Hand Gestures...Slashing

Ok, those that know me are probably scratching their heads, wondering where I'm going with this. Right or wrong, I've been known to flip someone off. Usually it's in jest with a friend who's being a jerk or that dork driver who has no idea what a turn signal is. But in this case, you're safe! While maybe not as fun, we'll be discussing #referee hand signals for #lacrosse. So, I'm three years into this game and while I'm getting better at interpreting the wild and crazy gestures made by the ref, there are still many that are as mysterious as the Bermuda Triangle. I've decided to really try and learn the signals and in the process, want to share that with you. I'll be discussing one or two referee signals, what it means and when possible, posting with a video of the offense and gesture itself. But before we get into the actual signals, you should know the difference between a personal foul and a technical foul.

A personal foul involves an infraction that has malicious intent. These penalties are punished by one to three minutes in the penalty box depending on the severity. A technical foul usually involves a moving or time violation. They usually result in a 30 second penalty if the fouling team doesn't have the ball at the time of the foul. If the fouling team had the ball at the time of the foul, the ball is awarded to the team that was fouled. Ok, now we have that down-pat, let's get to the actual hand gesture...#SLASHING (and not the kind Freddy Krueger is so fond of). #SLASHING is a poke in the ribs, chest, neck or back. It's a vicious, uncontrolled swinging of the stick, whether contact is made or not. This is considered a personal foul. Below is a video that reviews the rule and the gesture made by the ref.

Here are some videos of actual slashes during a game:

Well, that's it for our first installment of "Hand Gestures." I hope you learned just a bit more about #lacrosse.

References:

• Lacrosse Rules & Regulations

• Laxtown

• US Lacrosse