[ayso45-refs] U7 Slide Tackling

[Beau James]

Mark Ruzon wrote:
> While we're on the subject of policies that aren't rules:
>
> After my son's game a week ago I had a chat with the coaches.  One 
> coach complained about slide tackling.  I told him this is how I 
> understood the situation:
>
> 1) Coaches are not to teach slide tackling.
> 2) Coaches are to discourage it when they see it.
> 3) If done correctly, no foul can be called.
>
> Is this correct?

Pretty close.

You may have included this in your phrase "done correctly", but I'd like 
to make sure that everyone is completely clear. One key element is that 
no matter the age/division, any slide tackle must be executed in a 
manner that is */safe /*for both the tackler and for the opponent being 
tackled. The boundaries of what is safe and what is not changes with the 
age, experience,  and skill level of the players.

If, in the opinion of the referee at the match, a slide tackle is 
unsafe, then no matter how perfectly the slide tackle was executed by 
the tackler otherwise, the slide tackle should be sanctioned as 
"*dangerous play*". The reason may be that the opponent is not capable 
of coping adequately with being slide tackled. For example, in U14 or 
older, we generally expect players to have sufficient athletic ability 
to deal with a ball being tackled away while they are running and 
dribbling; but in U7, many players may not be able to deal with such a 
tackle safely.  Similarly, as players move up, we tend to expect their 
"angle of view" to improve with age and experience,  so that they will 
see and deal with a tackle from the side, even one close to 
perpendicular to their direction of movement.  But in U7, we tend to 
expect players to have a narrow forward-focused angle of view; a slide 
tackle from the side is more likely to be in a young player's blind 
spot, and thus become dangerous.

In U7, the first occasion of a slide tackle that is generally well 
executed, but in the referee's opinion is unsafe for the particular 
opponent being tackled, might be addressed with a strong verbal warning. 
Repeated infractions should be called as fouls.

Make sense?

Beau

> Mark
>
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