OHSAA and Amature Status Change

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I found this online and thought it was some interesting reading. It made me think of a couple of questions in regards to the girls and softball.
Prep Baseball Report > Ohio > News

1. What if a player/'s gets a "Sponsor" to pay thier yearly dues, and in exchange the Organization offers marketing to the sponsor on the website and thier team banner, going forward will this affect the Amature Status?

2. What if player/'s on any said Travel/Club ball team, are not required to pay any of the team dues, while other players are, does this affect the Amature Status?

3. How does it affect player/'s across the country that play with a Sponsors Name such as; "Worth, Tanel, Louisville, Mizuno, etc..." in exchange equipment for advertisement and whatever else one can think of, does this affect the Amature Status?



Since coming to AZ, I see a lot of things that take place differently out here than in Ohio, but we definetly dont experience anything like OHSAA and I wonder how they can add something beyond what is required by the NCAA to maintain one's Amature Status!
Per the weblink I read, if a 501 C3 organization charges players dues to cover the expenses of playing ball and everyone is required to pay it, fundraise it, or get a sponsor to pay. If those said fee's do cover all travel expenses, then how could this affect the Amature Status? I see this could affect the Amature Status if a player/'s didn't pay the team dues, but was afforded the same travel arrangements as those that paid, am I wrong?

Thought we could use something new to talk about and what better than OHSAA. lol

 

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what a group of people. Wow.

 

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Wonder if a student athlete that receives reduced or free lunches at school from the state are losing their amature status ?

 

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Only if you get the free phone with it...

 

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Ohsaa => joke

 

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A little off topic, but could be an impact this upcoming spring: Ohio Senate passes student-athlete concussion bill | The Columbus Dispatch

NSA had a huge discussion about this during our National Conference in October. We would like to enact a head injury policy but have to go thru our lawyer to make sure it is worded correctly.

The subject could be a pandoras box as some of our state directors are not sure who would be the one to say a kid has to sit after a head injury? Umpires? Director? UIC? Parents? Coaches?

Sorry for going off topic, but the head injury law is a popular topic lately in all sports

 

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Looks like the excuse I need to move out of the state . That's all I need is the state to tell me how, who, what to do with my dd's.

 

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Happy I am in Kentucky!!

 

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O obviously
H hurts
S student
A athletes
A abilities

 

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I'll stop short of playing devil's advocate here, but let me ask a few questions. Do you think the NCAA should have amateur status rules for college athletes? Do you think the states should for high school athletes? Or should anything go? If you think the NCAA should, why shouldn't the states, and why would they necessarily need to be the same for high school and college athletes? Or do we only care about athletes who go on to play in college? I know it's the thing to do here to trash OHSAA but, generally speaking, I think the spirit of the rules they have are there for a good reason. The biggest issue I have is the lack of clarity there frequently seems to be with the rules. They need to get some clarity around them and publish them somewhere as FAQ's, answering questions like the original poster asked above.

 

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The problem with making the rules very clear is some people will then find a very clear way around the rule

 

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Lol @ prexyfan ... then we hire them as our tax accountants?

You're right ... some people will find ways around, in which case you just have to keep clariying if necessary.

 

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This is a rule change I see affecting the big time AAU boys basketball circuit more than the softball community. Next in line would be some of the top boys baseball teams like the Cincy Flames and Midland teams also from the Cincy area. I dont see to many softball programs in ohio with big sponsers that cover expenses but maybe I'm just unaware.

 

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Unless things have REALLY changed--my Legion Post picked up all of our expenses, and we would eat for free at the Legion Hall and some of the members restaraunts. And a lot of girls teams have banners of either partial or full sponsors--Are they saying that if "Dr. Jones" kicks in a thousand dollars as a sponsor, EVERY GIRL ON THAT TEAM IS INELIGIBLE IF THEY EAT A BIG MAC THEY DIDNT'T PAY FOR AT DISNEY?! What the heck,,,, so much for being about the kids....And funny how they want to crack down on baseball--biggest racket for cheaters is AAU basketball.

 

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LCTigerdad ... while this particular story was taken from a prep baseball report and how it might affect summer baseball, I am pretty sure OHSAA is talking about high school sports in general ... and my guess is that it would be AAU basketball that might be most affected. Again, let's just hope they publish some clear rules around whatever they are talking about ... what you can and can not do ...

 

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... The biggest issue I have is the lack of clarity there frequently seems to be with the rules. They need to get some clarity around them and publish them somewhere as FAQ's, answering questions like the original poster asked above.

OHSAA's published "guidance" - http://www.ohsaa.org/eligibility/4-10GuidanceAmateur.pdf

 

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I'll stop short of playing devil's advocate here, but let me ask a few questions. Do you think the NCAA should have amateur status rules for college athletes? Do you think the states should for high school athletes? Or should anything go? If you think the NCAA should, why shouldn't the states, and why would they necessarily need to be the same for high school and college athletes? Or do we only care about athletes who go on to play in college? I know it's the thing to do here to trash OHSAA but, generally speaking, I think the spirit of the rules they have are there for a good reason. The biggest issue I have is the lack of clarity there frequently seems to be with the rules. They need to get some clarity around them and publish them somewhere as FAQ's, answering questions like the original poster asked above.

coachjwb, I'll be happy to answer those questions! No, I don't think the NCAA should have rules on amateur status. I think people should be paid for their services in a free market. Not a difficult question for me!

 

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So, Joe ... any limits on pay? Any differentiation between schools (i.e., what we classify today as Divisions I/II/III), or whatever the market will bear? Out of whose pocket ... sponsors, alumni, or the schools themselves (and those of us who pay tuition)? Do the players even need to be students at the schools? What about in high school ... where do you draw the line if any?

 

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No limits on pay. I don't want anybody around to say someone makes "too much" money. Yes, whatever the market will bear. Out of whoever's pocket is willing to pay, boosters, alumni, whoever. Yeah, they need to be students at the school.

The whole notion of amateurism has done nothing but cause problems, as the people who push the notion often end up making money off of those who are driving the profits who make nothing.

We can have all the rules regarding competition, but I don't see where rules keeping anyone from making money do anything to serve anyone, other than those making the rules. What is wrong with someone making money from their talents?

 

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Joe ... I get what you're saying and why, but I guess I am imagining all kinds of possible negative ramifications. I value your input and opinions on most things softball, but have to strongly disagree with you when this issue is taken to that extreme. As a fan of college athletics, I shudder to think of what could happen to the competitive balance in such a system. I also wonder what might eventually happen with female sports like softball in college, as the "revenue" and "higher visibility" sports compete for the same funding (yes, this already happens but couldn't it get a lot worse?). But most importantly, I think it would incent some parents to in essence sell and profit off of their kids athletic talents at the expense of those kids' educations and the rest of their well-being.

You didn't address my question about high school, but am assuming you wouldn't support such a system at that level. One of my problems is that while the "legal age" might be 18, I think kids do a lot of maturing between then and when they graduate from college, especially in this day and age. I'm not saying that there should be all of the seemingly petty rules there are now about amateurism, but a total supply and demand approach approach would be irresponsible in my mind, and create potentially a lot more problems than it would solve.