[BretMan]

The high school season is finally underway here. Some random thoughts and observations as we start the season:

- What is it with coaches wanting to sit or be outside of the dugouts?

It seems to be epidemic here. Coaches just seem to think that they can plant themselves outside of the dugouts, anywhere in live ball area that they see fit. If they've been around for any length of time, or if they've attended the mandatory state meetings where this has been a point of emphasis, they would have to know by now that this isn't acceptable.

Hardly a game goes by where I don't have to remind a coach that he needs to be in the dugout. My first games this year have been no exception. And why is it that when you tell them this, they act like you're being some kind of hard case and that they've never heard of it before?

Last year, one coach on a bucket was so adamant that he could plant himself anywhere he wanted that he argued it just up to the brink of ejection. I finally had to tell him that he had two choices. Either get in the dugout or he'd no longer be a participant in the game.

- Equally epidemic around here seems to be pitchers who step right onto the pitcher's plate with their hands together. Forget leaps and crow hops. This must be the most frequent illegal pitch that I see.

Same with coaches being out of the dugout, if you call this they are just astonished that it's being called. They've never heard of it before, it's never been called before, they don't understand what she's doing wrong.

So far this year I've seen four different pitchers and each one of them has had issues with not taking the signal with the hands separated.

- A question: Has anyone here ever been in the least bit fooled into thinking a player had the ball in her glove just because her glove had a little bit of green on it?

The glove rules are goofy enough as it is. Every sanctioning body has a different standard and just about all of them have changed or modified the rule several times in the past few years.

The new high school rule has been presented to the coaches in various meetings, covered in preseason literature and been covered as a point of emphasis. So far this year, I have had to address ten players with what NFHS now deems to be an illegal glove- and the season is young!