Coach, get a clue. You answered yes to the question below.

Originally Posted by KurtBryan
a. Can NFHS say it is within our rules (legal) to do something but you cannot do it...basically?

YES THEY CAN...if they believed that whatever was to be done, in any way violated the spirit of the rules and/or made a travesty of the game.

Not possible. It can't be legal and be a travesty of the game. Your words above, not mine.

I didn't say it was illegal or a travesty. I simply pointed out the error in your reply.

Robert, they could have just as easily called it 'long snap formation' or something else. My guess is there's a 7-yard requirement because that's where most teams kick set their holding when attempting a scoring kick.

Guards eligible
 

I had a 9-man playoff game this year in which the guards (players next to the snapper) were eligible because they were off the line. It took me a little by surprise when they went out for a pass. Nine-man has no numbering requirements so you are looking at position in terms of eligibility. They had 5 other players on the line so there was no foul.

I can imagine how confusing it might be if the A-11 was used.

But that's exactly the point! They did a favor to accommodate tactics in a particular type of play situation that'd been common. Similar to what NFL did when they wrote special rules applicable narrowly to players who take the snap.

Another example was when soccer style place kicking became common, and it became clear that the best form had the opposite foot plant forward of the ball's spot. To have the kicker stay onside on free kicks, some were placing the ball enough behind the awarded spot to allow that foot to stay onside, but the rules makers in various codes allowed an exception for the kicker so they wouldn't have to do that. In this case, they wrote the rule to apply regardless of which style of kick was used, but they could've written it narrowly to apply only to soccer style kicking.

As certain styles of play become common, frequently there's a choice between coaches & players adapting to the rules on one hand, and the rules makers adapting to the wishes of certain numbers of coaches & players on the other. I'm sure we're in the middle of this with A-11, and it remains to be seen what the outcome will be.

Robert

I've been following this thread slightly and what I've digested is:

1.) A coach has read the rule book and thought of and did something that I wondered why it hadn't been taken advantage of before.

2.) Why are the officials bickering with the coach if he has violated no rule?

3.) Members always complain that FED rules are word poorly.

4.) Coaches have been known to take advantage of poorly worded rules.

5.) When FED paints themselves into a corner, it usually takes a couple of years for the paint to dry before they will exit said corner and finish the paint job.

6.) I doubt it catches on.