Unwritten rules

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Another travel team vs high school, a delicate situation that happens all the time.
We have a couple of more travel practices to get ready for our final tournament
before summer - most of our girls will move on to their school teams.
We are working on situations, and a starter can't make practice because her high school
team has "voluntary conditioning" that she has to go to if she stands a chance to make varsity.

I ask her to split the time, we condition also, but her high school coach informed her it would be in her best
interest to attend, as they too are working on situations and practicing(again, with her high school coach). The entire coaching staff has run these workouts, and yes, our player was told it was important for tryouts. There is instruction given to the girls by the high school staff, but the staff reminds the players this is for their "indoor league".

I don't care that they are in violation (I did not witness it, only heard from player who has no reason to fabricate). I do care that I leave players alone during school season, I respect high school coaches wishes from other varsity sports who do not want any games during their season (controlled workouts only).

By the way, the development of all of players are largely related to the past three to five years of travel ball with our team, so our workouts are beneficial. Just give us our time, and your time will come when all players become pitchers and catchers and can begin workouts, until your last tournament game or scheduled high school game.

Any suggestions on approaching the high school coach, or should I let it go? I'm not going to pressure the kid, it's not her fault, she's stuck in the middle.

 

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No perfect solutions here. One thing to consider is that it's always possible the girl is telling you something she may believe, but isn't actually true.

You might contact the high school coach to ask whether it's true that the girls must be at conditioning or it will hurt their chances for varsity. If so, yes, the coach is in violation of OHSAA rules, but good luck with that. To me, probably the better option is in the future to not take girls from that school. That's not good for those girls, but like I said, there is no perfect solution.

The only thing I can think of if the coach doesn't cooperate is to call the AD. The problem is that you run the risk of the coach taking it out on your player.

 

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JoeA
Thanks for your input. I will try to sit down with the coach to discuss my concerns. I hope he will be willing to listen as I do have 2 other players that will attend that high school in another year (possible 3 if another girl decides that way). Hopefully we can come to the agreement that our best interest should be in the kids and their development as players.

Again, I really don't care about violations and opening a can of worms.
But it is black and white, I won't bother your kids during your season, just let us have our time when they are not permitted to do so with their high school teams.

Thanks again Joe, as we get the dual perspective as high school coach and select travel coach in one.

 

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Keep in mind all coachs/ high schools can have open gym. No violations. Our entire softball team is running and lifting weights. Any high school that is worth it's weight is working out! 2-19-07, you will have a problem trying to practice with your traveling team. If you look at most traveling teams from 14U up you will see from that date till May, they have that time blocked out. I have been on both sides of the fence. 90% of the kids I have, high school comes first, if not with the kid ( The parent). The coach is not allowed around his kids till 2-19-07, then you will find out that everyone is a pitcher or a catcher, if they are one of the top programs in the state.

 

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This is no different than any other aspect of life. ? ? People/coaches are interested in those who are interested in there team and its goals. ? ?Of course a player who shows dedication and desire to be part of the high school team, ?by attending the teams functions, ? mandatory or not, ? will be more valued by the coach. ? ?JoeA i see your hs team and travel team and they are very good, ? and you have the reputation as a good coach, ? I would guess that you appreciate players who are working with you to reach the same goal. ? That is what the hs coach is asking for it seems to me. ? ?If this travel team has had these girls 3 - 5 years as stated how can missing a few winter practice sessions hurt. ? I'm not sure that talking to the coach is a great idea, ?because no matter what words you use, ? you are saying that my team has been together for 3 - 5 years, ? we start our season after you start your season ends, ? ?and even though this player may be more critical to your hs team, ? ?we don't care we want our winter practice time. ? ?There is nothing wrong with that, ?but don't think the coach is so dumb he or she won't understand this and then respond accordingly.

 

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walt- I wouldn't think that this lady missing one of your practices to be at her HS conditioning would hurt one bit. I assume that you have been practicing during the late fall/winter and your last tourney will be the end of your season until late May.

On the other hand the HS has so precious little time to get a team together, and the coach wants the players together as much as possible, even if it is "Voluntary". The thing to remember is that the Coach of the HS team wants a successful season also, and he/she is goning into their season and your's is ending. Sometimes someone )Coach, Asst.)has to say that attendance can lead to you making/not making the team...............Which I know is wrong, but sometimes needed to get the average player there.

To me it sounds like the girl would rather practice with the Travel Team instead of the HS team (I know, my DD is the same), but sometimes it is in their best interest to practice with her school teammates. DD has finally realized that even though the HS team isn't as dedicated, if they work as a team they can be successful also. Tell your player to go to her HS practice and fill her in on what she missed at your practice. If she is playing both, she probably won't miss a beat.

 

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Consider that even with all the stifling OHSAA rules and unwritten coaches rules, some kids still figure out a way to make it to the college level. Those aren't skills you develop by just playing softball for three months in the spring.

 

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I appreciate the comments on the situation. I want to have my players at my practices as much as the next coach. There is nothing wrong with wanting to maximize having our team together (in between soccer, basketball, swimming, and other school obligations). And it will be our only time since tryouts in August that we have the entire team together for the indoor tournament.

