BallReviews
General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: ITZPS on February 05, 2015, 09:39:48 AM
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I have a Storm/Roto Matchmaker coming up this next Tuesday night, and was counting on a fairly large turnout from HS bowlers who are at the midpoint of their season, and not too far away from getting ready for regionals and state. However, I was informed yesterday that none of them could attend because the state HS board told them it could be construed as outside coaching, which would be a violation of the rules and subject them to disciplinary action. I personally feel this is completely ridiculous. Under the same "rules," they would also be banned from coming in to purchase equipment, because I would be "coaching" them on what ball to get, layout, bag selection, accessories, etc. I've had several new bowlers come in with hand me down balls who are grippers, and I've had to "coach" them on how to hold the ball properly and how to release it, is that against the rules too?
I know it's not my place, but I'm not sure if the state board really knows the details of what is going on. Seeing as how I stand to lose quite a bit of business because they don't understand what's going on, I'm a tad miffed. What is the proper course of action here? Usually for me that involves keeping my mouth shut . . but I had prepared for this based on the number of commitments, which now has been dropped significantly less than a week before the event based on nothing but passive ignorance in my mind.
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Only in Kansas.......
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Tell them its a sales seminar. No different then trade shows ect.
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Do you mean "outside competition"?
I found this in the KANSAS STATE HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION handbook.
Rule 22 OUTSIDE COMPETITION
Violation of this rule shall make a student ineligible for the remainder of that sport or scholars’ bowl or debate season, unless he or she is reinstated by the Executive Board.
Section 1: General Regulations (apply to grades 7-12)
Art. 1: A student who is a member of a school athletic, scholars’ bowl or debate squad effective Tuesday following Labor Day through Friday preceding Memorial Day may not participate as a member of an outside team or as an independent competitor in the same sport, scholars’ bowl or debate activity. (Exception: See Rule 4, United States Olympic Committee-Sponsored National Trials and Competitions.)
NOTE: Informal participation on the part of the student athlete, such as that experienced on the black top (concrete), in the park, local “Yâ€, etc., is not considered a violation of this rule, provided it was not formally called or organized, no coaching takes place, where no official score is kept, time kept, officials used, etc. Intra non-school youth group athletic participation is not considered a violation of this rule. Inter non-school youth group athletic participation is a violation.
Art. 2: A student shall not be prohibited from competing on a special team within his or her own school such as an FFA team, etc. All members of such teams must be bona fide students, however, and eligible under the rules of the Association.
Art. 3: A student becomes a member of a school’s athletic squad, scholars’ bowl or debate team when he or she first participates in a practice session.
A student ceases to be a squad member after his or her last contest for the school’s athletic squad, scholars’ bowl or debate team or when the membership on a squad is
terminated. (See Rule 14-1-1, Bona Fide Student and Rule 30-2-2, Seasons of Activities.)
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How can this be true?
This means a baseball player can't go to a batting cage during the season? So Kansas feels all high school athletes get all the coaching they need from their respective school coaches? Really?!? I thought the idea of high school was to prepare students to move on, either to college or to a career. Shouldn't that be the same of high school atheltics? SO why restrict them to only getting "coaching" from the school coach? Do they restrict regular students from getting a tutor or help in a subject they might be struggling with? This would be the dumbest rule I have ever seen if true.
That being said, I would have thought you would have checked something like this before scheduling the event. High School athletics have a strict rulebook (although this one seems overly so) and if you were getting interest from a lot of high school bowlers, I would have made this call prior to agreeing to anything, just to be safe. I could see them potentially having an issue, but not for the reasons given.
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Unfortunately there is probably no chance of getting an official clarification in the next 5 days, but better it came to light now than after the fact and the kids were facing disciplinary action.
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I didn't schedule the event based on the high school bowlers, I already have a decent sized group coming, and the regional Storm rep was already going to be in the area, so it worked out. I just thought it happened to be a great time to get a lot of the high school bowlers to come out, as quite a few of them actually don't bowl league otherwise and would therefore have no reason to buy equipment any other time of the year. It never came close to entering my mind that they wouldn't be able to participate.
