2019-20 NFHS: Rumors/Desires?

[SC Official]

It's right around the time of year when the rules committee meets to vote on rules changes. Any rumblings? What do you want to see?

I'd get rid of the seatbelt rule in a heartbeat if I had a choice of one change, and it's not even really close. I can't think of other rules that I hate as much as that one. I doubt it happens despite its inclusion in the questionnaire, but one can dream.

[JRutledge]

My only real desire is that they change the BC rule to what the college rule is. It is time to stop with this madness IMO.

I would be fine with other college rules coming to the NF level also like the shot clock so that everyone can find an excuse to complain about that rule.

Mechanically I would like to see for use to go opposite table on fouls. I would like to add a few more signals that are used at other levels.

Otherwise, I could almost not care at all what is changed. At a different part of my career and what rules they play with I will adjust either way.

Peace

[Rich]

For mechanics, I would like to see the NFHS mechanics manual go walk-and-talk. That's about it for me.

[SC Official]

I forgot that this was a mechanics change year, as well.

Yeah, walk-and-talk would be great, but here a lot of people do it anyway. It’s not something the powers-that-be really care about. But a change would silence the few that do get upset.

I’m ambivalent on opposite vs. tableside. I don’t imagine that one even being considered.

I’d also like to see stopping the clock on OOB go away. Too many people like to have the notion that the timer is actually watching for our hand.

1. Changing the goaltending rule to mimic NBA/NCAA-M/NCAA-W/FIBA (every f-ing major rule set btw) where you cannot block the ball once it has touched the backboard. This is an easy rule change, easy to call, easy to write, and it blows my mind they haven't done it.

2. Eliminating the INANE "resumption of play procedure". Putting the ball down is an EASY way to piss off players, coaches, and fans and even if the team is extremely late makes the ref crew look terrible. Give us the option to assess a delay-of-game warning like every other reasonable rule set out there.

3. Eliminating the need for a coach to sit down after a direct or indirect technical foul. I get the reasoning but it pisses off the coaches and makes refs a) less likely to call technical fouls on the coach/bench and b) less likely to have the balls and make the coach sit after the tech. And even if they are told to sit they are terrible at remembering and almost never get a second one for standing.

4. Point of emphasis for schools properly marking coaching box and officials enforcing it. I have seen SO MANY games this year with the floor not marked properly, not all the chairs inside the team area, coaches on the floor yelling at officials, coaches camping at halfcourt to coach offense/defense on other side of the floor, and assistant coaches standing and in one case in my game coming out of the head coaching box to call a play at half court. I heard many times this season "you're the only one to enforce this all year" and that's wrong.

There are other ones: delayed violation for player running OOB along the baseline, re-subbing once the ball has become live instead of sit-a-tick, requiring two horns for replacements intervals and officials calling techs when coaches slow roll a replacement sub, restricted area, shot clock (gonna have way more stoppages due to shitty operators), changing full timeouts to 75 seconds, allowing the headbands with extensions for girls (so dumb that pro and college allow it yet it's a "safety issue" in HS), clarifying the team control rule for fouls during throw-ins only.

But I digress.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by AremRed

...

4. Point of emphasis for schools properly marking coaching box and officials enforcing it. I have seen SO MANY games this year with the floor not marked properly, not all the chairs inside the team area, coaches on the floor yelling at officials, coaches camping at halfcourt to coach offense/defense on other side of the floor, and assistant coaches standing and in one case in my game coming out of the head coaching box to call a play at half court. I heard many times this season "you're the only one to enforce this all year" and that's wrong.

...

Your coaches would not like me then.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by AremRed

1. Changing the goaltending rule to mimic NBA/NCAA-M/NCAA-W/FIBA (every f-ing major rule set btw) where you cannot block the ball once it has touched the backboard. This is an easy rule change, easy to call, easy to write, and it blows my mind they haven't done it.

I do not totally disagree, just think officials at those levels get this wrong still. I have seen so many plays at the NCAA level where the ball touched by the defender first and then hits the backboard and it is called. I still think the current rule fits better and honestly wish the NCAA would get rid of this on the Men's side. I get it, leave the ball alone but there is still too much of a debate over this call that I feel was not there before also.

Originally Posted by AremRed

2. Eliminating the INANE "resumption of play procedure". Putting the ball down is an EASY way to piss off players, coaches, and fans and even if the team is extremely late makes the ref crew look terrible. Give us the option to assess a delay-of-game warning like every other reasonable rule set out there.

NCAA Men's still has this procedure for the most part (which we do not use the delays there either). It is rarely used by anyone at any level. And in my experience you do it once, it usually shut down the delays.

