How to Apply the Rules of Hockey | Reversing the Free Hit | #RuleyTuesday Ep. 7

Do you know the best time to reverse a free hit in order to manage misconduct? Learn how to flip the script in this #RuleyTuesday!

Transcript

Hey Friends! I’m Keely Dunn of FHumpires with another hot take on just one rule in the book. 

Remember that time when you were on the way to the zoo and you were fighting with your siblings in the back of the car and your mom or you dad turned around, completely ignoring the road, and yelled, “if you don't stop that right now, I'm turning this car around and we're going straight home!” Well, did you know that you can also throw a play in reverse? We're going straight home on today's RuleyTuesday/

Rule of Hockey 12.5 – Offence or Misconduct Before the Penalty Has Been Taken

Today's parental tantrum is brought to you by Rule 12.5, and specifically, sub (c).

12.5 If there is another offence or misconduct before the awarded penalty has been taken:

(c) the penalty may be reversed if the subsequent offence was committed by the team first awarded the penalty.

Rules of Hockey 2019

Let's talk about what kind of foul awards you may want to reverse. It really should ever only be for free hits. The opportunity that was taken away by that initial foul wasn't that supermassive. So, taking that opportunity away in turn–it's a big event, but not the biggest event. Think of it as the difference between not going to the zoo that day, or your parents cancelling the entire family trip to Disneyland. That's like a penalty corner or a penalty stroke. And to cancel Disneyland for obnoxious behaviour in the back seat of the car is incredibly unfair, DAD. Sorry.

Team vs. Personal Penalties

Now, what kind of offence or misconduct are we talking about? Mostly, it's going to be either not taking enough time to place the free hit properly, i.e. ball placement, or taking too much time with the free hit, otherwise known as time-wasting. These are both offences in the rules, and this can be an effective way to deliver a team message about misconduct that, had it not been addressed, would have benefitted unfairly that whole team.

This is different from a kind of misconduct that I have seen reversals given for when they really shouldn't be, and that's dissent. When the player you've just awarded the foul to, or their teammate, is giving you a heap of grief, they're not cheating to benefit their team, they're just being a jerk towards you. This is a personal matter and should be dealt with by a personal penalty if even that's needed. I know it can feel really good to whip out that opposite arm, but that's throwing a match on the fire because you haven't managed the individual, and you've gifted the opposition with the ball when they really didn't deserve it.

Look at it this way. It's like you're in the back seat and your brother is throwing all the raisins at Mom's head in the front seat and you're just innocently reading Nancy Drew. Dad then turns the car around and no zoo for you, but you didn't do anything. Wouldn't it be better if your brother was locked in the car and missed out on walking with the penguins than for all of you to get punished? You feel me.

We're Going to Disneyland!

Even in light of this, reversals are best used earlier in a game when the opportunity to take that free hit doesn't seem quite as pivotal to the result of the match. (And you all know how I feel about the ability of single, isolated decisions to decide a match, but we're just going to leave that right here.) They were also more commonly given when green cards didn't carry the mandatory two-minute suspension they do now. A green slap on the wrist was meaningless, but pulling out a yellow card in those kinds of cases was often really heavy-handed.

So, think about when and why a personal penalty would still be the more effective management tool, in addition to things like using your voice proactively to get the ball in the right spot or to get the free hit moving more quickly. That kind of thing. Still, sometimes, it is a great piece of management that you should have in your tool belt.

Just don't take away Disneyland.

Did this RuleyTuesday change your travel plans? Keep the discussion going in the comments and the replies, and if you'd like to go on another family trip with me with another rule, drive on into the comments, replies, DMs, texts, emails: I'm a frequent flier of the rule book.

You can also buy me an ice cream at the zoo with $3 dollars a month in the FHumpires Third Team Blue membership. Pack up the kids and head over to fhu3t.com.

Chau for now!

#tuesdaytip #hockey #fieldhockey #hockeyumpire #fieldhockeyumpire #rules #umpirelife #thirdteam #FIH #FIHumpire #rulesofhockey #rulesoffieldhockey #hockeyumpiring #fieldhockeyumpiring