New rule by the TSSAA

[soccer891]

OK... this might take a while:

 

"June/July athletes may be on summer teams/club teams with coaches coaching. Dead period does not apply

 

Pre season scrimmages: No admission charged; no team scores kept on scoreboards; no paid officials; no tournament type format of any type; limit to four prior to first playing date

 

50% rule: Participation (includes practice) during the school year on a non-school team outside the schiil season by students that will play the following season on the same highschool team is limited to 50 percent of the number of players required to play the game (6 in soccer)

 

Note: In each sport, only the specified number of students participating on a nonschool team during the year may be placed on the same highschool team roster the following season. Those students cannot be interchanged on the school team roster."

 

I'll write more later.... gotta go teach.

 

Thanks for the update.

 

I wonder how the non-school year participation will be enforced? There are many ways to roster players within TSSA and US Club Soccer that could leave the door open to broad interpretation what really makes up a non-school year 'team'. Many times players of different ages are rostered to an entire club and play between 'teams' during the season. Does playing in 1 game with a team break the rule? Someone with a little creativity can probably easily skirt the TSSAA rule and still put together the off-season 'team' with more than 6 players. This rule will be interesting to say the least.

[BigG]

Yeah, but if you "skirt" it, you also run the risk of being in violation of the rule. I wouldn't want to run that risk.

[soccer891]

Yeah, but if you "skirt" it, you also run the risk of being in violation of the rule. I wouldn't want to run that risk.

 

I completely agree. I'm just wondering how TSSAA will determine what constitutes playing on a 'team'. There are a lot of clubs that train different teams together and if they limit that ability, there will be a great uproar. Working younger age groups with older age groups is how many clubs and teams base their training.

 

There are just so many details and subtle nuances of what a team is, I don't know how it will work in actual practice.

 

Is this a rule that has already passed or is it in the discussion stages with TSSAA?

[BigG]

If a large enough group of girls play club together this spring (2007), they wouldn't be able to play HS together in the Fall (2007), assuming the rule were to pass?

I don't know how that would work. I have heard that this rule does not apply to summer club soccer in any form. It is only club soccer that takes place during the school year. I don't really get that. They register for a team, then when the school year comes, they have to drop off of the roster?

 

The voting for this should take place in March. PLEASE talk to your local TSSAA reps. Let them know your concerns. I think they are taking the approach to "shoot first and ask questions later".

 

I also don't know how "guest playing" for a team in factored into this.

[Tin-Man]

I find this rule to be a joke.

Every college coach that contacted me contacted me by watching my club games, and then just kept up with the high school games. Everyone i know that i have talked to told me that their coaches also contacted them from watching their club soccer games.

My point being that club soccer has more impact on your evaluation as a player than high school soccer does.

With that being said, if their are 7 soccer players on the same club team that go to the same high school than one of them will have to move to a different club to ensure that they will all be able to play high school ball. Or if they realize that club soccer is more vital to college coaches they will not have the experience of high school soccer (which is a great experience, as it is more of a college atmosphere; practice everyday, conditioning session, travel as a team, etc.). Either way our soccer players are losing some kind of beneficial experience.

The rule is a joke because it causes conflict in too many ways. If other teams want success, they will have to earn it. They cannot blame the players for living in a certain area, i am sorry that the best players all live in a secure area but their is no stopping that unless TSSAA wants to move families to a different area so that schools will equal on the soccer field.

Soccer is getting better everywhere, there have been many upsets and close games with teams that used to be blowouts, i say give it time.

It is a competitive sport, that means that some teams will just plainly be better, but to hurt a team by saying that they have unfair benefits is insane. The TSSAA should not be able to regulate what club teams players play for.

[BigG]

According to their paperwork, the reason that they are doing this is not to equalize soccer across the state, but to limit the amount of one sport a player is "forced" to play year round. I think they feel that a highschool athlete is put under too much pressure by their coaches to focus on one sport all year round. This is the reason for the dead period, and off season regulations, and so on...

 

I'll buy that for some (maybe even most) of the new proposals (though I don't think they will accomplish the goal they are wanting), but not the 50% rule. I don't understand the reasoning behind it.

