Walt Munze, the national high school rules interpreter, has sent us some valuable rules interpretations. These are a great refresher for everyone as they address issues that we may not see every game and some are fairly common. Enjoy.

Q.  If a team A is under a requirement to bring the ball into the goal area, and the ball is deflected out of bounds by the defense (team B) so that Team A is awarded the ball, does Team A get a new full 10 seconds to bring the ball into the goal area?

A. Yes.

Q.  If a team A is under a requirement to bring the ball into the goal area, and an    official  blows whistle, does Team A get a new full 10 seconds to bring the ball into the goal area?

A. Yes.

Q.  In a game that is under running time e.g. 12 or more goal differential, or JV game where teams have agreed, if a penalty, which is also running time, expires while the play has stopped, e.g. ball out of bounds, but clock is running, may the penalized player come back into the field?

A Yes.

Q. In a normal stop time game and a goal is scored which causes a 12 goal differential, when does the running time start.

A. Running time starts with the next whistle resuming play.

Q.  4.24.6 Situation. A1 is running down the field in his attack half of the field, with no player from Team B near him: He loses any mandatory equipment and then shoots at goal, scoring a goal.

Ruling: Legal goal. Officials should be ready to stop play to prevent a potential               injury if any player of Team B is close enough to play A1

If a defensive player loses his equipment, he must not continue to play…either leave the field or retrieve his equipment. If he continues to play ,it would be a technical foul. Play should be stopped if the players is in danger of getting injured, otherwise use the slow whistle procedure.