How can this be true?
This means a baseball player can't go to a batting cage during the season? So Kansas feels all high school athletes get all the coaching they need from their respective school coaches? Really?!? I thought the idea of high school was to prepare students to move on, either to college or to a career. Shouldn't that be the same of high school atheltics? SO why restrict them to only getting "coaching" from the school coach? Do they restrict regular students from getting a tutor or help in a subject they might be struggling with? This would be the dumbest rule I have ever seen if true.
That being said, I would have thought you would have checked something like this before scheduling the event. High School athletics have a strict rulebook (although this one seems overly so) and if you were getting interest from a lot of high school bowlers, I would have made this call prior to agreeing to anything, just to be safe. I could see them potentially having an issue, but not for the reasons given.
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Most likely, though that's not specifically the way it was communicated to me. Throwing some bowling balls at a demo comes nowhere close to falling within these restrictions though. It would be like a golfer swinging clubs before they bought them or a baseball player swinging a bat.
Do you mean "outside competition"?
I found this in the KANSAS STATE HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATION handbook.
Rule 22 OUTSIDE COMPETITION
Violation of this rule shall make a student ineligible for the remainder of that sport or scholars’ bowl or debate season, unless he or she is reinstated by the Executive Board.
Section 1: General Regulations (apply to grades 7-12)
Art. 1: A student who is a member of a school athletic, scholars’ bowl or debate squad effective Tuesday following Labor Day through Friday preceding Memorial Day may not participate as a member of an outside team or as an independent competitor in the same sport, scholars’ bowl or debate activity. (Exception: See Rule 4, United States Olympic Committee-Sponsored National Trials and Competitions.)
NOTE: Informal participation on the part of the student athlete, such as that experienced on the black top (concrete), in the park, local “Yâ€, etc., is not considered a violation of this rule, provided it was not formally called or organized, no coaching takes place, where no official score is kept, time kept, officials used, etc. Intra non-school youth group athletic participation is not considered a violation of this rule. Inter non-school youth group athletic participation is a violation.
Art. 2: A student shall not be prohibited from competing on a special team within his or her own school such as an FFA team, etc. All members of such teams must be bona fide students, however, and eligible under the rules of the Association.
Art. 3: A student becomes a member of a school’s athletic squad, scholars’ bowl or debate team when he or she first participates in a practice session.
A student ceases to be a squad member after his or her last contest for the school’s athletic squad, scholars’ bowl or debate team or when the membership on a squad is
terminated. (See Rule 14-1-1, Bona Fide Student and Rule 30-2-2, Seasons of Activities.)
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I am trying to think why they would have this rule.
What if the kid is in a USBC Youth League? That seems to me would be a violation.
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I didn't schedule the event based on the high school bowlers, I already have a decent sized group coming, and the regional Storm rep was already going to be in the area, so it worked out. I just thought it happened to be a great time to get a lot of the high school bowlers to come out, as quite a few of them actually don't bowl league otherwise and would therefore have no reason to buy equipment any other time of the year. It never came close to entering my mind that they wouldn't be able to participate.
How can this be true?
This means a baseball player can't go to a batting cage during the season? So Kansas feels all high school athletes get all the coaching they need from their respective school coaches? Really?!? I thought the idea of high school was to prepare students to move on, either to college or to a career. Shouldn't that be the same of high school atheltics? SO why restrict them to only getting "coaching" from the school coach? Do they restrict regular students from getting a tutor or help in a subject they might be struggling with? This would be the dumbest rule I have ever seen if true.
That being said, I would have thought you would have checked something like this before scheduling the event. High School athletics have a strict rulebook (although this one seems overly so) and if you were getting interest from a lot of high school bowlers, I would have made this call prior to agreeing to anything, just to be safe. I could see them potentially having an issue, but not for the reasons given.
