BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) Faceoff Petition 2014

Your son must go to Syracuse! That explains your negativity. You illustrated one important point. The game needs to grow, that's best for all of us. Citing the number of people in the US is meaningless since most of them don't even know what lax is. Keeping the most exciting part of the game intact only benefits the sport moving forward. The negativity only comes from those lacking a good face off man on their team, or out of frustration because they have not been able to perform well.

You all have it wrong. the growth of this sport only comes from TV viewership. At a time when the NFL and football generally is under severe attack, lax gods should be looking to capitalize and promote safety. Should be promoting to all the fact that while there is contact, concussions happen less that xx% as compared to football.

Someone above talked about the FO killing momentum...have you ever watched a football game? Those guys huddle and substitute on every play and it is the best sport in the world to watch...so momentum is not affected by a huddle, why should it be by a FO?

TV audience, what do they like to see, a fumble where no one knows who has the ball or if his knee touched before he dropped it or a 75 yard run to the end zone. A lot more exciting to watch the run or the bomb than it is to watch a 2 yard power run.

If the geniuses who are making knew rules did any research, they would probably find that TV likes FOs...What TV likes is what will grow the sport so maybe one day your son could actually earn a living playing the game.

You want to make the game better and actually fill a stadium or you want to hold on to your youth and how you played?

I for one didn't grow up playing your game but having watched over the last 7 years I wish I did. That said, watching a kid P&P run down and score a goal is about the most exciting play in the game bar none. Only better if the kid P&Ps runs down and shoots only to have a goalie that stuffs him.

Growth of the game is not effected by the speed of play, growth of the game is effected by how many people you can get to buy a ticket to a game or watch it TV. People like excitement and FOs provide excitement that people actually cheer for.

For those that think it is not fair to have one player have such a great impact on the game. Have you ever seen a baseball game? The pitcher can't hit, generally can't run, but the good ones make more money than everyone else...

You want a big time sport? Keep the FO and all the excitement it brings to your sport. Start to market lax as the safer alternative to football. Don't create more collisions, eliminate them where possible.

Who cares which side of the stick is used? Pretty sure the TV viewers don't because they are not currently watching your game...

We can all keep going back and forth here, or just agree to diagree. I am beyond upset about this because of what it is doing to my HS son. F/O men are a tight nit group and if this happens it could ruin lives. Does anyone care about that? There are young men here that are about to start college on well deserved scholarships that came from hours of hard work and sacrifices made by the families. If you truly support youth sports you would realize that there is much more at stake than a rule change. Or you can snub your nose and say you don't care because it doesn't affect your son. Just remember that karma is a [lacrosse], and there could be a time that you need support from the lacrosse community for an issue that affect your kid.

To the jackwagon that called FOGO moves cheating...he probably had his kid re-classed...

Rule will not get passed, however, they may say you can only have in back of stick for 5 seconds...

FOGO is a skilled position and more important that any other position accept goalie. It is the one true mano v mano position on the field.

Some like it some don't but it shouldn't be changed just because you don't like it. Mis-shapen head equals cheating?

Come on now, using your hands is cheating the heads all get warped, you would know that if your kid played more.

Not going away as TV audience likes it...

very interesting reply and yes, facing off is very grueling and that is why they don't have lacrosse players taking them, they don't want the real players getting tired.

All the parents who want the FOGO to go away should be careful about what they wish for. It just might come true and then the FOGOs will be taking some of your son's jobs. Easy to call them out now, it will be harder when the FOGO takes your young attack men/middy role from your boys.

What all of you don't realize is the focus that the FOGO position requires. In addition to hitting the wall and shooting an hour a day, the FOGOs are practicing their craft many more hours. The are specialized and focused like few others on the field. Take away their role and they are the kinds of people that will work to take away your son's position on the team.

If the rule stands, your son will be competing against one more kid that has the the laser focus that got him to be the best FOGO. Be careful what you wish for.

I think part of the issue involves the pinch and pop being a techinically specific skill that allows some smaller, quicker kids to succeed as FOGOs. If that goes away face-offs may morph into even more of a slugfest. As a result, teams may gravitate towards bigger, stronger kids to handle face-offs and these highly technical FOGO specialists could lose out.. The trend towards bigger and stronger is well underway anyway, but this just takes away another avenue for kids who may not have the physical size to outmuscle others.

Probably one of the dumbest coments I heard. You make no sense.

You must be the guy everyone is calling jackwagon...

From groundball battle ????? Dunb statement.

I think part of the issue involves the pinch and pop being a techinically specific skill that allows some smaller, quicker kids to succeed as FOGOs. If that goes away face-offs may morph into even more of a slugfest. As a result, teams may gravitate towards bigger, stronger kids to handle face-offs and these highly technical FOGO specialists could lose out.. The trend towards bigger and stronger is well underway anyway, but this just takes away another avenue for kids who may not have the physical size to outmuscle others.

lol you obviously dont know [lacrosse] about faceing off my son committed D1 for fogo is probbly 20 times better on the field then your [lacrosse] son whos probably a scrub

No just know that my son isn't worried about a FOGO who put years of his time into trying to be a faceoff man. You know the old saying ..Don't put your eggs in one basket. Well that's what you and some other parents have done. You have failed your kids and they may have to suffer for it. Shame on you for being so farsighted.

