AGENDA FHSAA Softball Advisory Committee Florida High School Athletic Association 1801 NW 80th Blvd., Gainesville, FL. 32606 Tuesday, August 27, 2013 10:00 a.m. I. Introductions and Purpose II. Review Procedures and Agenda III. Selection of Chairperson IV. Review and Adoption of 2012 Committee Minutes V. Review of Existing Softball Policies and Procedures (FHSAA Handbook) VI. Review 2013 Softball State Championships VII. Review 2013-2014 NFHS Rules Changes VIII. Old Business A. Weekend Only Tournaments IX. New Business A. Pitching rule for visiting out-of-state teams B. Pitch limitations for softball pitchers X. FACA Recommendations A. None submitted XI. Sportsmanship Update XII. Officials Update XIII. Compliance and Eligibility XIV. Round Table Discussion
XV. Adjournment Minutes Florida High School Athletic Association Softball Advisory Committee Meeting 10:00 A.M., August 27, 2013 Rick Green Arnold High School SAC Bradley Winkler Bishop Kenny High School SAC Sarah Novak Matanzas High School SAC George Coffey Osceola High School SAC Lori Miller Jenson Beach High School SAC Tom Fadul Pembroke Pines Charter School SAC Mark Schusterman Gulliver Preparatory School FACA Rep. Larry Warrenfeltz Pensacola Softball Officials Association Ex-Officio Dale Klaus Director of Athletics FHSAA Nicholas Sinatra Intern FHSAA Guest Speakers: Justin Harrison Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Services FHSAA M. Denarvise Thornton Jr. Assoc. Director for Compliance and Eligibility FHSAA I. Introduction and Purpose A. Dale Klaus called the meeting to order at 10:00 A.M. He also thanked everyone for coming in. B. Mr. Klaus noted that this committee was to look at softball as a whole state wide. 1. Recommendations will be proposed at the Athletic Directors meeting. 2. Athletic Directors will vote on changes to the rule book. II. Review Procedures and Agenda A. Mr. Klaus made sure that everyone had the agenda. 1. Mr. Klaus asked if there were any questions about the agenda. 2. Two speakers from the FHSAA will be giving presentations. 3. Mr. Klaus briefly went over the agenda. III. Selection of Chairperson A. Mr. Klaus asked the committee to nominate a chair person. 1. Mr. Fadul nominated Mr. Schusterman. 2. Mr. Green seconded the nomination. 3. Mr. Schusterman won the unanimous verbal vote. IV. Review and Adoption of 2012 Committee Minutes A. Mr. Schusterman briefly went over the minutes. 1. Mr. Schusterman made a motion to pass the minutes. 2. The minutes were passed through a unanimous verbal vote. V. Review of Existing Softball Policies and Procedures (FHSAA Handbook) A. Mr. Winkler asked about 6.1.2 regarding to both feet being on the pitching rubber. 1. Mr. Klaus deferred the question to later in the meeting. 2. No further questions were asked. VI. Review 2013 Softball State Championships A. Mr. Klaus acknowledged how well the Vero Beach tournament was conducted.