So no HS athletes are allow to go to the many Basketball, Football and Baseball camps held each summer? Or is this just something for bowlers?
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Very true. From what everyone is saying, now I realize I should have checked or cleared it before I started promoting it to them, should have really gone through the coaches first actually . . but the coaches send their kids into the shop all the time to talk to me about everything under the sun, so I don't feel I had any reason to believe a demo would be a no-no. My wife always tells me that for as much time as I spend thinking about stuff, I'm still pretty dumb, and I think she's right . .
Unfortunately there is probably no chance of getting an official clarification in the next 5 days, but better it came to light now than after the fact and the kids were facing disciplinary action.
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Yes, the kids aren't allowed to bowl youth league or any kind of other tournament while HS is going on, so most of them pre bowl for the weeks they are going to miss before the season starts. They are allowed to do anything outside of the official school season, but during the actual season, apparently the rules are really strict.
I am trying to think why they would have this rule.
What if the kid is in a USBC Youth League? That seems to me would be a violation.
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They can do whatever they want during the "off season," the restrictions just apply during the season, I just didn't realize the restrictions were this aggressive. We just went through 4 years of this, my daughter just graduated last May, so I'm familiar with how it all works. Just never had a demo during the season before so it never came up, and with as much as I've done to help in the past, this doesn't make any sense.
I didn't schedule the event based on the high school bowlers, I already have a decent sized group coming, and the regional Storm rep was already going to be in the area, so it worked out. I just thought it happened to be a great time to get a lot of the high school bowlers to come out, as quite a few of them actually don't bowl league otherwise and would therefore have no reason to buy equipment any other time of the year. It never came close to entering my mind that they wouldn't be able to participate.
How can this be true?
This means a baseball player can't go to a batting cage during the season? So Kansas feels all high school athletes get all the coaching they need from their respective school coaches? Really?!? I thought the idea of high school was to prepare students to move on, either to college or to a career. Shouldn't that be the same of high school atheltics? SO why restrict them to only getting "coaching" from the school coach? Do they restrict regular students from getting a tutor or help in a subject they might be struggling with? This would be the dumbest rule I have ever seen if true.
That being said, I would have thought you would have checked something like this before scheduling the event. High School athletics have a strict rulebook (although this one seems overly so) and if you were getting interest from a lot of high school bowlers, I would have made this call prior to agreeing to anything, just to be safe. I could see them potentially having an issue, but not for the reasons given.
So no HS athletes are allow to go to the many Basketball, Football and Baseball camps held each summer? Or is this just something for bowlers?
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Now that is just stupid. We were allowed to bowl in youth leagues, particpate in any tournament, we just couldn't participate in anything where money was won. In fact, we had a monthly tournament centered around high school bowlers. It was an "under 21" tournament. It traveled around to different houses in the area, even some we would never get to bowl in probably otherwise. It gave trophies or plaques to the winners. It was about bragging rights mainly. Some one needs to have a serious talk with the school board and abolish this stupid rule ASAP.
Yes, the kids aren't allowed to bowl youth league or any kind of other tournament while HS is going on, so most of them pre bowl for the weeks they are going to miss before the season starts. They are allowed to do anything outside of the official school season, but during the actual season, apparently the rules are really strict.
I am trying to think why they would have this rule.
What if the kid is in a USBC Youth League? That seems to me would be a violation.
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Most likely, though that's not specifically the way it was communicated to me. Throwing some bowling balls at a demo comes nowhere close to falling within these restrictions though. It would be like a golfer swinging clubs before they bought them or a baseball player swinging a bat.
Get the clarification. People read rules and interpret them incorrectly all the time. I searched through the handbook and this section was only thing I could find relating your scenario.
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Another question, can an athelete have a practice session with a personal coach during the season?
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That is one of, if not the, most ridiculous rule I've ever heard of. I don't think you should yrll at yourself over this. I'm definitely an analytic personality type who checks everything possible, and I never would have seen this coming. It defies logic.
