-
Price
The UIL rejected a proposed rule change June 14th that would have banned freshmen from participating at the varsity level. The rule change was proposed from the general public and was soundly put down.
There are a few reasons why the proposed rule was rejected by the UIL. There are some smaller schools that wouldn’t be able to field teams without the inclusion of freshmen, particularly in the 1A to 3A classifications.
The other reason the UIL gave for its rejection is the important one for me. If a freshman has the ability to play at the varsity level, why would we want to hold them back?
There is a line from the scout in the movie “A League of their Own,” that comes to mind. “I know the goods when I see the goods – and she’s got the goods.”
Yes, there are concerns about maturity and the like and sometimes a young athlete is “just not ready,” and that determination has nothing to do with whether their abilities are ready for “prime time.” Sometimes a student is not adjusting well in the classroom. Sometimes, coaches know that a freshman could make a contribution on their varsity team but they would not get too much playing time and so they keep them down at the freshman or junior varsity level to get them more playing time.
My thoughts on the matter are that if you pull up a freshman to varsity, they need to be playing regularly. If they are good enough to be there, especially early in the season, they should be good enough to start. The playoffs are different and sometimes a coach just wants to give the youngsters a taste of the varsity environment.
Here in Seminole, if it wasn’t for some freshmen playing at the varsity level in different sports in the past couple of years, I think the seasons for those teams would have ended very differently.
The Maiden basketball team was loaded with seniors a couple of years ago and they were led by a junior. With a couple of injuries and girls getting sick early in the season, Tri Danley, Maiden head basketball coach, brought up freshman Londyn Shain. She went on to be All-District and All-Region. Her impact was immediate and huge. She became a starter in her first couple of games and the rest is still history in the making.
This year, the Seminole baseball team would most likely have had a very different result without freshmen Rowin Donaldson and Obed Reyes. Not only did they become the “go to” pitchers in the playoffs, but they started at multiple other positions when they were not pitching.
One of the main reasons that people (most of them parents) are against freshmen playing at the varsity level has to do with playing time for their junior and senior kids.
I’ve heard the comment, “The seniors have been so loyal and they deserve a chance to start,” or “The freshmen’s time will come, they have time but this is the last year for the seniors.”
Now, because of what I do, by the time an athlete is a senior, I have gotten to know them pretty well. A good coach, if they are doing their job, will instill in their players the idea of, “everyone has a role to play.” Sometimes, that role is one of supporting a better player who just happens to be a freshman.
The UIL also decided not to act on adding a shot clock to basketball. I would imagine that their decision had little to do with the game and a lot to do with economics.
I would welcome a shot clock, but then again, the Indians and Maidens both have run and gun offensive sets and they both stress defense. I could see teams turning over the ball on time against us and that would be a good thing.
Of course, the addition of a “shot clock rule” would necessitate the need for actual shot clocks on top of the goals. I would guess 99 percent of schools do not have them and the expense would run not only to the actual equipment but also the wiring and the training of the timekeepers to be alert enough to reset them. All in all, the UIL meeting didn’t produce any major changes. That’s good for Seminole in the near term and in the years to come as we have some great young athletes in junior high who are coming down the pike. The shot clock would have been a boon to us though.
