap between our teams and traditional powers. But I’ve also witnessed the other side of the coin too. The late hits, the high hits and the inability of a few players to understand what true maturity is. In my speech accepting the South Florida chapter of US Lacrosse’s Man of the Year Award I made a mention about this part of the game pretty much off the cuff.  I called for the players and the coaches to do a little soul searching and then asked for a simple plea: The head and the neck need to be off limits . . . Period. It was the biggest applause line of the speech . . .   In a way this was ironic. Because of the FHSAA Girl’s helmet ruling.   Those who have read my coverage know that I am far more troubled about the way the FHSAA has completely mishandled this process than if a head requirement is deemed feasible by the experts in the US Lacrosse studies.  I’m willing to be open-minded about this, and will rely on the expert opinion. The Girl’s game is predicated, rule-written and taught with the following dictum in mind: a healthy respect for the need to play the game safely.  It’s pretty simple actually.  Play a finesse game and respect your opponents’ upper body. It’s worked for 100 years. And along comes a small group of know-it-alls to upset it all. In the name of safety.  Because THREE Orange County schools have a problem. All this focus on a non-issue.   When they could actually do some real good by focusing their time and resources on where the sport HAS gotten out of hand. On the Boy’s side.   Where the FHSAA apparently thinks it doesn’t have a problem. But it does. This is a very physical sport and no one wants to take away that aspect of the game.  I actually believe one of the reasons the sport is gaining rapid acceptance at a younger age is that it is full contact even at younger ages and boys are drawn to that aspect of the game.  And the game is designed rule-wise and equipment-wise to account for that.  There even is talk about furthering some of the padding to shoulders and hips among other places. A clean hit at an appropriate time can surely change momentum.  And as in football sometimes the game is won or lost in the trenches; those 50/50 groundballs, the scrum at a faceoff, even the battle for inches near the crease to gain or deny that precious space to score the deciding goal. But it also opens up the possibility of those involved to cross a line.  A line that requires a spilt-second decision made on the run that carries with it the potential to injure. A line that the mature player instinctively knows how to straddle and the immature one forgets in the heat of battle. It’s the latter that the sport needs to clean up. And the one that the FHSAA is oblivious to . . . completely. It would rather grandstand then take on the gritty, unglamorous task of taking on this problem. Because this is the real risk to the player.  Not the incidental stick contact to the head of the young woman but the gratuitous cheap shot to the young man. I witnessed it too many times this season.  I don’t need to name names of the kids.  If they are honest with themselves they know who they are.  They might think they are playing the game the way was designed but they are just fooling themselves. Those who read my game articles this season or listened to my podcasts with Wells know we have highlighted some instances. The King’s Academy kid who lit up the North Broward Prep FOGO in the last seconds of an easy win just because he could.  Benjamin losing TWO players in their championship run because of STUPID judgments by a Boca Raton player and a St. Thomas player in the Final 8 and Final 4. Not the only ones.  Just a few of the high profile incidents I witnessed. I know all three head coaches, two of them very well.  They don’t teach that.  And I doubt the third one does either.  And I am sure that it will come up for discussion with their players, if for no other reason than wanting to make a point. We all remember the awful incident a few years back at Saint Andrew’s in a state playoff game.  Frankly that incident pales in comparison to what I witnessed.  And that incident went viral in a big way.  Let’s not re-enact that one next season. Coaches need to get out in front of this issue.  It’s important to do so because in so many instances a perpetrator is a senior playing potentially their last game and therefore the player thinks they might not face repercussions for something that happens.  That’s not true, as the protagonist a few years back found out.  But that was an unusual circumstance as the rapid spread of the incident on social media forced the high school’s hand. Proper self-discipline is not a 99.9% thing, it is 100%.  It doesn’t get suspended in the last few seconds of a game or a season.  It carries through the entirety of the playing experience. And it needs to be taught and reinforced . . . during pre-season, before games and during halftime. Win with class, lose with class . . . no exceptions, no excuses, no forgiveness.  The best thing a Coach can do if the season is not over is simple; if the player crosses that line, SUSPEND them for the next three games at a minimum.  Send the message strongly; no self-discipline, no playing time.  Make it clear to the kid you will not be humiliated by them. For the kids, this is pretty simple. The head and the neck are OFF-LIMITS.  Period. If you can’t understand that play another sport, we don’t need you. If you feel you need to take a cheap shot at the end of the game go play something else, we don’t need you. Nor does your team.  This sport requires a total team effort, not a selfish punk.   Parents and Fans.  No rooting for your team if one of the kids pulls something like this.  Its’ high school sports.  Not the work world, a professional team or a military conflict.  You are trying to prepare your children to be productive and happy members of society.  Never forget that.   Teammates.  The same thing for you too.  Think of it as a teachable moment for your friend.  Nothing cleans this problem up quicker than peer pressure.  Remember, if your teammate is suspended for the next few games it is a selfish act.  Against the rest of you.   As for the FHSAA . . . request game films if needed.  Don’t be afraid to hold kids accountable.  And their coaches if it becomes a pattern. Somehow I think you will find this use of your time will cut concussions down a lot more than what you have done so far. If you have the guts to do so. Or is your concern just for getting some good publicity?