B. Mr. Klaus brought up the issue of the pass gate and the 25 listed guests. 1. Ms. Miller made a point that there was confusion at the gate with where people should go. 2. Mr. Klaus stated that the pass gate should strictly be for bench personnel and not family members. 3. The committee agreed there should be separate gates. 4. Mr. Coffey stated that everyone considered for the pass gate should walk in at the same time as the team including principles. C. Ms. Miller asked if it was worth staying on site. 1. Mr. Klaus stated that the main problem is the private nature of the hotels. 2. Mr. Klaus would like the teams who are not staying on site to be able to use the practice fields. 3. The committee agreed that there was no problem with principles and other nonimmediate bench personnel being on the bench as long as the head coach was responsible for them in regards to the umpires and the umpires were aware of the extended bench personnel. D. Mr. Schusterman voiced his displeasure with the umpires last state tournament and asked for the best umpires (regardless of location) to work the tournament. 1. Mr. Warrenfeltz explained that umpires in his association undergo routine evaluations. 2. Despite the lack of experienced umpires in some areas, Mr. Warrenfeltz would like to expand the evaluation and video review process to more locations throughout the state. 3. Ms. Miller would like video evidence of positive evaluations before umpires are considered for state tournaments. 4. Mr. Coffey agreed and draws a parallel with teams needing to qualify for the tournament through their performance. 5. The committee agreed that although it is a larger time commitment for umpires, there should be more evaluations during the season. E. The committee completed the discussion on the State Championship by commenting on how well the tournament was run. VII. VIII. Review 2013-2014 NFHS Rule Changes A. Mr. Schusterman introduced guest speaker Mr. Harrison. B. Mr. Harrison brought to the committee s attention the issue of overlapping other sports. 1. Mr. Coffey sited the events (such as the FCAT) in the spring that already lead to overlaps and shortened seasons. 2. Mr. Schusterman stated that the new sports being added to the spring semester are at the heart of the problem. He suggested moving softball to a different semester season. 3. Mr. Coffey asked where the main overlap issues occur. 4. Mr. Harrison said the issues are the Fall to Winter overlap, and Winter to Spring overlap. 5. Mr. Schusterman explained that there are more female multi-sport athletes than male, and due to increases in overlaps it is more difficult to retain these multi-sport athletes. 6. Mr. Harrison would like the committee to consult their colleagues and ask others about their opinions and to get back to him. He concluded by thanking the committee for hearing him. C. Mr. Schusterman inquired about what a third base coach may or may not have when on the field. 1. Mr. Warrenfeltz stated that they may only have a stopwatch or scorekeeping device. Old Business A. Weekend Only Tournaments
1. Mr. Klaus explained that the original reason for weekend only tournaments would be to play more games. 2. Mr. Green stated that the proposal was denied two years ago. 3. Mr. Coffey suggested a time period called playing dates where teams would be allowed to play in as many tournaments as they want. a. Mr. Schusterman noted that the Athletic Directors will not allow more than 25 games because of cost. b. Ms. Miller believed the tournaments will be more cost efficient. c. Mr. Klaus made a note to consult the Athletic Directors at the ADHC meeting. d. Mr. Harrison reminded the committee that rule changes must be universal for every sport. e. Mr. Schusterman stated that some sports are not conducive to playing multiple games per day. IX. New Business A. Pitching rule for visiting out-of-state teams. 1. Mr. Schusterman introduced the topic with a brief background. 2. Mr. Warrenfeltz would like all Florida rules to be consistent. 3. Mr. Coffey made a motion to adopt a policy that teams must know the rules of Florida when travelling. 4. Ms. Miller seconded the motion. 5. The motion was passed by a unanimous verbal vote. B. Pitching limitations for softball pitchers. 1. Mr. Schusterman introduced the topic with a brief background. a. Mr. Klaus sited a case of a girl complaining about an elbow injury who wanted a pitch count similar to baseball. b. Mr. Klaus added that the girl continued to play through injury and refused to come out of the game when the injury was recognized by a coach. c. Ms. Miller accused travel ball as the main issue. d. Mr. Warrenfeltz stated that reducing the pitch count for high school would not help prevent injuries because the issue resides in off season travel ball. e. Mr. Klaus stressed the importance mechanics and teaching proper technique. 2. Mr. Coffey made a motion for no pitch count. 3. Ms. Miller seconded the motion. 4. The motion was passed by a unanimous verbal vote. X. FACA Recommendations A. None submitted. XI. Sportsmanship Update A. Mr. Harrison stated that there has not been sportsmanship problems with softball. XII. Officials Update A. Mr. Warrenfeltz asked the committee about tie breakers. 1. Mr. Schusterman liked the idea but only for tournaments. 2. The committee agreed that extra innings add to the excitement and enjoyment of softball. 3. Mr. Warrenfeltz thanked the committee for agreeing with him. XIII. Compliance and Eligibility
