George Guido: New rule allows basketball coaches more space

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, December 5, 2017 | 9:48 PM

High school basketball coaches will have more room to roam along the sidelines this winter.

One of the significant rules changes for the coming season has the 14-foot-long coaches box doubled to 28 feet.

The National Federation of State High School Associations said the smaller coaches box “penalized the level of communication between the coach and the player.”

The new size, according to NFHS officials, provides a coach more access to his or her players.

The rulesmakers also said schools that can't get a new coach's box line painted before the start of the season can use tape.

Game officials are certainly hoping the larger box doesn't raise the level of negative discourse with coaches.

Accordingly, a new warning to a coach for misconduct has been added.

An official now can give a warning to a coach or team member that will be recorded in the scorebook.

However, if the offense is considered major, the referee still can call a technical without previous warning.

The NFHS rationalizes that stopping play and making sure a coach or the bench knows that an official warning has been given sends a clear message to everyone in the gym and impacts the behavior of the coach.

The NFHS adds that “this change in behavior creates a better atmosphere and many times avoids the need to administer a technical foul.”

Wrestling rules changes

Perhaps the biggest wrestling change for the 2017-18 season is the new edict allowing two-piece uniforms.

Wrestlers can now wear shorts that could be termed “fight” or “MMA” shorts.

National rulesmakers hope the new rule will increase participation for athletes. They also said the adaptation of the two-piece uniform was implemented in the hope it will draw in kids that may have been scared off by the traditional, one-piece singlet.

“It will attract new kids to wrestling that wouldn't have tried it before and keep kids in the sport because they now have an alternative,” said Eliot Hopkins, NFHS rules editor and national wrestling rules interpreter. “They like different sets of uniforms.”

Some states experimented with the two-piece outfits last season, and wrestlers, coaches, school officials and referees reacted favorably.

Earlier this year, five major uniform manufacturers were invited by the NFHS to help with the rules change, and samples and ideas were brought in.

A caveat is that the two-piece uniforms must be school-issued.

While the uniform change has attracted considerable attention, a change to fall and near-fall rules could be a bigger game-changer.

Now, the shoulders or scapula no longer need to be in bounds to earn a fall. If the “offensive wrestler maintains two supports inbound and the defensive wrestler remains off the mat, a fall or near fall points may be awarded regardless of the out-of-bounds line.”

“It will reward the aggressive wrestler by giving them more opportunity to score the near fall or pin,” Hopkins said. “It's good for the sport.”

In a national survey, wrestling participation has fallen by 20,000 in recent years to 250,563 during the 2015-16 school year, the most recent season where figures are available.

On the air

High school basketball coverage will enter a new era starting Friday now that the former msasports.net is part of Trib Total Media.

Not only will game broadcasts of basketball, hockey and wrestling continue, but shows devoted to basketball and hockey will continue to be featured weekly.

The new internet address is: tribhssn.triblive.com.

Highlands basketball games will be carried for the 17th straight season by Mike Pavlik and Mike Choma, the sole surviving Mike & Mike broadcast combo.

Friday Golden Rams games will be carried on Comcast Cable Channel 190 at 9:30 p.m. Wednesdays, and Tuesday games will be replayed at 9:30 p.m. Thursdays.

Live games are available on youtube.com. Just put Highlands High Football (not basketball) in the search bar.

In a bit of bad news, broadcast veteran Bob Tatrn will be taking off the basketball season for the first time in 50 years because of health issues.

Tatrn, however, will continue with his sports nostalgia TV show on Channel 190 Thursdays-Saturdays at 9 p.m. and on WAVL Radio 910 AM Saturdays at 9:30 a.m.

George Guido is a Valley News Dispatch scholastic sports correspondent. His column appears Wednesdays.

Tags: Highlands