A Few Pointers and Reminders as Basketball Season Begins
By Sheila Henderson | Tuesday, November 03, 2009 12:51 PM
As you hear the first whistles blow to signify the start of basketball season, there is excitement in the air for both the coaches and players. Now is the time to see exactly where everyone stands after all of the summer play, fall leagues and off-season workouts. All teams, at this point, have the same winning record.
As I start my first full year as the girls’ basketball director with Darryl Beasley who is in his sixth year as the boys’ basketball director, I am excited about the upcoming season as it leads to the state basketball tournament.
Every year common issues and questions about athletic eligibility and basketball seem to surface.
The number one issue for all athletic programs is the Previous Athletic Participation form (PAPF). It is important to know which students actually need the form. Before participation at the VARSITY level at a new school, all NEW STUDENTS in grades 9-12 who have ever practiced or participated in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball or wrestling in grades 8-12 at another school in the United States or Mexico before, during (in school athletic period) or outside the school day must complete a PAPF.
The form must be sent back to the last school of participation for that individual student-athlete. However, it is the recommendation of UIL that the PAPF form is completed the first day a new student steps onto your campus. The student is not eligible for VARSITY competition until the District Executive Chair signs off on the PAPF.
At the beginning of the season, school coaches and athletic directors will need to verify the number of games allowed for the season. No team or student shall compete in more than three invitational tournaments plus 21 basketball games in a season, including all games prior to the first playoff game. I know this is very basic but we have had veteran coaches with 20-plus years of experience appear before the State Executive Committee trying to explain how they went over their season limit. It is very easy to keep up with — just count. This is something that can be very easily overlooked. And that would be a major blunder at the end of a district race.
Remember the calendar week limit for basketball allows two games per calendar week or one game and tournament per calendar week. State law limits participation to one contest per school week. Both the school week limit and calendar week limit applies during the week of Thanksgiving break.
School week and calendar week are different. Calendar week means 12:01 a.m. on Sunday through midnight on Saturday and school week means the week beginning at 12:01 a.m. on the first instructional day of a calendar week and ends at the close of instruction on the last instructional day of the calendar week, excluding holidays.
Another blind spot is the holiday restriction, which states a school shall not conduct contests or practices, use school facilities, personnel or equipment during five consecutive days of December. Any organized or required practice will be a violation of this regulation. Schools may choose any five consecutive days, which include December 24, 25 and 26. There are some exceptions, which can be found in the basketball manual or Constitution and Contest Rules.
One of the biggest areas overlooked is the Coaches and Officials Positive Expectations (COPE) program. This required program must be completed annually by all coaches before the start of their sport season. Basketball coaches, as a whole, have improved the bench decorum and sportsmanship, and the ejection numbers have decreased. I believe coaches will continue that trend with the increased awareness. But, if you happen to be ejected and you did not complete the COPE program, it will be an automatic next game suspension. It could be embarrassing to lose your coaching privileges before the school’s rivalry game.
Another area of concern is the team varsity eligibility list that must be completed before your first varsity contest. The form has changed, and it will allow to type all information for potential varsity players. Please don’t forget to create a supplemental before varsity participation of a player left off your initial team varsity eligibility list. Please get confirmation from your District Executive Chair for approval of the list.
The last issue to be addressed has to do with the eligibility calendar that determines students’ eligibility throughout the season. Please make sure you check your dates. A student who receives a grade below 70 in any class (other than an identified class eligible for exemption) at the end of any grading period (after the first six weeks of the school year), or a student with disabilities who fails to meet the standards in the Individual Education Plan (IEP) may not participate in extracurricular activities for three school weeks. However, an ineligible student may practice or rehearse. The student regains eligibility after the seven-day grace period.
The aforementioned information is presented at a bird’s eye view. If you want the details of the information please do not hesitate to call. We hope this information will assist coaches and schools in not being blindsided before or during the season.