On the plus side however, I can just imagine the youthful glee they'll feel when they get their first car and find out they can actually sit in it and even drive it before buying it...
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No, that would be a scheduled or organized "practice," falling under the restrictions in the "Note" of outside competition rule. The kids can't even practice together outside of a scheduled school practice, because that could be seen as an organized practice.
Another question, can an athelete have a practice session with a personal coach during the season?
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That rule is total bull. I am a high school coach in Wisconsin and there is nothing even close to this. In fact we just had a Storm demo day in our area and there were many high school coaches and bowlers participating. What if their coach showed up and they just went ahead and called it an organized "practice"? That could be a way around the rule.
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I'd move, that state is ludicrous!
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I actually don't believe they can do that either, I don't think they can schedule extra practices outside of the already submitted and approved schedule, something about unfair advantages I believe . .
That rule is total bull. I am a high school coach in Wisconsin and there is nothing even close to this. In fact we just had a Storm demo day in our area and there were many high school coaches and bowlers participating. What if their coach showed up and they just went ahead and called it an organized "practice"? That could be a way around the rule.
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This is just another reason Kansas falls behind other states for producing college athletes. All sports have heavy restrictions on coaching. We have a private school in Wichita that doesn't fall under KSHAA rules and their kids are getting college scholarships regularly. Kids that have to adhere to KSHAA rules must get on good summer team just to get noticed enough so that colleges will take a look.
An athlete can have individual coaching sessions. An athlete's parent can coach at any time (this is one I was scolded about by the wife). The following is from Kansas State High School Activities Association 2014-15 bowling manual. Looks like an out would be to only allow 1 high school student at a time demo according to Art. 3. You can certainly have 1 on 1 instruction, just not 2 or more.
See attached excerpt from KSHAA rules:
Rule 26 —ANTI-TRYOUT AND PRIVATE
INSTRUCTION
A student who violates this rule shall be ineligible in
that activity for a period of one year from the date of
the violation, unless reinstated by the Executive Board.
Section 1: General Regulations (apply to grades 7-12)
Art. 1: A student may receive instruction from their parent(s) at any
time. A student’s parent(s) may attend their student’s private
instruction session without violating the provisions of this rule.
Art. 2: A student may receive private instruction at any time of the
school year. During the time a student is a member of a school
athletic squad, starting with the student’s fi rst day of school practice
and ending with the student’s last day on the school athletic
squad, a student may receive private instruction subject to the
conditions set forth in this rule.
Art. 3: Other individuals may be present at a student’s private instruction
session as long as they are there in a supportive capacity
only and not giving or providing instructions to the student.
NOTE: Private instruction is defined as one student receiving
instruction from one person during the period of instruction.
A group is defined as two or more students receiving instruction
from an instructor during the same period of instruction.
Supportive capacity is defined as participating in the period of
instruction without providing any instruction to the student or
instructor or in a competitive situation/capacity.
Art. 4: A student shall not participate in group training sessions or
tryouts held by colleges or other outside agencies in a sport while he
or she is a member of a school athletic team in that identical sport.
Exception: The Kansas Legislature in the 2011 session, enacted
the following law:
“(a) The Kansas State High School Activities Association and its
member high schools, and administrators, principals, coaches,
teachers and others affi liated with such association and member
high schools, shall not adopt any rules and regulations or interpret
any existing rule and regulation in any manner which would prohibit
a student athlete from training with any Kansas state high
school league-sponsored sport or competition while the student
athlete is participating in nonschool swimming athletic training
or diving athletic training, or both, during the high school sport
season and throughout the year if:
(1) The nonschool swimming athletic training or diving athletic
training, or both, is under the jurisdiction of and sanctioned
by the national governing body of the sport, U.S.A. Swimming,
Inc., or U.S.A. Diving, Inc. and is conducted in a manner which
protects the health and safety of the student athlete; and
(2) the student athlete meets the reasonable and ordinary
school-established requirements for participation in the
student athlete’s high school swimming program or diving
program, or both, including requirements designed to protect
the health and safety of such student athlete.