Originally Posted by AremRed

3. Eliminating the need for a coach to sit down after a direct or indirect technical foul. I get the reasoning but it pisses off the coaches and makes refs a) less likely to call technical fouls on the coach/bench and b) less likely to have the balls and make the coach sit after the tech. And even if they are told to sit they are terrible at remembering and almost never get a second one for standing.

I do not care about this either way. If they change it great. If they don't change it I will sleep the same. It would eliminate one more thing to talk to a coach about if we give a T. But we have to get officials to call the T in the first place, then we can worry about what they do afterward IMO.

Originally Posted by AremRed

4. Point of emphasis for schools properly marking coaching box and officials enforcing it. I have seen SO MANY games this year with the floor not marked properly, not all the chairs inside the team area, coaches on the floor yelling at officials, coaches camping at halfcourt to coach offense/defense on other side of the floor, and assistant coaches standing and in one case in my game coming out of the head coaching box to call a play at half court. I heard many times this season "you're the only one to enforce this all year" and that's wrong.

There are other ones: delayed violation for player running OOB along the baseline, re-subbing once the ball has become live instead of sit-a-tick, requiring two horns for replacements intervals and officials calling techs when coaches slow roll a replacement sub, restricted area, shot clock (gonna have way more stoppages due to shitty operators), changing full timeouts to 75 seconds, allowing the headbands with extensions for girls (so dumb that pro and college allow it yet it's a "safety issue" in HS), clarifying the team control rule for fouls during throw-ins only.

Delay for running OOB would be a good change. Also that line "You are the first person to enforce....blah, blah, blah" is just a line given to make it seem like you are being overly technical. It is a lie much of the time. I know officials that have enforced rules in the game right before an that still comes out of their mouth. I would in theory love to have a shot clock in HS, but we are going to be correcting so many mistakes and games will be influenced by all those mistakes that it will become a real distraction. If we cannot get good people to run these clocks at the small college level, we are really going to have issues at the HS level. I would rather not have the headache, but it would be good if run properly, even though I do not think it is going to change the game that much in this era.

Peace

[ilyazhito]

Originally Posted by AremRed

1. Changing the goaltending rule to mimic NBA/NCAA-M/NCAA-W/FIBA (every f-ing major rule set btw) where you cannot block the ball once it has touched the backboard. This is an easy rule change, easy to call, easy to write, and it blows my mind they haven't done it.

2. Eliminating the INANE "resumption of play procedure". Putting the ball down is an EASY way to piss off players, coaches, and fans and even if the team is extremely late makes the ref crew look terrible. Give us the option to assess a delay-of-game warning like every other reasonable rule set out there.

3. Eliminating the need for a coach to sit down after a direct or indirect technical foul. I get the reasoning but it pisses off the coaches and makes refs a) less likely to call technical fouls on the coach/bench and b) less likely to have the balls and make the coach sit after the tech. And even if they are told to sit they are terrible at remembering and almost never get a second one for standing.

4. Point of emphasis for schools properly marking coaching box and officials enforcing it. I have seen SO MANY games this year with the floor not marked properly, not all the chairs inside the team area, coaches on the floor yelling at officials, coaches camping at halfcourt to coach offense/defense on other side of the floor, and assistant coaches standing and in one case in my game coming out of the head coaching box to call a play at half court. I heard many times this season "you're the only one to enforce this all year" and that's wrong.

There are other ones: delayed violation for player running OOB along the baseline, re-subbing once the ball has become live instead of sit-a-tick, requiring two horns for replacements intervals and officials calling techs when coaches slow roll a replacement sub, restricted area, shot clock (gonna have way more stoppages due to shitty operators), changing full timeouts to 75 seconds, allowing the headbands with extensions for girls (so dumb that pro and college allow it yet it's a "safety issue" in HS), clarifying the team control rule for fouls during throw-ins only.

But I digress.

To number 1, I say AMEN! I would not like to have to change what I call goaltending just because I work a high school game today and a (Junior) College game tomorrow. I would like to add that offensive goaltending is not a thing, unless the makers of the NFHS rules want alley-oops to be illegal (alley-oops would be illegal by application of goaltending rules to the offense, at least as the rules are currently written).

Number 2 makes sense as well. I would not mind that, because that might make some officials less reluctant to warn and penalize teams for delay of games.

I have done #3 on multiple occasions. There was one tie where I gave a technical foul to a middle school coach for yelling at the officials while being on the other side of the division line. I had also called a technical foul on a girls JV coach for jumping up and down to protest a traveling call. When I saw her standing later in the game, I reminded her that she needed to sit. When she understood that the requirement to sit after a technical foul is the rule in high school, she thanked me for clarifying the situation, and the game moved on with no further incidents.

