Rules

NorthCoast Indoor Lacrosse League Rules

Teams:

• Teams shall consist of 8-12 players per roster. There must be at least 8 players on a roster who anticipate attending all of a teams games during the course of the season.
• Players must be at least grade 9 and up for the High School+ Division.  Middle School Division is for players in 5-8 grade.   High school graduates not currently participating in collegiate level lacrosse may also participate.
• Reversible NILL jerseys must be worn for all games. Home team will be dark, visiting team will be light. NILL jerseys will be provided to each player that registers as part of their registration.
• Teams may be allowed to use fill-in players periodically. However, these players must sign a league waiver and pay a per game fee. They also cannot participate regularly. If these players begin participating on a regular basis, they must then pay the full league fee and be added to a regular team roster as a permanent player. Team Managers must notify the NILL Commissioner if they plan on using a fill-in player prior to gameplay each week and provide the players name and basic information like age, grade, etc.
• If a team would like to add fill-in players or additional players to their roster permanently, this must be done by the 4th game of the season.  Up to three (3) additional players may be added by this time.  Players added to the roster must complete a registration form, player waiver and pay the league fee.  Players added to a roster by the 4th game of the season may participate in league playoffs.  Fill-in players may continue to be used periodically after the 4th game of the season, but these players cannot be added to a team roster and cannot play in the playoffs.  These fill-in players will continue to be subject to the fill-in rule described above.
• A team may request a fill-in player for the playoffs ONLY if an existing player has suffered a season ending injury.
• A team must have a minimum of 6 players to begin a game. A goalkeeper from another team may substitute for a team missing its goalkeeper.
• All teams are required to have an adult on the bench at all times. Teams may “self-coach” but every team must have an adult on the bench. Adult player/managers are acceptable. Each team must also provide a scorekeeper to run the scoreboard and keep track of game statistics in the scorebook.
• All teams are required to designate a Team Manager. The Team Manager may be a player and will be responsible for all league correspondence, providing the team roster to the NILL Commissioner at the start of the season, contacting team members about league issues, weather cancellations or league rule changes, being the contact for any disputes within the league, with another team or with the NILL Commissioner, and will be the team contact for the dissemination of league information throughout the season. The Team Manager should designate himself as such on the registration form.
• All Team Managers must send in a complete list of players on their team roster before the season starts. Free Agents, those fully registered players not affiliated with any team, will be added by the league to team rosters to fill out incomplete teams. These Free Agents may also be used to form a complete team if enough of them are registered.

Team Play:

• 7 players are allowed on the playing surface including 2 attack, 2 midfielders, 2 defense and 1 goalie for each team.
• Two long sticks are allowed on the field for each team, but not mandatory. Defensemen can use  short sticks. 
• Substitutions are made on the fly from the midline bench area and may be made at anytime during play. Subs must wait until the player is completely off the field.

Goal:

• Each team will defend a 6 foot by 6 foot field lacrosse goal.

Equipment:

• All players must be fully equipped with helmet, shoulder pads, arm/elbow pads, gloves, protective cup and mouth guard at the minimum. Goalies must have helmet, throat guard, chest protector, gloves, protective cup and mouth guard.

The Game:

• The duration of each game will be 44 minutes, running time. Two 22 minute halves with a 3 minute halftime for the High School+ Division.  For the Middle School Division the duration of each game will be 42 minutes running time with Two 21 minute halves.  Teams will switch ends at the end of the half. Game time will be the same for league playoffs. 
• One 30 second timeout per team per GAME will be allowed with RUNNING clock.
• A team leading in the last four minutes of a game may not call a timeout.
• In a man-down situation, the man-down team may never call a timeout.
• In the event of a tie at the end of regulation game play, there will be one 3 minute overtime with sudden victory format. The first team that scores in overtime, wins. If after the one 3 minute overtime, neither team scores, the game will end in a tie.
• During league playoffs, if after one 3 minute overtime period neither team scores, a sudden victory Braveheart will be played until the game is decided. First team that scores during the Braveheart period, wins. In Braveheart, each team will have one field player and one goalie.
• Play will be started at the beginning of each half with a faceoff.
• During faceoffs, which begin each game and the second half, wing midfielders must be positioned to the left of their faceoff man, at the intersection of the midline and the sideline. Defensemen and Attackmen must remain behind the goal line extended until the referee signals possession. The goalie must remain in the crease area until possession is signaled. Possession is defined as one team having clear control of the ball anywhere on the field.
• After a goal is scored, the official blows his whistle and raises both arms to signify that a goal has been scored. The goalie from the scored upon team then immediately picks up the ball to put the ball back in play. Play will begin immediately after the officials whistle to re-start the game.  There are no faceoffs following a goal.
• The defending team will have 10 seconds to clear the ball beyond the midfield line. Failure to clear the ball will result in the loss of possession. 
• Goalies will have 4 seconds to clear the ball when standing in the goal crease.
• A modified offside rule will be used in the NILL. Two attack, two defenders and the defending goalie must stay behind the midline at all times during gameplay. 
• Out of bounds or dead ball will occur when the ball leaves the playing field, strikes the bench  area, the ceiling or gets caught up in the ceiling or anywhere else adjacent to the playing field.
• For a shot on goal, the team whose player is closest to the ball when it goes out of bounds or becomes “dead” is awarded possession of the ball at “X” behind the goal.
• If the same situation occurs on a pass, the ball is awarded to the other team at the same location. A five yard cushion from a defensive player will be honored at the whistle.

NILL Season:

• The NILL regular season will consist of 12 games.
• Regular season standings will determine seedings for League Playoffs.
• Regular season standings will be determined as follows:  Point system: win = 3 points, tie = 1 point, loss = 0 points, forfeit = -1 point 
• The League Playoffs will be seeded based on league play results. The Playoff Tournament will be head to head, single elimination. Seeding tiebreakers will be settled first by head-to-head result, then by result versus a commonly played team with the highest seed in the pool, then if still tied, by a coin flip.
• Playoff Tournament games will have the same duration and running time as regular season league games. Overtime will be determined as in the league regular season with the addition of Braveheart if the overtime period does not determine a winner. 

Referees:

• There will be at least one referee on the field at all times. Referees may or may not be fully sanctioned lacrosse referees but will have training on NILL rule modifications and otherwise adhere to all NFHS rules regarding play on the field. All calls by the referee are final. There is no arguing calls.
• Referees will have the power to remove any player from the field or facility for any reason.

Playing Rules and Regulations:

• IMPORTANT : The NILL is intended to promote lacrosse skill and stickwork development in the off-season. The idea behind the league is primarily to encourage improvement of lacrosse skills, lacrosse I.Q and stick handling. The NILL is an off-season league in which many players may be participating in another interscholastic Winter sport and/or looking ahead to the Spring lacrosse season. As such, the safety of all players will be kept at the forefront. The NILL will diligently enforce the following rules, in particular those rules intended to keep the safety of the players in mind and the game played with a fast pace which emphasizes lacrosse skill and stickwork. The NILL will not hesitate to eject players from games for violating these rules. Major infractions or multiple violations will result in expulsion from the league.
• Technical Fouls – Technical fouls will result in a loss of possession or 30 second penalty (1 minute running time). Technical fouls include holding, interference, offsides, pushing, screening, stalling and warding off.

• Personal Fouls and Major Penalties – Personal fouls will result in a 1 minute 30 second penalty (2 minutes on the officials clock with running time). Major penalties will result in the offending player being suspended for the balance of the game and subject to suspension and/or expulsion from the league. The offending team will also serve a 3 minute penalty (3 minutes 30 seconds on the officials clock with running time).
• Personal fouls include slashing, tripping, cross checking, unsportsmanlike conduct, unnecessary roughness, illegal crosse, illegal body checking, no mouthguard and illegal gloves.

NILL Rule Exceptions:

• FIGHTING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AT ANY POINT. ANY PLAYER WHO FIGHTS WILL BE EXPELLED FROM THE LEAGUE. NO REFUND WILL BE GIVEN. Fighting is a Major Penalty.