(b) This section shall take effect on and after July 1, 2011.â€
Rationale:
An Anti-Tryout and Private Instruction requirement:
a. Protects the school/coach - student/athlete relationship;
b. Establishes guidelines under which a student-athlete may
receive private instruction;
c. Helps preserve the school’s staffi ng integrity;
d. Promotes and helps protect the student/athlete relationship
to the school’s team;
e. Provides opportunity for specialized individual training;
f. Prohibits student/athletes from trying out for non-school
teams during the school season of the same sport;
g. Maintains a fair competitive environment for school teams;
h. Protects the parent-child relationship.
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This is interesting, someone must have misread or misinterpreted something then. This says the parents can coach them at any time, but the parents were and are all completely forbidden from even speaking to their kids during HS meets because it was "against the rules," and it was a huge sticking point back when HS bowling started here in the state 7 or 8 years ago. If one parent thought another parent was giving their kid tips or advice during a meet, there would be a HUGE issue made of it.
I was also told I couldn't coach kids at all during the season, as that would fall under an organized practice session, as outlined in this note:
NOTE: Informal participation on the part of the student athlete, such as that experienced on the black top (concrete), in the park, local “Yâ€, etc., is not considered a violation of this rule, provided it was not formally called or organized, no coaching takes place, where no official score is kept, time kept, officials used, etc. Intra non-school youth group athletic participation is not considered a violation of this rule. Inter non-school youth group athletic participation is a violation.
Seems there's a lot of misinterpretation going on here . . thank you for posting this.
This is just another reason Kansas falls behind other states for producing college athletes. All sports have heavy restrictions on coaching. We have a private school in Wichita that doesn't fall under KSHAA rules and their kids are getting college scholarships regularly. Kids that have to adhere to KSHAA rules must get on good summer team just to get noticed enough so that colleges will take a look.
An athlete can have individual coaching sessions. An athlete's parent can coach at any time (this is one I was scolded about by the wife). The following is from Kansas State High School Activities Association 2014-15 bowling manual. Looks like an out would be to only allow 1 high school student at a time demo according to Art. 3. You can certainly have 1 on 1 instruction, just not 2 or more.
See attached excerpt from KSHAA rules:
Rule 26 —ANTI-TRYOUT AND PRIVATE
INSTRUCTION
A student who violates this rule shall be ineligible in
that activity for a period of one year from the date of
the violation, unless reinstated by the Executive Board.
Section 1: General Regulations (apply to grades 7-12)
Art. 1: A student may receive instruction from their parent(s) at any
time. A student’s parent(s) may attend their student’s private
instruction session without violating the provisions of this rule.
Art. 2: A student may receive private instruction at any time of the
school year. During the time a student is a member of a school
athletic squad, starting with the student’s fi rst day of school practice
and ending with the student’s last day on the school athletic
squad, a student may receive private instruction subject to the
conditions set forth in this rule.
Art. 3: Other individuals may be present at a student’s private instruction
session as long as they are there in a supportive capacity
only and not giving or providing instructions to the student.
NOTE: Private instruction is defined as one student receiving
instruction from one person during the period of instruction.
A group is defined as two or more students receiving instruction
from an instructor during the same period of instruction.
Supportive capacity is defined as participating in the period of
instruction without providing any instruction to the student or
instructor or in a competitive situation/capacity.
Art. 4: A student shall not participate in group training sessions or
tryouts held by colleges or other outside agencies in a sport while he
or she is a member of a school athletic team in that identical sport.