If I had a choice for one rule change, I would push most strongly for the shot clock, because it would make the DMV area, if not the nation, consistent in terms of pace of play. Maryland, DC, and the other shot clock states are not going to abolish the shot clock just because other states nearby don't use them, so adopting a shot clock nationwide would bring them back into alignment with NFHS, and allow the other 40 or so state athletic associations to hear whatever good ideas these states have to bring to the table. If all states have a shot clock, then there would not be as big of a learning curve for officials who move between states (a common sithation, because many people move for work anyway), or who try to move from high school to college ball. This is in addition to no stalling, reduced deliberate fouls, and other officiating benefits of implementing a shot clock.

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by AremRed

1. Changing the goaltending rule to mimic NBA/NCAA-M/NCAA-W/FIBA (every f-ing major rule set btw) where you cannot block the ball once it has touched the backboard. This is an easy rule change, easy to call, easy to write, and it blows my mind they haven't done it.

....

I don't think that is the rule in NCAA-M. At least not what you wrote.

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by SC Official

I forgot that this was a mechanics change year, as well.

Yeah, walk-and-talk would be great, but here a lot of people do it anyway. It’s not something the powers-that-be really care about. But a change would silence the few that do get upset.

This is something that often upsets those locally that have not much else to worry about. I still think we should eventually stop, but I also do not see the big deal if someone is slightly moving. It is kind of like how you signal a directional point and someone cares that you did not give the signal with 4 fingers and a tucked thumb. I had someone at my State Finals games make a comment to me about my "one finger point." No one over us that weekend said a word about it, but I did get an official that knows me (and I respect BTW) send me a text about my signal.

I’m ambivalent on opposite vs. tableside. I don’t imagine that one even being considered.[/QUOTE]

It won't be. I just wish we would stop trying to placate coaches after calls. We are not going to change their minds.

Originally Posted by SC Official

I’d also like to see stopping the clock on OOB go away. Too many people like to have the notion that the timer is actually watching for our hand.

It is done at the Men's college level because many people do not do it properly. I get it and used to think the same way, but that split second I think gets most officials to slow down a bit. And because it is a requirement, you see fewer mistakes IMO at the college level. Of course, not everyone has this problem, but I would not want to see that go away.

Peace

[SC Official]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

It won't be. I just wish we would stop trying to placate coaches after calls. We are not going to change their minds.

I do agree with this.

WAY too many officials spend too much time talking to and trying to placate coaches.

WAY too many coaches want unnecessary explanations.

I believe that's why NCAA-M elected to start going opposite, however many years ago that was.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by SC Official

I’d also like to see stopping the clock on OOB go away. Too many people like to have the notion that the timer is actually watching for our hand.

Hopefully those "people" aren't officials. Because officials know the real reason why high school officials do this.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

It is done at the Men's college level because many people do not do it properly. I get it and used to think the same way, but that split second I think gets most officials to slow down a bit.

That split second gives the high school officials a chance to see what their partner's have on double whistles. Two open hands. One open hand and one closed fist. One open hand and one held ball signal. The split second allows some eye contact and communication before another signal is given, like a direction, or a preliminary foul signal.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

It is kind of like how you signal a directional point and someone cares that you did not give the signal with 4 fingers and a tucked thumb. I had someone at my State Finals games make a comment to me about my "one finger point." No one over us that weekend said a word about it, but I did get an official that knows me (and I respect BTW) send me a text about my signal.

Comes up about every five or ten years here in my little corner of Connecticut. We're encouraged to do it the proper way, years go by and some rookies, who don't know any better, and some veterans, start using one finger, so we're reminded again.

It's not a big deal, but we might as well all be consistent.

[sj]

Originally Posted by SC Official

It's right around the time of year when the rules committee meets to vote on rules changes. Any rumblings? What do you want to see?

I'd get rid of the seatbelt rule in a heartbeat if I had a choice of one change, and it's not even really close. I can't think of other rules that I hate as much as that one. I doubt it happens despite its inclusion in the questionnaire, but one can dream.

Don't know if it's necessary but it would serve to stiffen the penalty slightly for a technical foul if they allowed the offended team to pick the spot for their throw-in as opposed to the current rule stating it will take place at the division line.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by sj

… stiffen the penalty slightly for a technical foul if they allowed the offended team to pick the spot for their throw-in as opposed to the current rule stating it will take place at the division line.

While I'm not sure that I'm in favor of your suggestion, it especially makes a lot of sense if the division line throwin is at a disadvantageous spot compared to the throwin spot if there had been no technical foul.