Breakfast with Matt Palumb - by Dan Witmer
Like Tom Hanks once told me, “Don’t be a name-dropper.”
(rim shot)
OK, OK, I get it. Yes, my title might sound a little smug or even uppity, but it’s not everyday I get to sit down and talk lacrosse with Matty P.
You all know Matt. He was SU’s goalie while Paul and Gary Gait were lighting up opponents between 1987-1990 – you know, the goalie who wore football pants. For the past 30+ years, he’s gone on to referee both basketball and lacrosse, from scholastic levels to NCAA D-I. You’ve seen him do MLL games and now PLL games. He reffed at the London FIL World Games in 2006. And most recently, we all watched him in the PLL’s Championship Series this past February.
I first met Matt when we worked the same lacrosse camps back in the ‘90s. That’s where I met a lot of lacrosse icons – past, present, and future – but I won’t drop more names here (I’ve already done enough of that over the years…).
Then I’d frequently see Matt on the field – working high school games, college games (including Memorial Day Weekend championships), and Lake Placid games. And occasionally I’d bump into him at Oswego State’s Laker Hall when he was assigned a men’s basketball game.
Last summer I wrote a kinda critical RTD piece about the PLL championship, which Matt officiated. It so happened to be the first full PLL game I’d seen on TV all summer, and I let loose about the rules, the league itself, and some of the officials’ calls on the field.
Months later, in December, Matt emailed me and said he’d like the chance to sit down and discuss some of the things I’d written. I honestly don’t know why, but I never replied, which I’d like to say is not like me…
Then, in late March, a few weeks ago, Matt reached out again. This time I replied and agreed to meet, and Matt wrote back, “I think it'll be a great conversation between two people that love and live lacrosse. I am so entrenched in the pro game, and have been for 20 years, that I think it's healthy for me to hear you and also for you to hear me.” We agreed to meet for breakfast some Sunday morning… after Easter, after our St. Baldrick’s date…
And so it was that we met yesterday morning at Julie’s Diner in North Syracuse.
We talked for over an hour, with topics ranging from that piece I wrote last summer to the pro leagues, the future of pro, college, and even high school lacrosse, and more. He laughed as he highlighted some of the obscurities in the college and high school rulebooks I wrote about in my RTD piece last week.
Maybe Matt’s main point, and probably the #1 reason he wanted to meet, was to explain to me that, at the pro level with the PLL, consideration has to be given to the entertainment value of the product – “and that’s completely different than college or high school lacrosse.”
The “new” pro league requires consideration for its entertainment value, unlike college or international levels. Sponsorships and advertising, mass appeal, and “eye-tests” are all factors. And at times, that might call for minimizing penalties, keeping the stars on the field or in the game, etc.
Matt mentioned rule enforcement and required equipment as prime examples. “When we had that tussle in the championship game, by rule, we could have tossed players from both teams out of the game for coming out onto the field. But those benches are short, and we don’t want to end up with no subs, so we decided to call only the most flagrant and obvious fouls.”
And equipment? “We encourage the pros to wear mouthpieces; they’re provided in every locker room, but we’re not going to say, ‘you have to wear them.’ It’s the same way in the NFL, the NHL. There are simply different equipment rules at the pro level.”
We talked about the use of video replay at the pro and college level. Matt said, “I’m all for it. I mean, there’s nothing worse than driving home after a game and learning that you blew it. I’d do anything to get it right.” He mentioned that many of the D-I programs now use a video app called ScoreBreak, and he said, “All the coaches have an iPad; I say throw another one on to the (score) table. Coaches have no problem saying, ‘Hey, take a look at this,’ and ‘Here, let me make this bigger.’ We have it in basketball, and it takes all the pressure off the officials.”
Matt mentioned that there is talk about video replay use in upcoming NCAA championship games, and that the video would only be used for deciding whether a goal was scored or if there was still time on the clock when the shot was taken. He said replay could eventually be introduced, maybe conference by conference, just as a single shot clock was allowed when they became mandated.