Exception: The Kansas Legislature in the 2011 session, enacted
the following law:
“(a) The Kansas State High School Activities Association and its
member high schools, and administrators, principals, coaches,
teachers and others affi liated with such association and member
high schools, shall not adopt any rules and regulations or interpret
any existing rule and regulation in any manner which would prohibit
a student athlete from training with any Kansas state high
school league-sponsored sport or competition while the student
athlete is participating in nonschool swimming athletic training
or diving athletic training, or both, during the high school sport
season and throughout the year if:
(1) The nonschool swimming athletic training or diving athletic
training, or both, is under the jurisdiction of and sanctioned
by the national governing body of the sport, U.S.A. Swimming,
Inc., or U.S.A. Diving, Inc. and is conducted in a manner which
protects the health and safety of the student athlete; and
(2) the student athlete meets the reasonable and ordinary
school-established requirements for participation in the
student athlete’s high school swimming program or diving
program, or both, including requirements designed to protect
the health and safety of such student athlete.
(b) This section shall take effect on and after July 1, 2011.â€
Rationale:
An Anti-Tryout and Private Instruction requirement:
a. Protects the school/coach - student/athlete relationship;
b. Establishes guidelines under which a student-athlete may
receive private instruction;
c. Helps preserve the school’s staffi ng integrity;
d. Promotes and helps protect the student/athlete relationship
to the school’s team;
e. Provides opportunity for specialized individual training;
f. Prohibits student/athletes from trying out for non-school
teams during the school season of the same sport;
g. Maintains a fair competitive environment for school teams;
h. Protects the parent-child relationship.
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I'll have to keep the rules on my phone as I plan to give advice to my daughter now that I see it clearly states I can. My wife punched me last time I tried to do tell her to move 2 and 1. One of the other Dads and I were going to fake playing blackjack and yell 21. Ha ha.
Still not sure how to get around the ball demo as it feels like it would fall under group coaching because you are giving advice to multiple athletes at the same period. Did see this e-mail to ask the question to Cheryl Gleason: cgleason@kshsaa.org. Since you have vested interest, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get personal clarification. Just let us know results as the rest of us in Kansas are curious.
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Yeah I might shoot her an email and see what our options are. Thanks for the information, really appreciated.
I'll have to keep the rules on my phone as I plan to give advice to my daughter now that I see it clearly states I can. My wife punched me last time I tried to do tell her to move 2 and 1. One of the other Dads and I were going to fake playing blackjack and yell 21. Ha ha.
Still not sure how to get around the ball demo as it feels like it would fall under group coaching because you are giving advice to multiple athletes at the same period. Did see this e-mail to ask the question to Cheryl Gleason: cgleason@kshsaa.org. Since you have vested interest, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get personal clarification. Just let us know results as the rest of us in Kansas are curious.
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Definitely try to get clarification from someone in authority to make the decision. Get it in writing with their name on it.
We tried to get a clarification for my son in how many tournaments he could bowl during the high school season that were NOT high school related. Simple straight forward question, right... My head hurt by the time it was over. Multiple, wide ranging answers.
Still honestly am not sure. Answer was/is 2. Headaches start with how to handle multi-weekend tournaments with multiple divisions. Bowl singles & doubles one weekend. If you do the team portion two weekends later (same tournament) does it count as one or two. Different answers from everyone. All the HS coaches we asked had differing views. His coach thought it was two events. Coach of some of the other kids he would have bowled team with says its one since it's same tournament, just different division. Even the local usbc folks weren't sure by the time we were done. My son just didn't bowl. Wasn't worth it to him.
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In Nevada, not one high school tennis player or golfer or bowler uses his/her high school coach. They are all privately coached.
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I'm not in the governance of interscholastic sports for youth, but I can see why interscholastic federations would be hesitant to allow active student athletes to receive coaching from someone who is outside the "circle" of interscholastic sports.
First and foremost, student athlete safety is in question. I'm pretty certain most private coaches are decent people, but most are not likely be cleared with Department of Justice as individuals approved to work with your children.
Second of all, I think that particular rule is intended to even the playing field. In many interscholastic federations, and especially in high school districts, there are almost always huge discreptancies with resources that are made available to each school.
Thirdly, I think forbidding students to work with coaching outside of what the school provides could be a way to protect the integrity of hired school coaches. We all hear about coaches that complain about individuals who are not on the coaching staff (ahem, crazy dad) attempting to tamper with the athletes, while in competition and practice, which that outside instruction could be outside the boundaries and philosophy of what the coach wants to do.
