OHSAA returns to 10-day summer coaching limitation
Two changes to football rules will also take effect.
The Ohio High School Athletic Association board of directors has approved a recommendation to reinstate the 10-day rule for team sport coaches starting June 1.
The rule, otherwise known as General Sport Regulation
7.5.1, says members of a school team’s coaching staff in the team sports of baseball, basketball, field hockey, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball may coach students from their school teams for a maximum of 10 days between June 1 through July 31, the time when students are out of school.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 10-day limitation was suspended in 2020 and 2021. The board of directors lifted that suspension Thursday. The 10-day maximum applies to the entire coaching staff and not each individual coach. The maximum does not translate to hours.
The regulation also says the 10-day maximum only applies to a coaching staff that is working with more than 50% of their student-athletes at one time.
Only non-contact football is permitted during the 10 days, according to the OHSAA. Student-athlete participation is not mandatory from June 1 to July 31.
Also Thursday, the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations announced two rules changes to football starting this upcoming season.
THE NFHS permits a player to purposefully throw an incomplete forward pass without warranting an intentional grounding penalty provided the passer is outside of the pocket (lateral boundary of the free-blocking zone) and the pass reaches the neutral zone or the extension of the neutral zone beyond the sideline.
There is also a new definition of a chop block, which is now described as “a combination block by two or more teammates against an opponent other than the runner, with or without delay, where one of the blocks is below the waist and one of the blocks is above the waist.” Previously, the defensive player’s knee was used to determine the high and low components of a chop block.
OHSAA football administrator Beau Rugg said the state association will adopt the revised rules.
The NFHS said players will be able to wear the number 0 as a jersey number starting in 2022, as the range of acceptable numbers was expanded from 1-99 to 0-99.