NFHS 2008 rule changes

[Dakota]

You really have a bug up your butt about something, dude.

HS sports IS about participation in many areas with everyone making one team or another - if not varsity, then JV, if not JV, then 10th grade, if not 10th grade, then 9th grade, etc. Fed rules cover them all. No one said it was bad, only that it was a fact of life for HS sports. Sure, you have your large schools who have the ability to pick and choose players, but for every one of those you have 10 smaller schools who pretty much field everyone who tries out.

Several of our members here are teachers, so take your unwarranted prejudice and stuff it somewhere.

Teachers are qualified to teach, not necessarily coach, and I've seen some very fine softball coaches in the HS ranks, but I've also seen some who were apparently there only for the extra dough.

Will metal cleats cause more injuries than they prevent for the typically-coached HS player? Time will tell. You will notice the opinion expressed by some regarding metal cleats was focused on poorly coached players of any age or gender. Face it... many coaches (HS, travel, rec) do a poor job of teaching players to slide properly or to play their defensive positions and are unnecessarily putting these players in danger of getting injured. This gets worse with metal spikes.

Personally, I think the game, players, and coaches will adapt, just as the HS boys have. In the meantime (until they adapt) there will be a few bloody and/or twisted ankles. We'll see how big a deal this becomes.

BTW, coaches do not have an exclusive right to be concerned with player safety. In fact, given the way many of them coach, they have no concern about it at all.