In the end, interscholastic bowling in the K-12 arena is in a strange position because participation largely takes place on private property. Additionally, a large amount (if not all) of the activities, services, and products are supplied by private businesses and acquired by the kids/parents themselves. Rarely do the schools provide a lot of the supplies, outside of lineage.
The biggest can of worms that has been opened up from this discussion is equity and standardization related the playing conditions and equipment available to athletes. It is no question there are certain demographics that will have more access to services and equipment than others. If you think about it, many of the other interscholastic sports available do not have a lot of variables from equipment and resources available that affect the game as much as bowling does. For example, in interscholastic soccer, all that's required is a ball, cleats, a safe playing field, "qualified referees," and nets. All of those resources are easy to get and are fairly standardized. In bowling, the equipment necessary is expensive, and it is clear that the quality of resources available to you play a big role with success.
If you asked me, if interscholastic bowling would be accepted as a legitimate interscholastic sport, the equipment and playing conditions HAVE to be standardized to force the athletes to rely on skill as opposed to the resources available to them. Interscholastic federations have the power to do this. The best example of this is the Teenmasters model, where a standardized bowling ball and playing conditions are pre-established before competitive "season."
Bowling as an interscholastic sport is far from perfect, and right now, all I would care about is that the kids are bowling. It beats no bowling at all.
Finally, if the interscholastic bowling scene doesn't work out, parents and student athletes have a choice. They have the "club sport" route. Examples of this are: Junior Gold/USBC, JAT, Youth Bowling Tour, and JBT. All of which are great competitive venues for youth to develop their games, if you have the resources!
Just my thoughts.
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abide24899,
I personally think standardizing bowling for the K-12 levels is not a good idea. At no other level is bowling standardized to this extent other than a single junior tournament. It is inevitable that there are some schools with better "resources" within a district. The same as there are individuals with better "resources" within teams. Limiting these student athletes will also limit their growth.
What you are also saying is parents are not allowed to coach or help their kids within their own home or on their own time, relying solely on high school coaches for any and all instruction. But we all know all high school coaches are not created equal, and you can't standardize that. Are we also expected to have every student use the same ball driller? Are the coaches responsible for fitting of the equipment?
Simply put, there are too many variables that go into the development of an athlete. Equipment is just one of them. Allowing the students to select their equipment that enables them to perform at their best is what should be achieved.
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spmcgivern,
The questions you bring up clearly bring up the fact that interscholastic federations are ill prepared in bringing bowling to interscholastic statuses.
I think that the current non-standardization of equipment and playing environments in these interscholastic arenas encourage inequity, with the long-term consequence of "less competitive teams" choosing to leave the organizations/leagues. Remember, my goal would be to keep bowling around, teach kids life lessons, and encourage more players to play this great game, instead of scaring them away.
Bowling is in a unique position because much of the services and products come from private entities. Additionally, this is a sport that is heavily compartmentalized and influenced by private entities. These private entities are in the business so support their businesses and sales. I can understand that. These people need to make a living. I will note, if interscholastic bowling went in this direction of standardized equipment, there will be collateral damage to the consumer products industry.
Many will view my position as extreme, but in an ideal situation in the interscholastic arena, bowling balls to be acquired by teams to be used during competition should be exactly the same, and/or have restrictions. Literally I'd like to see plastic/urethane only with limitations on RG and differential.
I feel that this standard reinforces more physical mental skills and problem solving; and less on technology and resources that mommy and daddy gave to you. I liken the ability to take ball changes to pill popping - one has a problem, they "consume" something (a ball change) to "make" it go away. I feel real uneasy about teaching kids to solve problems with consuming things, and not intestinal fortitude (You just found out I'm a WWE fan).
