SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums Boys Varsity Soccer Northwestern beats "Death Penalty" on appeal by 8-7 vote

I think that you guys are all way off base on this thing. As much as I love soccer and as hard as I work to build up a program here at Eau Claire, I realize a lot of you guys are disconnected from reality, maybe because of my experience of trying to build it but if the League got rid of its season/ practice rules most HS sports in this state would die off including soccer. Since I am an assistant football coach as well I get alot of my kids from the football team, if there were no defined seasons the football coach would tell his kids to practice football in the spring and Soccer here would die. And I know most of you guys don't care about what happens here so no big loss in your mind, but most schools have multiuse out door facilities meaning they play on the football practice field. Now you can claim Dutch Fork, as some one on here has, is a soccer school, but I guarentee you that AD cares more about football than soccer because the parents overall at that school care about football than soccer, so do you think the football coach would lose out on practice time in the spring by letting the soccer team on his practice field to do soccer stuff? I'll bet you dollars to donuts he wouldn't because that means he is behind his competition in terms of preparedness, so unless things change drastically in our society in terms of our preferences the football coach will win that argument and there goes soccer at DF, a "soccer school". Now you could argue that maybe losing other HS sports is fine because kids could play in clubs or whatever instead, but that is counterproductive because you are limiting access to the game, killing it off rather than increasing access to the game. None of my kids here can afford club sports nor would they be inclind to go seek it out if it wasn't offered to them so you would be reducing the segement of the population that develops a love for the game. the issue isn't the rule its the unfair enforcement of the rule. If the league applied its rules fairly or evenly than that's fine. If the issue is kids playing for a club with a coach then playing for a HS team with the same coach and therefore getting "extra" practice the league has 2 remedies that it can do. 1) Ban a coach from coaching both or 2) ban a kid from playing ANY hs sport of he plays in a club in ANY sport that will take care of the "extra" practice issue.

Loc Dog -- Your comment:

Quote:

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Could these issues should have been addressed long ago. Perhaps the focus will move from all-state players, nscaa all-american players, and coach of the year awards to soccer-specific reform.

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wreaks of you not knowing the proper channels in how the SCHSL operates.

First, I have not commented on the error that I think has been made in the penalty handed down towards Dutch Fork HS and in particular, coach Wayne Quinlan. The punishment that was inflicted was akin to "cutting your leg off to fix a hang-nail." Coach Quinlan is one of the most upstanding and admirable coaches in our profession and this ruling is certainly unjust and unwarranted!

In regards to the comment above about utilizing the SCHSSCA to enact change is commendable, but quite honestly, the rules that are written for the HSL are allegedly supposed to govern all sports -- football and basketball (primarily) and then the so-called "Olympic" sports.

It is very, very difficult to have changes to the SCHSL rules due to the fact that the majority of those that serve on the Executive Committee are "traditional sports" folks -- football, basketball, baseball -- and are not familiar (nor care quite frankly) for the nuances of soccer. That's precisely why we don't end HS games in ties (which are quite natural and a part of soccer) or the fact that ejections (red cards/two yellows) are emphasized for soccer (due to them being part of the sport), but the same penalties equal to five fouls in basketball (no ejection) or a 15-yard personal foul in football (no ejection).

Also, the National Federation (of which the SCHSL is a member) makes changes "for the good" of all sports as well and the SCHSL largely has to accept these policies.

In short, it's just very hard to exact change within the HSL ranks, just like when we proposed for the "no penalty kick" rule two years ago only to have it voted UNANIMOUSLY down by non-soccer folks, despite 85% of the SCHSSCA membership supporting this measure.

IMO, the SCHSSCA may as well support efforts that they can influence rather than spitting in the wind!

Kevin,

Very good points. The PK issue says it all. If you can't convince them that draws are part of the game (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw) when 85% of the coaches are in agreement........I don't know how you can make any headway with any soccer-specific changes.

This argument about not knowing about the rule is played out. I know enough about the law to know that ignorance of the law does not excuse you from penalty. " Excuse me officer, I didn't know the speed limit was 40". Yeah, OK.

It wasn't the kids responsibility, I think everyone sees that, it was the coach, and kids are punished by the league due to coaches errors.This BS about NW being a contender is irrelevant.

We have seen two different coaches handle circumstances in very differnt ways in a matter of days. I, for one, hold Wayne Quinlan in higher light than I did 24 hours ago.

All of the Rock Hill crowd can get on here and rationalize this away but at the end of the day NW got a pass. I don't think anyone wants any of the players in Rock Hill to suffer- the outrage I believe stems from a lack of equity.THere is absolutly no argument on this point.

kevin, how many attempts have been made to support reform with regards to how all sports save football are governed indpendent of each other? Who speaks on behalf of soccer?

So, based on what you have outlined above, these types of things will occur again and will continue to be a hinderance in terms of player development and the game itself.

as for the dutch fork coach, ditto b-rabbit's comments.

going back to the relative remark with dsc players....check one certain schsl officer's family tree.

Unless you've seen it for yourself, it's very easy to be critical of the "inaction" to be proactive in the soccer community. (Been there myself)

It's simply not that easy.

Kevin is right, that it goes even higher than the SCHSL.
This is a direct quote from the Winter Clinic last month in regards to a new rule that makes coaches responsible for players improperly equip (shin guards). Mind you, the wrestling version of this rule had already been rescinded because it was found that a player intentionally got his coach fired.

Roger Hazel: It's just a rule - whether it's good or bad, that's what it is.

When it was questioned why soccer coaches cannot communicate between pressbox and sideline (unlike football).

Hazel: I don't know, you have to ask the Federation.


..that's just a taste.

frustration, and basically preaching to the choir. This is what we are doing here.

Equity was word thrown here, and I am in full agreement that equity was not exercised in these circumstances.

There is the old joke, that"some are more equal than others" and this would be what appears to happen here.

The SCHSL has a purpose

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE
The purpose of the League, a voluntary organization, is to formulate and maintain policies that will
safeguard the educational values of interscholastic competition, to cultivate high ideals of
sportsmanship, to develop and direct a program which will promote, protect and conserve the health
and physical welfare of all participants and to promote uniformity of standards in all interscholastic
competition.

How is the uniformity of standards being applied? OneHS gets banned, one HS looses their coach and has to pay a fine (not sure of the player situation)and one HS has no problems at all, all over the same/similar situation.

There are two ways to bring change to an organization, from within or from the outside. As coach Heise's note above shows the frustration of having to pick and choose from within, then from the outside it must be.

Northwestern had to pay a $500 fine I believe.

The schsl board is typical of an inbred, lack of vision and never changing organization that is all about protecting their turf, control and power. They lack the required leadership/management skills to move the organization forward in order to keep up with the progress of their membership. And every leadership spot is filled from within.

The schsl is not about, seeking change or improvements, being visionaries or looking for top talent from the outside to help the organization rise to greatness in order to meet the demands of their membership.

They use their authority and power not to manage the organization and membership fairly and objectively but to let everyone know that they do in fact hold all the power and don’t come messing with them.