Its Got No Teeth ...

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by Raymond

Billy's citation for not gathering at midcourt is same as mine, his state issued guidelines (my state puts it in the clinic every year). But he has spent XXX amount of days telling us the authority we should cite to a coach is a 10-20 POE/Interpretation that is not part of the current publications. I don't play word-games or fudge the truth about what's going on.

Not what I said (remember we don't have a published guideline in Connecticut for this specific issue below).

Originally Posted by BillyMac

If I were to say to a coach, or a site director, "Don't let your players circle around their opponents during the layup lines" and received a response, "Show it to me in the regs", I wouldn't go into a long dissertation regarding the validity of a old Point of Emphasis no longer the current book. I would simply say, "It's in the "regs" as unsporting conduct".

"It's in the rules as unsporting conduct" is not a word game, nor is it fudging the truth. It's a fact and the truth.

The example of "circling the wagons" has only been mentioned once (as far as I can recall) in my little corner of Connecticut meetings, the year it was a NFHS Point of Emphasis, and it was discussed only because it was a NFHS Point of Emphasis.

And it has never been announced as invalid due to some statute of limitations (it hasn't been mentioned at all in meetings since its one and done publishing).

Yet most officials still enforce it, usually as a unofficial non-written warning (Don't do it again).

How do they know to enforce it? Do they know about the old Point of Emphasis? Maybe, but many know about it because they observe more experienced officials enforcing it.

If any young'un official (not a coach or site director) questioned me about it, I would first point them to the current rule (10-5-1) and only then tell them about the old Point of Emphasis that specifically referenced this as an example of pregame unsporting conduct.

The citation would be the current rule; the example would be from the old Point of Emphasis, the only source for this specific example here in Connecticut.