I guess I come from a point of view where if you have a problem, you deal with it with what you have, and you work hard to get where you need to be. In an developmental point of view, I'd like to have kids have the experience of problem solving with limited resources, than teaching them that they "need things" to make their problems go away. This is just part of the reason I'd love to see equitable playing fields. It goes beyond bowling. The life lessons learned from it can apply in other parts of their lives. I hope that this viewpoint is one that many can find respectable.
I do not want to get too deep with irritating anybody else further, and this is how I'll conclude my opinions:
I actually think equipment standardization at this level can benefit competitive bowling in the long term. First and foremost, standardizing equipment will allow more individuals to compete at a fair playing field at equipment prices they can afford. A free for all will make success unattainable for individuals with limited resources, leading to smaller competitive fields (we want bigger, competitive fields, right?).
Finally, standardizing and limiting equipment goes back to player and human development - bringing skills and fundamentals to the forefront. It encourages student athletes to solve difficult problems with hard work, grit, finesse, and determination; which I think will transfer in their vocational pursuits later in life.
Either way, agree or disagree, have nice day (another WWE reference)!
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abide,
But what about differences in talent between the players? What about difference in technique? I know, when I bowled in High School, I had one of the highest ball speeds of anyone we bowled against. So if you say I have to use the same plastic or urethane ball as someone who throws the ball 2, 3, or 4+ mph slower then me, how is that giving me an unfair disadvantage. What about the bowler who has 400 RPM's vs one with 200 RPM's? Limiting to one ball will give one of them an added advantage over the other. Why is it ok to offer advantages and disadvantages this way, but not ok in the current format? You aren't teaching lessons other then you must be a Stepford bowler and throw the same ball the same way in order to score. You will create problems that kids can't solve....you can't make a plastic hook and/or score well on oiler conditions, no matter who you are.
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If restrictions are needed to help grow high school bowling (even though it is one of the fastest growing high school sports) then limit the number of balls an athlete has access to at any given tournament.
Forcing the athletes to use antiquated equipment does not grow a sport to the future. Urethane hasn't been relevant in 25 years other than as a niche product, plastic even more so. And if it is a monetary issue, realize the difference in price between urethane and resin is not that much.
And how does bowling with antiquated equipment and bowling on shots the athletes will never see again benefit their game in the long run? As soon as they are in college the restrictions are gone.
I cannot think of another sport that makes the game harder for the youth involved in the sport. Golf in high school is no different than the PGA, LPGA or your local municipal. Baseball actually makes it easier for athletes in high school than in the pros with more lenient bat restrictions. Football is no different in high school than at any other level.
Bowling will always have those with disposable funds and those without just like all sports. It is a fact of life (which is what some what to teach through bowling I guess) that some bowlers will walk in to a tournament with 20 bowling balls while others may only have three. This great game is based on knowing what to use, when to use it and how to use it. The bowler with 20 balls does not automatically win the tournament. The same as those high school bowlers with less equipment don't automatically lose the tournament.
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Maybe it's as simple as someone on that board has a beef with the Storm/Roto Grip brand.
I have a Storm/Roto Matchmaker coming up this next Tuesday night, and was counting on a fairly large turnout from HS bowlers who are at the midpoint of their season, and not too far away from getting ready for regionals and state. However, I was informed yesterday that none of them could attend because the state HS board told them it could be construed as outside coaching, which would be a violation of the rules and subject them to disciplinary action. I personally feel this is completely ridiculous. Under the same "rules," they would also be banned from coming in to purchase equipment, because I would be "coaching" them on what ball to get, layout, bag selection, accessories, etc. I've had several new bowlers come in with hand me down balls who are grippers, and I've had to "coach" them on how to hold the ball properly and how to release it, is that against the rules too?
I know it's not my place, but I'm not sure if the state board really knows the details of what is going on. Seeing as how I stand to lose quite a bit of business because they don't understand what's going on, I'm a tad miffed. What is the proper course of action here? Usually for me that involves keeping my mouth shut . . but I had prepared for this based on the number of commitments, which now has been dropped significantly less than a week before the event based on nothing but passive ignorance in my mind.