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July 21, 2010

Preventing concussions is key to new high school rules

By TOM WILLIAMS
Sports Columnist


As there is every year, some changes have been made in the rules governing high school sports.

This year the emphasis in all sports from the National Federation of State High School Athletics Associations (NFHS) is on safety, particularly head trauma.

Effective with the 2010 fall season, any player (in any sport) who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors associated with a concussion must be removed from the game and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.

The previous rule directed officials to remove an athlete from play if "unconscious or apparently unconscious." The previous rule also allowed for return to play based on written authorization by a medical doctor. Now, officials are charged with removing any player who shows signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion, such as loss of consciousness, headache, dizziness, confusion or balance problems, and shall not return to play until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional after an examination.

In addition, all hard and unyielding items such as braces and casts must be padded with a closed-cell, slow-recovery foam padding no less than one-half-inch thick. Knee and ankle braces that are unaltered from the manufacturer's original design/production do not require additional padding.

There are also a number of changes in specific sports.

Changes in football included the wording in the definition of a horse-collar. It was changed to address situations when player possession was lost or the ball became dead by rule after the back or side of the jersey collar/shoulder pads were grasped.

Also, both teams now have the same options when a non-player or unsportsmanlike conduct foul is committed during a down in which a touchdown is scored. And coin toss provisions were revised to state that no more than four captains per team can be on the field of play for the coin toss.

The biggest change in soccer was to a substitution rule. Beginning this fall, a team may substitute an unlimited number of players from the bench when a player is injured and removed from the field. Previously, unlimited substitution was only permitted between periods and when a goal was scored.

Also, there was a reduction in the number of official's signals from 23 to eight. The eight signals that were retained are the most common signals used by officials at all levels of play.

And, so as not to interfere or impede the player attempting a throw-in, the opponent shall stand at least two yards from the point at which the throw-in is being taken. The resulting penalty for a violation is a caution for unsporting conduct.

In field hockey, a change will allow a team to use the self-pass as a means of inserting center passes, 16-yard hits, side-ins, free hits, long hits and all free hits awarded outside the 25-yard area. The defense must still remain 7 yards from the ball.

In an effort to help the umpire better distinguish the two teams on the field, short-sleeved or long-sleeved undergarments must either match the predominant color of the uniform or be white.

In taking the bully, each player must face her opponent with her back parallel to the sideline, left shoulder toward the attacking goal, feet parallel and stick to the right of the ball, touching the ground. After the whistle is blown, the two players must tap the faces of their sticks together once, after which either player is able to play the ball.

A rule was modified to require that all players except the player taking the center pass must remain at least seven yards from the ball until it is played.

And penalty corners shall be awarded when the defense commits a foul within the circle and does not prevent the possible scoring of a goal, when the defense commits a deliberate foul inside the 25-yard line but outside the circle or when the defense intentionally hits the ball over the end line.

In basketball, two rules were added to address the unsporting acts of leaving the playing court for an unauthorized reason to demonstrate resentment, disgust or intimidation as well as to address team members leaving the bench and/or playing area for an unauthorized reason. They will be penalized by a technical foul.

Sportsmanship will also be addressed relating to pregame warm-ups and intermissions, recommending that players entering the court for warm-ups not run through the opposing team's warm-up or under its basket.

A note was added which states that when a substitute is not properly reported, the players in the game at the conclusion of the quarter or after the time-out was granted shall begin play for the new quarter or after the time-out has ended. Additionally, it notes that all team members are bench personnel for the purpose of penalizing unsporting behavior.

Additionally, a clarification states that when the ball is awarded to the wrong team, the mistake must be rectified before the throw-in ends.

In wrestling, a revision in the appropriate dress for weigh-ins was among four rules changes approved. Previously both male and female contestants had to weigh in wearing "no more than a suitable undergarment." Beginning next year, specific language has been added regarding what constitutes a "suitable undergarment".

Once an offensive wrestler has assumed a legal starting position and is stationary, the referee shall verbally say "set" and then pause momentarily before starting wrestling.

The Wrestling Rules Committee also added the "rear-standing, double-knee kickback" to the list of illegal maneuvers. This maneuver, which is being used more frequently, clearly puts the opposing wrestler in a dangerous situation and at a high risk for injury.

After much discussion, the committee voted against changing the wrestling weight classes and will stay with the 14 weight classes currently in place in the NFHS Wrestling Rules Book. Three proposals were considered by the committee this year on changing the wrestling weight classes.

One of six new rules changes by the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee forbids the use of composite bats until they can meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard. The changes will take effect with the 2011 season.

After thorough testing by the Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee voted to outlaw composite bats until they can produce consistent results through the life of the bat, be made tamper-evident and be labeled as a composite product. Under the new rule, bats with composite handles and tapers would still be legal. The stricter language applies primarily to the barrel of the bat.

Other rules changes aim at increasing convenience for coaches and umpires by simplifying the substitution policy and clarifying several rules.

One rule now requires coaches to list all known substitutes on the lineup card before the umpire accepts it. Coaches will still be able to add a substitute without a penalty, but this should speed up substitutions and player changes during the game.

A change was also made to clarify an existing rule and ease its application for coaches and players. The rule now reads, "A foul tip is a batted ball that goes directly to the catcher's hands and is legally caught by the catcher. It is a strike and the ball is in play".

Similarly, a "last-time-by" rule has been instituted. The new rule states that if a runner correctly touches a base that was missed the last time he was by the base, that last touch corrects any previous base-running infraction.

In softball, a new penalty states that a coach who submits an inaccurate card to the umpire will be issued a team warning upon the first name or number correction to the lineup card. A second change will result in the coach being restricted to the dugout for the remainder of the game. The committee referenced other team sports where accuracy in the roster and playing order are paramount. Softball is now included among those and there will be a penalty for the confusion and delays that inaccuracies cause.

Another rules change says, "After being declared out or after scoring, if a runner interferes with a defensive player's opportunity to make a play on another runner it may be considered a form of interference".

Also, the change in the pitching distance approved last year becomes mandatory for the 2011 season.

Of course, there are more changes for next year in the Cape-Atlantic League that don't reflect the rules of play. There will be three conferences in football, new teams from Cedar Creek will be added, there will be less freshmen teams and a number of highly successful coaches have retired.

Read more of Tom Williams' columns