New soccer rule goes into effect

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July 5, 2008

Rule change governs size of shin guards; enforces tough penalties

By JOHN VERSER The Glasgow Daily Times Sat Jul 05, 2008, 10:35 AM CDT

A new rule governing shin guards for high school soccer in Kentucky will go into effect beginning with the 2008 season.

The rule mandates the size of the shin guard depending on the players’ height and also places a hefty penalty for not following the rules. Players under 5’1” must wear a medium shin guard, while players 5’1” to 5’7” must wear a large and players 5’7” to 6’2” must wear an extra large.

“In the past, some of the kids would get youth shin guards and would just shove them in their sock, so they would only have a very small part of their shin actually covered,” Glasgow High School Director of Soccer Lora Garrett said. “They’re opting for maximum coverage of the shin bone to help prevent broken legs and that sort of thing.

“People have been bad about it (not wearing the proper equipment), so they just said we’re going to take care of it and this is how it’s going to be. And it’s throughout soccer, everywhere.”

If a player wears the incorrect size shin guard or the equipment doesn’t have the proper label on it, the penalty is severe. Both the player cited for the infraction and the coach receives a yellow card for the offense.

“What I’ve been told by Ronnie Cowan, who is the assigner of officials and is a soccer official himself, is that they will get a yellow card and the coach will get a yellow card,” Garrett said. “It’s important for me to check my players’ shin guards and make sure they have the right equipment or they can’t play. They’ll have to sit out because I can’t get a yellow card, because if I get two, then I get thrown out of the game.”

Not only must players wear the correct sized equipment, but they must leave the labels on them. The label stating the size of the shin guard must be left on along with the tag that the equipment was sanctioned by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). All proper shin guards must be approved by the NOCSAE.

“Every shin guard has to have that label on it,” Garrett said. “If people have taken their tags off, they’re going to have to get new shin guards. The correct size has to be listed and it’s got to have the NOCSAE tag on it.”

Garrett said the rule was originally set to go into effect for the 2006-07 school year and then was pushed back to 2007-08. But the rule will finally go into effect this season.

The new shin guards cost between $15-30.

“Most of the ones that I looked at in the catalog were $15-30,” Garrett said. “But it’s one more thing for the parents to have to get. I know that’s a little rough this time of year with this economy.”

Garrett added that more specifics on the rule will be given at the coaches’ rules clinic in early August.

“We won’t get the final word on it until we go to the rules clinic August 3 in Owensboro and August 4 at Central Hardin, and that’s two weeks before the season,” Garrett said. “You’ve got to start checking on them now and let the kids know that’s what’s coming down the pipe.”

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