Q?: CA 14u, rules about 'going dark' during HS?

[3rd Base Coach]

ANONLOOKER said : >>>> " Per CIF - SS, are friendlies 'practice' or 'games'. " <<<<<<< per CIF Blue Book for SS - the word 'friendly' is not mentioned. The word 'game' is sometimes refered to as 'contest' & also 'interscholastic competition'. For CIF SS, there is no such thing as a 'practice game'. They define 'practice' & what is allowed but not a 'practice game'.
CIF SS also mentions the word 'scrimmage' of which only 1 is allowed per season. A 'scrimmage' is not a 'practice game'. Most high school & travelball coaches call a 'practice game' a 'scrimmage' which is not the definition of 'scrimmage'.
As you already know, I am one of the few coaches who conduct a real 'scrimmage' . It is difficult to find another coach to scrimmage.

[fasterpitch92701]

A simple guideline: use no umps, keep no score.

Use one of the coaches behind the pitcher to call pitches. No scorebooks. No scoreboard. Run ITB's. Make it what it is supposed to be; practice. Then, no issues.

Regarding a wierd, temporary time for 8th graders... yes. This too will pass.

[Sam]

A simple guideline: use no umps, keep no score.

Use one of the coaches behind the pitcher to call pitches. No scorebooks. No scoreboard. Run ITB's. Make it what it is supposed to be; practice. Then, no issues.

Regarding a wierd, temporary time for 8th graders... yes. This too will pass.

Yeah...you go ahead and do this...and let your team's HS coaches know you're doing it....I'm sure they'll all love to hear that you are choosing to jeopardize their season by picking nits with CIF.....that will get you one thing......the HS coaches will tell their players that if they even so much as look like they are going to do anything with their travel team during the spring, they can find a nice warm place on the bench. You will have, in effect, killed the ability to practice with your travel team. Nice job, though.

[BallGame]

Maybe this will help answer some of your questions.

What does the new association rule mean?
Book Rule 313, the Association Rule. This rule stated, "During the school year, prior to the established date for authorized before and after-school practice in a particular sport and following an individual's or team's last authorized competition, a student may receive athletic instruction in a C.I.F. Southern Section approved sport only during one regularly scheduled physical education period in which the student is enrolled and earning credit for that particular sport."
Since that time, the C.I.F. Southern Section Office has received many calls and emails with questions on what effects this rule change will have on our member schools. The following information is designed to help answer some of the more frequent questions that have arisen. To read the Q&A, click thread




Question - When does the elimination of the Association Rule take effect?
Answer - July 1, 2008

Question - What effect does the elimination of this rule have on 6th Period off-season Physical Education classes.
Answer - There will no longer be any restrictions on what coaches can do with their students after the 6th period class is over. Coaches will be allowed to remain with their students and continue to instruct them in the particular skills of their sport after their 6th period class time has concluded.

Question - What effect does this rule change have on Rule 314, the Conditioning Rule?
Answer - With the elimination of the Association Rule, Rule 314, the Conditioning Rule, is no longer valid in the C.I.F. Southern Section.

Question - Can members of the high school athletic staff coach their own students in off-season leagues?
Answer - Yes. Members of the high school athletic staff may organize, sponsor or coach teams outside the high school season of sport, during the school year, with students from their high school on them.
Question - Can club coaches coach club teams and high school teams?
Answer - Yes. A club coach can coach at a high school and coach a club team, outside the high school season of sport, during the school year, with students from that same high school on it.
Question - What effect does this rule change have on the Summer Dead Period?
Answer - None. The Summer Dead Period Rule is unchanged. All sports must observe a 21 consecutive day Dead Period from the close of school in June, or June 13 whichever comes first, and August 24, 2008, the day before Fall Sports season begins. During the Dead Period, the only contact allowed between high school coaches and their students is supervised weightlifting.

[Left Bench]

And curious, for those who have been through this, what happens to the 8th graders if their team goes dark? Seems like a little bit of a screwy situation, and something that should really be taken into account by many first year 14U players.

Anon,
It WAS a screwy situation at first, dd went through this last HS season. She was one of two non-freshmen on her team. The other girl found a team of younger 14U and opted not to return, we decided to shop around just for the dark period. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were quite a few 14U teams that had players in high school and were advertising for "temp" players. Being that there was no intention of staying on the new team, the coaches were waiving the sign-on fee and we paid a monthly "per friendly" fee. We found a great fit and dd had a awesome time meeting and playing with new girls and got some really helpful advise from the new coaching staff. When her regular team started up, we said our good-byes(were given an open invite) and dd was ready for action from day one. My thoughts are that it would have taken me at least a day or two just to pry her off the computer, had she decided to stay idle. Seems like the girls that were on the HS teams had more difficulty re-adjusting to the workouts. All in all... not a bad experience.