 

What hurts me more than that, is if a club decides to roster 7 players on one team, I become the bad guy in the spring to tell them that one of them can't be on my team, regardless of how good they are. See, the TSSAA can't regulate club. They have no power there. But what they CAN do, is regulate highschool as it relates to club, and that will fall solely on the varsity head coaches shoulders.

[akula21]

According to their paperwork, the reason that they are doing this is not to equalize soccer across the state, but to limit the amount of one sport a player is "forced" to play year round. I think they feel that a highschool athlete is put under too much pressure by their coaches to focus on one sport all year round. This is the reason for the dead period, and off season regulations, and so on...

 

 

so where is the new rule for football, b/c I am pretty sure that is as close to year round training for a single sport. I'm ready for a break by the time the boy's season ends after coaching the girls also. I love giving them back to the club coaches.

[xqqqqme]

Thanks for all the input, BigG.

 

Quite frankly, I'm not sure this rule will have much effect, if any, on any H.S. team anywhere. We're talking about the 7th best player on down from the same school on the same club team being unable to participate. (Just my opinion, your mileage may vary)

 

However, it does affect some players as individuals, as their choice of participation in club soccer may prevent them from playing at the H.S. level.

 

I wonder how many soccer players this actually affects statewide.

[Soccer Gypsy]

It sounds like they are trying to encourage, force, students to participate in more school sports. If that is the case, then in theory it makes sense. I still don't like the rule. It forces coaches and players into decisions they should not have to make. Has their been a decline in other school sports to induce this rule?

 

Since football is evidently the big money maker for schools, does this mean kids that are on the same pee wee football team cannot make the team as freshman. Obviously they don't play spring football on a club team and probably don't make the varsity team so it would not effect football. Of course they have spring practice, summer practice, and weight lifting during their off season to keep them busy.

 

If summer leagues are not included, then AAU basketball and baseball won't fall under these restrictions.

 

So now it sounds like this rule is completely geared to discourage club soccer. As someone said earlier will the 7th best soccer player decide to play club soccer or high school soccer? Does she have hopes of playing college soccer or just love to play soccer? Is she even interested in playing another high school sport in the spring or fall?

 

Now this rule effects me tremendously because I do have 8 girls on my club team that play for the same high school. I don't want to endanger their eligibility next year, but I don't want to tell them they can't play this season because of this new rule. I don't think any of them have a desire to play college soccer, they just love the game and eachothers company.

[Canesoverhere]

I have a suggestion. It would seem that TSSAA could not discriminate one sport from another...correct? And that this 50% rule will now affect baseball, basketball, tennis (doubles partners)... essentially ALL scholl sports or should I say all RECOGNIZED school sports. Then I think if you wish to get a stronger lobby against this proposed TSSAA chenge in ruling I would suggest letting the "CHEER" moms know that their daughters are no longer going to be able to CHEER outside of season. These girls practice and compete thoughout the year and seem to do more outside of school than in. It actually be kind of humourous to see how TSSAA will handle this once we got the CHEER parents involved.

[BigG]

I have a suggestion. It would seem that TSSAA could not discriminate one sport from another...correct? And that this 50% rule will now affect baseball, basketball, tennis (doubles partners)... essentially ALL scholl sports or should I say all RECOGNIZED school sports. Then I think if you wish to get a stronger lobby against this proposed TSSAA chenge in ruling I would suggest letting the "CHEER" moms know that their daughters are no longer going to be able to CHEER outside of season. These girls practice and compete thoughout the year and seem to do more outside of school than in. It actually be kind of humourous to see how TSSAA will handle this once we got the CHEER parents involved.

Ha! You're right! I think cheerleading is one of the most hardcore year round activities out there. I have a lot of students in middle school that train twice as hard for "club" cheerleading as do my highschool soccer boys.

[FadePattern]

While I am not a fan of it (but maybe I am) I think the rule is in place to prevent fall baseball and softball, fall boys club soccer, spring girls club soccer, and spring AAU basketball from keeping players playing in the traditional sports of that time of year. Fall baseball/softball prevents alot of guys from playing football or girls playing volleyball (I am not sure when club volleyball is--Spring?) or from keeping AAU spring basketball from preventing kids playing baseball/softball. Summer would still be wide open as far as I know I am not a soccer guy but as a football and baseball guy I have lost good football playerd to fall ball and good baseball players to AAU basketball. So that would be a non-soccer prespective.