• There will be NO BODY CHECKING with the intent to put another player on the ground. There will be no “take out checks” period. “Take out checks” as described in this paragraph will result in a Major Penalty.  Illegal checks deemed malicious will result in ejection from the game. Multiple infractions of this rule may result in suspension or expulsion from the league. 
• Incidental contact will be allowed but will be closely monitored.
• Loose ball: When two opposing players are going after a ground ball, they may do so by implementing “man-ball” strategy, proper body positioning and correct footwork and PLAY THE BALL and not the opposing player. If in the opinion of the official, a player initially body checks an opponent to gain an advantage, then the checking player will be penalized. At the referees discretion in this case, the penalty time will be a minimum of 1 minute 30 seconds consistent with a personal foul.

• If boards are present, THERE WILL BE NO CHECKING INTO BOARDS, EVER. If this occurs, play will be stopped and the offending player will be ejected for flagrant misconduct. The offending player must leave the bench area immediately. If the boarding was deemed malicious, the executing player will also be suspended for the next game. Repeated offenses will result in expulsion from the league.
• All one-handed slashes will be considered slashing and a personal foul, whether contact is made or not. 
• Taunting will be considered unsportsmanlike conduct and result in a personal foul. Repeated violations of this rule in one game will result in a Major Penalty and ejection from the game. Repeated violations in one game and over the course of the season may result in expulsion from the league.
• Taunting includes but is not limited to any actions by athletes or spectators which are intended to bait, anger, embarrass, ridicule, or demean others. Included is conduct that berates, needles, intimidates, or threatens based on race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin or background, and conduct that attacks religious beliefs, size, economic status, family, special needs or personal characteristics.
• Examples of taunting include but are not limited to: verbal communications of a personal nature directed by a competitor to an opponent by ridiculing his/her skills, efforts, sexual orientation, or lack of success, which is likely to provoke an altercation or physical response; and physical intimidation outside the spirit of the game, including “in the face” confrontation by one athlete to another, standing over/straddling a fallen player.
• Any player that receives his 5th personal foul in a game will be ejected from the game.
• A teammate must then serve the now ejected players penalty in the penalty box.
• Goalie Penalties – A goalie will never serve his own penalty. The manager of the offended team will personally select a midfielder from the offending team that is on the field when the penalty occurred. This player will serve the penalty for the goalie.
• A goalie that receives his 4th penalty of the game will be ejected. A new goalie will need to take his place in full goalie equipment. The clock will continue to run during this transition. 
• Flag Down Situation – In a flag down situation where team “A” has possession and is in team “B's” end and team “B” commits a penalty, and a goal is scored by team “A”, then the penaltyis waived off and a time served penalty is NOT awarded to team “A” though the penalty is recorded by the scorer. The goal counts and play continues with team “B's” goalie clear.
• As with field lacrosse, if a team has a player serving a penalty (man-down) and the mandown team scores, this player is not released from the penalty box unless his penalty time expires.

• Repeated violations of NILL league rules and rule exceptions during the course of the season may result in the cancellation of league play indefinitely. The safety of the players participating is of primary concern to the league. The NILL would like to see all of its players enter the Spring lacrosse season healthy and with improved lacrosse skills.

  General:

• Weather cancellations – Due to limited availability of the facilities, we cannot guarantee make up games canceled due to inclement weather. The NILL will make every effort to reschedule canceled games during the week following the canceled game when possible, but cannot guarantee that canceled games will be played at a later date.
• All goals scored against one's own team count.
• If a Team Manager would like to hold practices at a remote location, they cannot be mandatory and there cannot be any consequence for not attending. Practices outside league play are allowed and encouraged, but the team must be responsible for scheduling and cannot penalize players for not attending since it is outside the NILL's purview.
• No refunds will be issued once league play begins.
• All decisions by NILL Commissioners are final.
• The NILL reserves the right to change rules at any time during the season to enhance gameplay and player safety. Teams will be notified of any changes in the rules in advance.

Code of Conduct:

• It is expected that all players, fans, managers, parents and officials will conduct themselves in a manner that is based on sportsmanship, safety and respect.  Players must adhere to the following code of conduct to stay in good standing with the NILL:

◦     Show respect for NILL officials, managers, fellow players, referees, and the league.

◦     Demonstrate good sportsmanship before, during and after games.

◦     Honor the authority of each official and treat him/her with respect.  Accept decisions made by the officials as final.

◦     Respect the game, play fairly and follow its rules and regulations.

◦     Refrain from the use of drugs, tobacco, alcohol, and abusive/offensive language.

◦     Respect the privilege of the use of public facilities.