I did a tournament recently and was definitely surprised at how much whining there was over throw-ins. In the matches I did, most of the complaints came from teams east of Columbus - notably from PA and Ontario, Canada. The majority of the time, their complaints were centered on how much spin was on the ball as it left the thrower’s hands. There used to be verbage in the LoTG that said something to the effect that the ball had to be thrown equally with both hands. That was done away with quite a long time ago - certainly long enough to be a non-issue for the U14 & U16 teams that were doing the griping. To be sure, Law 15 spells out the criteria for a valid throw thusly -
- The thrower must face the field of play.
- The thrower has part of each foot either on the touch line or on the ground outside the touch line.
- The thrower uses both hands.
- The ball is delivered from behind and over the head.
Nothing in there that involves spin. . .nothing that says you can’t pound the ball to the ground. . .and nothing that says you can’t have a light release over the head. Just because it’s a bad throw doesn’t mean it’s a foul throw.
But a lot of my frustration here stemmed from the total lack of common sense these coaches applied to the situation. These were U14 and U16 boys games. At that age level (and older), I will say that I’m paying virtually no attention to the thrower. I’m too busy watching the little angels on the field push and shove each other in anticipation of the ball coming in. So be careful what you wish for coaches. Sure, I can watch the thrower - but it’s probably going to mean I’ll miss the forearm to the back of your players head as he goes up for the 50/50 ball the thrower sent in.
And besides, numerous studies have shown that a throw-in is almost always no better than a 50/50 ball - and in many cases worse. So whether your opponent makes a foul throw or not, your guys are likely to have the ball in less than 15 seconds anyway. . .so why get on my case? My suggestion for coaches is to pick your battles more carefully. If you’re on me about every marginal throw-in, it doesn’t take me long to tune you out and lable you a know-nothing. Once I’ve done that, how likely am I going to be to listen to you on something that really matters?
May 1st, 2008 at 3:21 pm
Complaining about “bad” throw-ins is a common occurrence here in Illinois as well (and I’m sure it happens everywhere). Especially on throw-ins that are taken right in front of the benches, many coaches feel that if a throw-in is not of the perfect form that they teach their players, it must have been improperly taken and should be awarded to their own team. Like you said, the Laws say nothing about equal pressure from both hands, so a “spin” is perfectly legal, as long as it is delivered from behind the head.
Part of my pre-game on anything above U14 involves instructing my ARs to watch for improperly taken throw-ins, since I will be watching for misconduct by the players receiving the throw. (If my ARs are inexperienced–or over-experienced, I will casually remind them that spinning the ball is legal, and that they should mainly be watching for feet being raised.)
Also, if I do see an actual improperly taken throw-in, I look to see if the opponents will receive the ball cleanly and immediately. If so, deem the throw-in infraction trifling and allow play to continue. If not, call it back. Most players will appreciate you allowing the game to flow, rather than stopping the play on what many consider to be a technicality.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
It has to be a serious “oh my” for me to hit my whistle on a throw. Again my intention is to get the ball back in play and let the game begin to flow again.
I actually care more about the placement of the throw more. I tend to see players trying to grab and extra 10+ yards down the field on throws by simply starting their run at the spot.