Helpful Reminders to Help the Athletic Year Run Smoothly
By Darryl Beasley, Assistant Athletic Director | Tuesday, August 31, 2010 1:59 PM
One thing coaches can appreciate is a school year free of surprises. The last thing a coach needs is to be blindsided with new forms, new rules or changes in general. It’s vital to have routines in place. To eliminate some of those surprises and to help coaches keep those routines running smoothly, here are some helpful topics to review.
Eligibility for Student/Athletes for the First Six Weeks
During the last six weeks in spring, you should have considered checking credits of your athletes to ensure eligibility for the first six weeks of school. This should have been done for the sports (football, volleyball or individual sports) starting before or during the first six weeks of school.
Eligibility for the first six weeks is as follows:
In grades nine and below, students must have been promoted from the previous grade. If a student fails to meet the Student Success Initiative (SSI) grade advancement requirements applied to the TAKS reading and mathematics tests, the Grade Placement Committee (GPC) could determine if a student advanced through this process would be considered as “promoted” or “placed” for purposes of academic eligibility for the first six weeks. If the GPC “places” the student into the next grade, regardless of when the decision is made, the student in question is academically ineligible for the first six weeks of school. If, prior to the first day of school, the GPC “promotes” the student to the next grade, the student is academically eligible.
In the second year of high school, a student must have accumulated five credits that count toward state graduation requirements. A student in his/her third year of high school must have accumulated 10 credits that count toward state graduation requirements or the student must have earned at least five credits within the last 12 months that count toward state graduation requirements.
In the fourth year of high school, a student must have accumulated 15 credits that count toward state graduation requirements or the student must have earned at least five credits within the last 12 months that count toward state graduation requirements.
By checking in the spring, coaches give students a chance to know their credit count or if they are being placed. Then, a student lacking the required credits could choose to go to summer school in order to regain eligibility.
Students who do not have enough credits, were retained or placed at the beginning of the first six weeks can gain academic eligibility at the end of the first six weeks plus the seven-day grace period by passing all classes.
At the end of the first six weeks, all schools must check grades for all participants. From that point on, grades must be checked at the end of the grading period whether it is six, nine or 12 weeks in length. After the first six weeks, a student who receives a grade below 70 in any academic class (other than an identified advanced class) or a student with disabilities who fails to meet the standards in the Individual Education Plan (IEP) may not participate in extracurricular activities for at least three school weeks as defined in the TEA-UIL Side by Side.
New and Transfer Students
If a new student or transfer student in grades 9-12 enters your athletic program, there are two requirements, along with meeting all the eligibility requirements in Section 400 in the Constitution and Contest Rules, to determine varsity eligibility.
The first requirement is the “Parent Residence Rule” used to determine if the parents are living in the school attendance zone as defined in the Constitution and Contest Rules, Section 442. There are questions you can ask to initiate conversation to determine if the student meets the defined parent residence rule. Do the parents of the student live in your attendance zone? If not, with whom is the student living?
The second requirement is the “Previous Athletic Participation Form” (PAPF) used to determine if a student is moving for athletic purposes and referenced in the Constitution and Contest Rules, Section 443. If the student participated (practice, athletic period, and/or game) in grades 8-12 at a previous school(s) outside the current schools attendance zone, a PAPF needs to be completed and approved by the District Executive Committee (DEC) prior to the new student’s first varsity game.
The DEC is the final approval for varsity athletic eligibility. The PAPF is required if previous participation occurred in any one of the 50 states, District of Columbia and Mexico.
15-Day Rule
If a student has been in attendance at your school since the sixth class day of the school year, they are considered in regular attendance. After the sixth class day regular attendance is considered 15 or more calendar days before the contest or competition. The 15-day rule does not apply at the junior high level.
Required Forms for High School Athletes
To participate in any UIL competition, student athletes must have the required annual forms on file at their school.
The required forms are:
- Physical Examination Form required prior to junior high athletic participation and again prior to first and third years of high school. The local district policy may require an annual physical.
- Medical History Form required each year prior to any practice or participation.
- Acknowledgement of Rules form signed annually by the student’s parent or guardian to allow the student to participate.
- Parent/Student Illegal Steroid Use and Education Form signed by the student and student’s parent verifying that they understand that a prerequisite for participation is refraining from illegal steroid use.
These forms can be downloaded from the UIL website at www.uiltexas.org.
New UIL Rules Changes
Rule changes usually occur in October when the Legislative Council meets. After the Legislative Council approves a rule change, the commissioner of education, also must approve and sign off on the change. This normally takes place in March. The month of April is a good time to look for updates for following school year. For example, this year a new rule requires coaches to take the Rules Compliance Program (RCP) as the replacement for COPE. This change was one of many that occurred during last year’s Legislative Council meeting.
Sport Rule Changes
National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) also can change rules for specific sports like cross country, volleyball, basketball, soccer, swimming and diving, wrestling, track and field, softball and baseball. NCAA governs football changes, tennis by the USTA and golf by the USGA.
In UIL sports activities, the League has the right to make exceptions to the national sport rules. These rule changes are usually complete by the end of June. You can generally get a copy of the rule changes from our website.
Sport Manuals
The sport manuals should provide guidance throughout the school year for your particular sport. The manual is sequenced pre-season, regular season, post-season and off-season. At the beginning of each manual will be the sport calendar, rule changes and sport plan. In the back are forms, alignments, brackets and eligibility blanks.
You can find the UIL and sport rule changes on our website along with the sport manuals under each sport.
Hopefully, this information should support your yearly routine and limit the chances of being blindsided. For some veteran coaches, this may already be part of your routine. If so, I recommend mentoring other coaches and passing your routine on.