The reality is I am doing it within the context of the rules and before the 19th, and will not practice with her again until her season is over, in compliance with OHSAA rules. Our practice is on the 8th, before the high school softball season begins.

 

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...and if neither coach gives the girl a way out, everybody ends up losing.

 

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I totally agree with TheBearMay, adding the girl will suffer most.
As I mentioned in the lead to the post, I am not going to pressure the player. I told her to go to her HS practice, she's a good kid and she really wants to start as a freshman.

I'll be rhetoric, stating that it is Feb 8th, not Feb 19th.

 

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God bless high school ball and its politics -- call it whatever you like, ?it's still the best spring training possible for summer ball!!

 

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Anyone with a computer can type OHSAA.ORG Go to the softball section. It is very clear. 4.1 and by laws 10-3-1 cover practice. 4.7 by law 10-3-3 explains indoor softball ( classifield as not a sport). 5.5 and 5.8 cover the 2-19 pitchers and catcher and March 5 for team practice. Open gym is under the General by laws. The one change that I find most schools overlook. Non paid coachs now must be school board approved and they fall under the same rules. So those schools that had parents running open gym ( see the huddle article) and they help coach during softball season are in violation! The Bear does a better job of typing each rule out for us. Open gym cannot be mandantory, no coachs paid or unpaid my be (coaching).

 

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Anyone with a computer can type OHSAA.ORG ?Go to the softball section. ?It is very clear. 4.1 and by laws 10-3-1 cover practice. ? 4.7 ?by law 10-3-3 ?explains indoor softball ( classifield as not a sport). 5.5 and 5.8 cover the 2-19 pitchers and catcher and March 5 for team practice. Open gym is under the General by laws. ?The one change that I find most schools overlook. Non paid coachs now must be ?school board approved and they fall under the same rules. ?So those schools that had parents running open gym ( see the huddle article) and they help coach during softball season are in violation! The Bear does a better job of typing each rule out for us. ?Open gym cannot be mandantory, no coachs paid or unpaid my be (coaching). ?

Although the rules are posted, it is also a reality for many schools in our area that open gym for softball means in unwritten rules "you need to be there." ?It really puts the players in a hard spot - torn between the coach that they play 100 games for all summer long and the coach of their high school that can sit them on the bench during the season. ?

I seriously think that BigTrain has the right attitude - school ball is simply spring training. ?
Good luck Walt! ?Let us know what happens. ?

 

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Agree with train on this one. DD never had any problems, but she always rolled her eyes about the coach stressing "team building" at "conditioning". At least he had his heart in the right place. DD did miss a few of the pre-season work outs, but it was because of a pitching or batting lesson. The coach knew she was working on her game, not goofing off.

Any high school coach that threatens to bench their travel ball players is only hurting himself/herself. High school ball has it's place for socializing and school pride. But it's too short of a season to be anything more than spring training for the serious players.

 

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Practice went smooth last night, and the player did make it after completing her high school "conditioning" with about 10 minutes left in our practice. The team stayed for extra 35 minutes so everything worked out.

I never did talk to the coach, no reason to now - wait until next seasons soap opera when the high school gets two and a possible third player - this ought to be fun!

Good luck to all!

 

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My comment about (If you have a computer you can look it up )was not to offend anyone. The rules have not changed over the years. Just softball now at the high school level is getting very competitive. Yes I agree coaches say you must attend ( even though this is not allowed). , but if you are a good softball player they rarely protest. If you look at the archives , this comes up every year at this time. We get new travel ball coaches and mainly at the 14U that don't understand the rules. If they would read them, it would help each understand the other's view points. Many of us high school coaches ( that do both) have to juggle the rules, from ASA, OHSAA, NFHS. So we spend more time reading, which applies. Keep in mind a high school coach is gettng paid and it is his job! He may have some incentive to be good, if he want to keep employed.

 

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SBFamily is so correct. I have found over and over and over that very few people want to take the time to read the rules. The OHSAA doesn't make it easy, to be sure, with its poorly written bylaws and disorganized website.

To fully understand OHSAA bylaws and regulations, one must read (1) the Bylaws; (2) the specific sport regulations; and (3) the General Regulations. It's this last one that often goes unread because people don't know it exists.

To find it on the OHSAA site, one must go to the Member Schoos link from the home page. Then click the drop down that says OHSAA Sports Regulations. Then just choose "General" Why the General Regulations are not listed on the Sports & Tournaments menu on the home page is beyond me.

It would also be a good idea to read the Constitution one time, paying particular attention to the first paragraph right after the name of the organization is listed. That paragraph describes the purpose of the OHSAA and should be kept in mind when thinking about any bylaws or regulations. Also, just as a general rule of interpreting laws or regulations, the specific usually controls the general if there appears to be a conflict, but nothing trumps the Constitution.

 

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JoeA one thing that strikes me when reading the OHSAA rule book is that a lot of effort is spent trying to limit a players participation in a sport instead of encouraging it. I think this is the wrong way to go.