CIF-SS rules that high school coaches can coach in off-season

[Dave Keefer]

Per CIF news release:

LOS ALAMITOS. For the first time in 32 years the CIF Southern Section will eliminate out-of-season restrictions on coaches working with their student-athletes.

In a 41-37 vote of the CIF Southern Section Council, Rule 313 of the CIF Southern Section Constitution and By-Laws (otherwise known as the “Bluebook”) will be eliminated from the by-laws beginning July 1, 2008.

Rule 313, otherwise referred to as the “Association Rule” read:

During the school year, prior to the established date for authorized before and after-school practice in a particular sport and following an individual’s or team’s last authorized competition, a student may receive athletic instruction in a CIF Southern Section approved sport only during one regularly scheduled physical education period in which the student is enrolled and earning credit for that particular sport. (Note: Before and after-school practice is authorized in all sports from May 12, 2008 until the close of school, maximum 15 days.)

The rule, in effect, eliminated any type of contact between an individual sports coach and a student-athlete in that sport during the school year and outside of the season of sport except for one hour. The responsibility will now rest with individual schools on how much contact a coach and student-athlete can have during the school year.
This post was edited on 4/24 9:35 PM by Dave Keefer

 

[Dave Keefer]

Re: Follow up

Steve Fryer had some interesting comments in the OC Register:

Interestingly, the Trinity League voted against the elimination of the association rule, although the Trinity League's schools seem best-positioned to benefit from the rule's deletion. Those schools have the ability to raise funds to pay for more walk-on coaches or create on-campus positions for additional fulltime coaches that would be needed to work the extra coaching hours.

After the CIF-Southern Section Council voted to eliminate to association rule, there was a motion to vote on it again; the motion did not carry. Some council members, who are high school administrators, thought they had voted on the elimination of the association rule for girls water polo only, thus the motion for another vote. That the proposal dealt with all sports was clear by the wording of the proposal in every Council member's packet that was distributed at Thursday's Council meeting and was available to them for days on the CIF-SS Web site. The proposal's all-sports nature was clarified during discussion of the proposal at the meeting.