New Fed rules up
 

“Targeting” Defined in High School Football in Effort to Reduce Risk of Injury


In an effort to reduce contact above the shoulders and lessen the risk of injury in high school football, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee developed a definition for “targeting,” which will be penalized as illegal personal contact.

The definition of targeting and its related penalty were two of 10 rules changes approved by the rules committee at its January 24-26 meeting in Indianapolis. All rules changes were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors.

Effective with the 2014 high school season, new Rule 2-43 will read as follows: “Targeting is an act of taking aim and initiating contact to an opponent above the shoulders with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulders.”

Bob Colgate, NFHS director of sports and sports medicine and liaison to the Football Rules Committee, said the committee determined – in its continued effort to minimize risk of injury in high school football – that it was important to separate and draw specific attention to this illegal act.

“Taking aim with the helmet, forearm, hand, fist, elbow or shoulders to initiate contact above the shoulders, which goes beyond making a legal tackle, a legal block or playing the ball, will be prohibited,” Colgate said.

A new definition for a “defenseless player” was also added to Rule 2 for risk-minimization purposes. Rule 2-32-16 will read as follows: “A defenseless player is a player who, because of his physical position and focus of concentration, is especially vulnerable to injury.”

In an effort to reduce the risk of injury on kickoffs, the rules committee approved two new requirements in Rule 6-1-3 for the kicking team. First, at least four members of the kicking team must be on each side of the kicker, and, second, other than the kicker, no members of the kicking team may be more than five yards behind the kicking team’s free-kick line.

Rule 6-1-3 also notes that if one player is more than five yards behind the restraining line and any other player kicks the ball, it is a foul. In addition to balancing the kicking team’s formation, the change limits the maximum distance of the run-up for the kicking team.

“The Football Rules Committee’s actions this year reinforce a continued emphasis on minimizing risk within all phases of the game,” said Brad Garrett, assistant executive director of the Oregon School Activities Association and chair of the Football Rules Committee.

In other changes, new language was added to Rule 8-5-1 and states that “the accidental touching of a loose ball by a player who was blocked into the ball is ignored and does not constitute a new force.” In addition, roughing the passer fouls now include all illegal personal contact fouls listed in Rule 9-4-3, which result in automatic first down in addition to a 15-yard penalty.

The remaining changes approved by the Football Rules Committee are as follows:

Rule 1-1-7: Provides state associations authority to require game officials to be on the field more than 30 minutes prior to game time.

Rule 2-24-9: The intent of an illegal kick was clarified. Now, when an illegal kick occurs, the loose ball retains the same status that it had prior to the illegal kick.

Rules 3-3-3 and 3-3-4: With this change, in order to extend or not extend a period with an untimed down, time must expire during the down.

Football is the No. 1 participatory sport for boys at the high school level with 1,115,208 participants in the 2012-13 school year, according to the High School Athletics Participation Survey conducted by the NFHS through its member state associations. In addition, the survey indicated there were 1,660 girls who played football in 2012-13.

and so it continues
 

the steady march towards the NCAA rule book continues....

And yet they don't pick the parts they should:

(1) Eliminating 6 on the line as a foul and replacing it with 5 in the backfield.

(2) Timing rules. Games have gotten LONGER and LONGER and LONGER, even with the fastest pace WH in the midwest (ME!).

What difference would #1 make?

If there's 10 on the field and 4 in the backfield, it's currently a foul in NFHS football, but NOT in NCAA.

Why should A/K be penalized for not having enough players on the field?

Besides, NCAA rules makes the wings' job easier. They count the backfield. They don't need to know there are 11 on the field in order to know whether the formation is legal.

agreed
 

yep I agree the 4 in the backfield thing is much easier.. I also wish they would go more to NCAA penalty enforcement spots, in that fouls that occur behind the LOS holding etc are enforced from the previous spot...as it stands now, a hold in the backfield can end up being a 20 yard penalty..

So they have defined "targeting" and say its a foul, what is the penalty??

I do not see what and how it will be enforced.

I will assume 15 yards, will there be a disqualification as well?

It was in my list of 5 changes I wanted to see. Not surprised it didn't make the cut. Disappointed, sure, not surprised.

First Paragraph

In an effort to reduce contact above the shoulders and lessen the risk of injury in high school football, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Football Rules Committee developed a definition for “targeting,” which will be penalized as illegal personal contact.

So basically a personal foul 15 yards. Nothing like the NCAA rule with an additional penalty.

I would be willing many officials were already calling a small majority of these fouls in the past as personal fouls, UNR.

And the NCAA is backing off that additional penalty by all accounts that I have heard and read about.

Yes, but the rule did not make it clear to the participants this should be called. Then again coaches would complain about this and it was not a specific rule. Then again I do not see many "targeting" type plays at the HS level. I did not see any last year in any game.

Peace

Based on what I read earlier today: Only if the foul is overturned by replay and only if there's not another associated foul (like roughing the passer with a targeting element). If it's not a foul, there's no reason to keep the 15 yard penalty. I think that's a *good* change.

The thing is, how many ejections were overturned due to replay? This season in NCAA, if the change is implemented, the 15 yard penalty will also be overturned by replay.

There is no replay in NFHS. So this will be interesting to see how everyone...officials, coaches and players...adjust to this new rule. And how many broadcasters get it wrong. :o

Presumably there's a substantive rule regarding contact with defenseless players.

Does this definition clarify, or muddy the water? For one thing, it would seem that this makes a player who leads with his head down a defenseless player. In general it would seem "especially vulnerable to injury" is a judgment game officials should not have to make. It would've been a bit of an improvement to leave out the words "to injury", though I still don't like it. Just using the term "defenseless player" without a definition, leaving it up to ordinary understanding of the phrase, would probably have been better.