A. Mr. Thornton introduced himself to speak about eligibility and compliance. 1. Mr. Thornton provided a brief background of himself, his office and their responsibilities. 2. Mr. Thornton explained a bill in the legislature that was rumored to allow recruiting, however in fact did not. Mr. Thornton emphasized that the problem is that many people who were under the impression that recruiting would become legal but were misinformed and operating under false information. 3. Mr. Thornton pinpointed the following the coach rule (9.2.4) as his main concern. i. Mr. Coffey began by saying that his first thought is that he is scared of the rule because it reduces the amount of students he can influence or would try to influence. a. His second thought was that it is a good rule if the coach is entirely in the wrong (deliberately goes out of their way to get a student) but if it is benign then he thinks it needs to change. ii. Mr. Schusterman spoke second and stated that it is difficult to believe that the parents do not have the final say. a. Mr. Schusterman also said that cheaters will find a way around the system regardless of the rule. b. Mr. Schusterman stated that positive influence is the overall goal and that the rule is wrong if it prevents positive influence over the student. iii. Mr. Green stated that there should be a rule but is unsure how it should be enforced. iv. Mr. Coffey asked about the rule in regards to the summer. a. Mr. Thornton replied that the rule applies only to the school year. v. Mr. Thornton acknowledged that the rule may hinder the ability to teach and have a positive influence but finds the committee to be in agreement that there should be some sort of rule in place. vi. Ms. Novak asked about the scope of the rule and its definition. a. The committee was collectively concerned with the definition and scope of the rule. vii. Mr. Winkler spoke last and introduced himself with a brief bio. a. Mr. Winkler focused on the interpretation of the rule. b. Mr. Winkler was in favor of a rule but requested that the rule be explained in depth at the individual sport level. viii. Mr. Winkler and Mr. Coffey expressed their concern with students not being provided positive teaching points because they are not playing for the same coaches during the summer as they will be during the actual season. a. Mr. Winkler asked for more transparency of the interpretation of the rule. ix. Mr. Thornton recognized that the committee is split and lacks a definitive unanimous agreement that there should or should not be a rule. x. Mr. Klaus stated that the consensus is for there to be a rule in place but for it to be slightly modified and explained thoroughly. xi. Mr. Thornton explained some details of an upcoming web-enar where the rule will be discussed. a. Mr. Thornton stated that the concerns have been duly noted and will be taken into consideration. b. Mr. Thornton thanked the committee and asked to them to contact him with any further questions or concerns.
XIV. XV. Round Table Discussion A. Weekend Tournaments and Playing Dates were mentioned and the committee decided to bring the ideas discussed to the ADHC meeting. Adjournment A. Mr. Coffey made the motion to adjourn. 1. Mr. Warrenfeltz seconded the motion. 2. The meeting adjourned by a unanimous vote at 12:50PM 2013 Softball Advisory Committee Meeting Agenda Item (Please only one item per page. Duplicate form if necessary) Item: FHSAA Policy regarding pitching rule for visiting out-of-state teams. Background Information: Florida has been granted permission by NFHS to experiment with a common pitching rule (i.e., both feet on the pitcher s plate with no step-back) beginning with the 2014 season. Teams from other states will still be using Rule 6 as written in the NFHS Rule Book. Recommendation: FHSAA issue a statement to Officials Associations and schools that when games in Florida are played between FHSAA schools and teams from out of state, officials will enforce the existing (new) Florida rules for both schools. Strongly encourage coaches to notify visiting out-of-state schools of this policy when they contract for games. Rationale: When we experimented with 43, visiting schools had to pitch from our distance. They made the adjustment while they were here. The common pitching rule will be much easier for visiting pitchers, since they use these pitching mechanics in recreation ball and summer ball. Alternatives: (1) Disregard the experiment and enforce the NFHS Rule 6 when games are played between in-state and out-of-state schools. (2) Enforce the Florida rules for the Florida teams and allow visitors to use the NFHS rules. Data Source:
Impact (to be completed by FHSAA Staff): Submitted By: Larry Warrenfeltz Name of Committee Member Signature of Committee Member