I bet the players who play on wings love the rule change! More ground balls. Watch, now you will see those same FOGO's that didn't throw to their pole on wing because "pole might drop the pass" . What I always found funny about that is most LSM's have better stick skills than most FOGO's.

Should those wing guys start a petition also if this gets overturned? Thats what happens with our youth today, we teach them if they don't get their way we cry.

[lacrosse] scrub sons unite!! We call for a petition to stop calling us [lacrosse] scrubs!!
Some are just scrubs. Some are just [lacrosse]'s. But it's the rare combo that can become both a [lacrosse] and a scrub and that takes serious technical skills and the ability to run off of the field ASAP so real players can then play. (Wait a minute....does that mean we are closet FOGO's!??). Where do I sign???

To all FOGO parents,

Please disregard these mindless posts from bottom dwellers. this is an anonymous site so they happily post to whatever nonsense comes into their small little minds...

Especially the jackwagon guy. He is compensating for some other slight in life...

Yes Mr. Jackwagon, now that you have said argument over, it is over. You are a jackwagon and worse. Feel bad for your kid and your wife...Both are dealing with a mental case.

Did you re-class your son on your own or did he get forced to re-class because he couldn't keep up with all the reading and writing?

Oh wait, is that your little boy flunking out of first year? D-1 my a$$...

Forget to take the meds today?

We can all keep going back and forth here, or just agree to diagree. I am beyond upset about this because of what it is doing to my HS son. F/O men are a tight nit group and if this happens it could ruin lives. Does anyone care about that? There are young men here that are about to start college on well deserved scholarships that came from hours of hard work and sacrifices made by the families. If you truly support youth sports you would realize that there is much more at stake than a rule change. Or you can snub your nose and say you don't care because it doesn't affect your son. Just remember that karma is a [lacrosse], and there could be a time that you need support from the lacrosse community for an issue that affect your kid.

No just know that my son isn't worried about a FOGO who put years of his time into trying to be a faceoff man. You know the old saying ..Don't put your eggs in one basket. Well that's what you and some other parents have done. You have failed your kids and they may have to suffer for it. Shame on you for being so farsighted.

My son is not a FOGO, and I am not a former lacrosse player parent. This is a rule change that affects face off guys who can't play lacrosse. That said, I do have empathy for this rule affecting kids who developed these skills. It is not some HS kid's fault that lacrosse decided to be different from nearly every other court or field sport where there is a change of possession after a score.

Ruins lives? Come on. It is just a kid's game. Nobody got cancer or died over this. And like Beast wrote, this rule affects everyone equally. The kids who are tough and adapt to technical changes the best will remain the best at the position.

My my.... Touched a nerve there, huh FOFO dad? (Not a typo; figure it out?)
So many attempts at insults yet so easily deflected.

My son is a triple reclass and is taking remedial shoelace tying so he can get into UNC.

Actually, taking action and getting your point across is a great message for our youth. You will learn this the hard weigh when your kid graduates from school and mine gives him a job...

I just read through this chain and realized there are maybe two or three posters on the negative side. The use of language and writing styles are consistent over and over.

The person that responds to jackwagon (I guess he is used to being called this and in fact seems to like it), the guy that claims that everyone that likes F/O is whining and one I think is a mother claiming that making boys a FOGO was somehow a failure of parenting...really?

Same theme over and over, they are never going to listen to you or me or anyone. They are the small people no one likes and everyone thinks is insane. Don't bother responding to them and they will get bored and go away. Remember, this type of controversy in an anonymous forum is all that they have to look forward to. They enjoy seeing people upset, hurt or in pain. they thrive on it for some reason, let them have at it...

How about a rule change suggestion to do a face off crease? Like the goalie crease, a circle around X where the FOGOs can gladiator wrestle and can pinch and hold the ball in back of the stick, but only inside the face off crease. And the wings can rush the crease but not interfere until the ball is out. One poster suggested a 3 second pop rule. "The invisible pinch and pop clock", no thank you. It would be a debacle to trust referees with discretion on that one.

I'm the poster who wrote this doesn't ruin lives, it just changes the position. I don't think that even the most ardent supporters of the pinch and carry are against some limitations on it. So why not suggest one in the petition? I like the kid's moxie to do this face-off petition. The rule makers in this sport don't want the ball carried around everywhere on the back of the stick or stuck into it. Let's take this convo a little further constructively, what rule change do you suggest?

I like it, a step in a constructive conversation! BTW I'm the poster who suggested the three second pop. I see your point there. I just think having the ability to have a clean win needs to be a possibility.