Team Conference during Injury Timeout

[Derek Teigen]

Our association has been inconsistent in managing team/coach interaction during an injury timeout.  It is somewhat difficult to decipher in the rule book so please follow this trail:

3-5-8c  "Only an OUtside 9-Yard Mark Conference may be held in 3-5-8a(3)"

3-5-8a(3) "if Granted by the referee in 3-5-10

3-5-10  An official's timeout (which is not charged to either team) occurs......3-5-10a ...."an apparently injured player is discovered by a game official....."

so as I read it multiple coaches and players can come out onto the field outside the 9-Yard Marks during an injury timeout.  Is this how you handle your sidelines during injury timeouts?

thank you

[HLinNC]

The wings should send their team to the sideline during an injury timeout, unless it is one of those quickie cramps where the kid is going to hop off the field.  Establish position at the top of the numbers and monitor the sideline.  Hustle the teams back on once the referee is ready to blow the RFP back in.

Essentially unlimited personnel can meet outside the 9 yard marks for any normal time out except a coach-official conference and a time-out in which one coach and attendants between the hashes.

It isn't that difficult.

[ncwingman]

Yes.

Teams can huddle by the sideline with however many coaches during an injury timeout. We do take care to direct the team to the sideline instead of letting the coaches come out to the hashmarks, and be careful about coaches that are "attending the injured player" to make sure they are actually doing so.

I know, as a whole, our association isn't perfect in getting teams to the side zones or back in front of the team boxes if the LOS is at the 5, but that's what we should be doing. There's no dissent in what is allowed, just wing officials not always being forceful enough in ensuring compliance.