We talked about possible changes in high school rules, the future of a shot clock at the scholastic level, and the overall evolution of the game. We both shook our heads reminiscing “the good ol’ days.” He brought up the adjustable shaft I mentioned last week. “I mean, there’s got to be at least one out there, right? Someone must have one!” I said it’s like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster; people claim to have seen one, but who’s got a photo, or video?
I asked Matt for his take on an unusual situation that had just occurred in our game on Saturday – the bottom string on our goalie’s stick broke or came undone, and twice he tried unsuccessfully to catch and pass the ball; it landed at his feet each time. Play continued and we eventually turned the ball over and our opponent scored, and then our goalie got to grab a new stick. I asked Matt, “Does that constitute a broken stick? What should he/we have done?”
A. R. 1 Matt agreed that, in his opinion, the situation qualified as a broken stick, and that the goalie could have thrown his stick down while our team was in possession of the ball and gotten the officials’ attention, yelling, “My stick is broken!” He said that hopefully they would stop play and let him get another.
Then he told me about a situation that occurred in the Virginia/Syracuse game on Saturday. Apparently an SU defender lost his stick and stepped out to block a shot, raising his hands to do so. As I understood it, the defender did indeed block the shot. The whistle blew, and the refs had a bit of a discussion. Illegal procedure – playing without a stick? If so, with or without possession? Unsportsmanlike conduct? Misdemeanor, or felony? What’s the right call?
A.R. 2 Matt and I agreed that it was really only a loose ball technical foul – playing without a crosse. Virginia’s ball, no time served by the SU player.
Which, of course, led me to ask Matt for his take on the Maryland/Ohio State “Glove-Gate”…
A.R. 3 "Let’s just say I'm glad I was on my couch that night!"
We talked about the ever-present referee shortage and, at age 55, Matt said he doesn’t especially need to do high school JV/Varsity doubleheaders during the week and then ACC or Big Ten games on the weekends, but he continues to do so because officials’ associations are in such short supply of trained refs.
Matt believes the answer is in recruiting younger officials, before they get married, raise a family, and then feel stressed about time away from home. “We need former players, guys who know the game, know the special situations that occur. And we need to sell them on the money, the flexibility of the schedule…”
“That’s how I got started. I was a 19-year-old freshman at SU and my Dad was reffing basketball. He said, ‘You want some money in your pocket? Try this.’ And I did three rec games and came home with $50 in my pocket – and back in the late 80s, $50 went a long way.”
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Reffing is a great way to stay involved, stay in shape, and give back to the game. I’m especially proud of the fact that I can name about ten former Oswego State players who have given officiating a try, and some of them are doing D-III, D-II, and even D-I games these days.
As we finished up our conversation, I asked Matt about his son, Jackson, who is at IMG this year and headed off to UAlbany in the fall, and he asked me about my sons. We may each wear a number of hats, but we’re both proud lacrosse dads at heart.
Thanks for the exchange, Matt; I thoroughly enjoyed our talk.
And thank you for reading. Please consider subscribing at www.roadtripdad.com to receive weekly RTD pieces via email. It’s free – really! No fine print; no catches.
In the meantime, please drive carefully, everyone. Volunteer. Donate blood. Get your shots; get your boosters. Mask up if asked. Love your neighbor. Help someone in need.
But most importantly, stay safe, stay smart, and stay kind.
- Dan Witmer
Dan Witmer is currently the author of three books. The Best of Road Trip Dad – The Laker Lacrosse Collection is an accumulation of 45 articles written for www.JustLacrosseUpstate between the years 2012 and 2018, about the history and traditions, the people, and the stories of the Oswego State men’s lacrosse program. … and piles to go before I sleep – The Book of Wit is his memoir describing his 33-year career teaching HS English and coaching at Hannibal Central School. His third book, The Best of RTD – A Lacrosse Coach’s Handbook contains more than 55 weekly Road Trip Dad blogs spanning 2012-2020, featuring Xs and Os, highs and lows, and even some Dos and Don'ts, and plenty of advice for coaches of all levels. All three books are available at amazon.com.
A fourth book, another collection of RTD blogs and newsletters, is in the works for 2023.
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