NFHS - Required to Enter Subs ?
 

The thread posted earlier got me thinking.

Coach has already received warning for incorrect line up card.

Coach has been warned.

Player is injured, coach has a sub, but sub has incorrect number.

Can coach not enter the sub in Fed, in order to not be restricted ?

I know in ASA they must enter the sub, but can coach NOT enter sub in FED, and just take play shorthanded ?

In my meanderings through the rulebook I didn't see this addressed.

3-3-8-d says an available sub "may" fill the empty space. I would say by using that particular word in the rule, the coach does not have to enter an available sub.

Coach decides who is available and who isn't. If they say she is not available she is not available for the entire game. Not for us to question why.

Thanks
 

Thank you gentleman.

I would agree with that. I do question if this action is itself unsportsmanlike, but it would appear book legal.

If a player is listed as a substitute on the line-up card at the start of a contest, it is my opinion, that they should be eligible to complete in the game. Of course, if a player gets sick or injured during the game while on the bench, that is different. The same with a player who is listed on the lineup as a substitute who tells off the coach in the dugout because she isn't starting the game. She's legally on the lineup, but the coach may choose not to play this player because of her attitude. If a player gets discplined by a coach during the game and thus is no longer an eligible substitute, then the scenario unfolds, I think most unpires would like to know what she isn't eligible anymore.

Why?

I think trying to enforce an unsportsmanlike penalty is a stretch.

We have been specifically told here in NY to ignore that in school ball. The reasoning is that if Susie has had band practice, a test when the team had left for the game site, whatever, and shows up in a proper uniform, there should be no reason for her not to participate. So, in essence, the sub list here is a 'courtesy'

Well, I don't know about others, but I would certainly question the coach why he/she isn't entering the sub I have listed in the line-up card he/she gave me. And if he/she says it's because he/she doesn't want to be restricted to the bench, I'll be letting my assignor know after the game. That's a bogus excuse, in my humble opinion, to prohibit a player from legally participating in the game, and I would hope my assignor lets the school's AD know about it.

A related question: if an umpire discovers that a player has the wrong number listed in the line-up card, can that umpire make the observation and take the appropriate action of changing the card and warning/restricting the coach? Or must the correction come from the coach? The 3-1-3 Penalty doesn't say that the line-up change has to come from the coach.

If the umpire can make the change after discovering the discrepancy, that would be a way to deal with a coach who would rather sit an eligible sub than face restriction.

How can a coach not using a player be considered unsportsmanlike?

That's what I thought, but apparently there are at least two here that do think it is unsportsmanlike.