SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Girls Varsity Soccer Does West Ashley have to forfeit?

I am very happy with the outcome for West Ashley. But can someone take the time to explain how this board is formed (elected or appointed) This was all so confusing maybe its time more people get involved with SCHL and how they make there rules etc.

Thank you.

whew, you do need to bill me! But I am digging in to get through it.

Champions Again
Philip Bowman, The Post-Courier (Charleston), 6.3.03

The System Worked for West Ashley
Ken Burger, The Post-Courier (Charleston), 6.3.03

West Ashley Gets Soccer Title Back
Patrick Obley, The State (Columbia), 6.3.03

West Ashley Retains State Championship
Page Ivey, The Associated Press (Columbia), 6.3.03

West Ashley Keeps Title
Adam Davis, The News (Greenville), 6.3.03

Hopefully the league, coaches, and athletic directors will take a look at the events of this past year and either make changes or make sure that the rules are clear so that everyone can follow them. This seems to be a typical government manual - lots of words with no clarity and open to interpretation.

Congratulations to everyone who competed in high school soccer this year - we often forget that there are great rewards and benefits to competing, no matter what the final score.

I stated on Saturday that I felt common sense should prevail in this case and it appears to have been upheld by the slimmest of margins since the voting committee ended its' session at 5-4 in favor of West Ashley retaining its' title. I'm glad that this ended the way it should have!

"You have won on a technicality," nonvoting committee member Molly Spearman said. "But I do not believe that this is a message we want to send to our member schools." Well, those girls also won the championship on the field, but it appears the High School League failed on another front.

I am more than perplexed by the lack of enforcement that the HSL let pass yesterday when the committee was informed that (Coach Drew) "McNeely said the two eighth-graders dressed for all four playoff games, but their role was to help out, get water, chase balls and offer their sisters support."

Is that not a total unabashed comment that West Ashley broke the rules for not just the State Championship game, but also the entire playoff season? Wouldn't other teams like to play by those same rules for their members to get that kind of exposure and experience? This is totally unfair, but I guess no penalty whatsoever is in store. I think this tells all schools that basically you can do whatever you want, because the HSL has no teeth in its' bite.

The Executive Committee wanted to know why the eighth-graders were wearing shin guards. The group wanted to know why the eighth-graders were announced during pre-game and post-game introductions. And they asked Richard Luden, West Ashley's athletic director, if he knew that Coach McNeely was dressing eighth-graders. His comment was, "If I knew, it wouldn't have happened," Luden said.

Am I the only one that finds it shocking that the athletics director at West Ashley has no clue what is going on with his department, not only for one game, but the entire playoffs?

One member of the Executive Committee asked McNeely if he took full responsibility for the forfeit, and he said he did, but in his eyes he did nothing wrong by dressing the eighth-graders.

"Do you accept full responsibility?" Spearman asked McNeely. "When you answered, it didn't seem you accepted full responsibility." "Absolutely," McNeely said. "I take full responsibility."

Obviously, no foul-no harm! Interesting message that was sent yesterday by the HSL and West Ashley!

Wow, I had no idea that this happened all during the playoffs! This is blatant cheating and West Ashley should be ashamed, as well as all of those that have supported them during this claim.

Do you know how much experience is gained by being on the bench during the postseason? It is immeasurable the confidence that comes with being part of such matches. For the HSL not to levy sanctions (fines, forfeitures, coaching suspensions, or nothing else) is appalling.

Why should any other schools have to "play by the rules" if West Ashley and Coach McNeely feel they do not?

Why is AD Luden not run out of WA on a rail? His response to the incidents can only be considered vile and irreprehensible! He is aloof to goings-on in his own department and callously shruggs his shoulders in reply!

Surely no self-abiding person can stomach the gross injustice leveled by the HSL on Monday, June 2, 2003! This is a sad state of affairs and really leaves the HSL vulnerable, as their laws have been rendered mere words by this vote.

Can anyone make sense of this horrendous decision?

"Matthews said he thinks the uniforms were similar enough that field officials would have let the girls play. 'There's not an official in the state that would deny that child' entry into a game, he said."

I have refereed high school soccer the past two years and it looks like I will have to revise the way I have interpreted and enforced this rule. Confirming what Ronnie Matthews said in the above quote, I and other officials I have worked with have allowed jerseys and shorts to differ even more than the difference between the West Ashley varsity and junior varsity jerseys. I would not have kept a player from playing with the JV jersey based on the similarity of the jerseys. Are we, as referees, in the future supposed to disallow a player from playing if she has a jersey that is the same color and extremely similiar but doesn't have the same collar? I will certainly ask this question at the preseason referee meeting next year. Yesterday's ruling would seem to indicate that we must be strict at applying the letter of the law when it comes to the same uniform rule.

What it means is "anything goes" from now on in high school soccer. The fact that many teams with lower budgets already have mix-and-match uniforms will only serve to further confuse officials as for the state of players' eligibility.

What about coaches of the opposing teams that question whether an opponent may be dressing players for both JV and Varsity matches? Do they risk a forfeit by refusal to play or do they play the match "under protest" in which the HSL views as just as guilty as the team breaking the rules.

Chaos could result from the actions of West Ashley's title!