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by Karl Katzenberger
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 6/6/2008)
Well, Wisconsin is at it again.
Apparently our neighbors to the east feels like they aren't giving us here in Minnesota enough ammunition to make fun of them, so they decided to take measures to ensure that we can continue in our air of superiority for another few weeks. I mean, we have driven the whole "Drinking as a religion" and "Unforgiveable illiteracy" thing into the ground haven't we? To sum up Minnesotans' view on Wisconsin, I offer the old joke:
A Minnesotan sneaks into an ice fishing contest in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He checks the scoreboard regularly and sees himself atop the leader board at every update. About halfway through the competition, he notices he has caught about 200 pounds of fish, but none of the other competitors, all folks from Wisconsin have caught any fish at all! He figures he is on the hot spot and instead of taking a lunch break, he tries to open up a huge insurmountable lead. During the lunch break, he notices a crowd of the other contestants gathering outside his fish house. He hears them murmuring amongst themselves and just figures that they are trying to see what bait he is using. He hears a knock on his fish house door and meets one of the judges outside. The judge nervously says "Umm... excuse me sir, but I am here to investigate allegations of cheating on your part." The Minnesotan is shocked by the judge's statement and is trying to think of any wrong doing on his part when he hears one of the several Wisconsin fisherman now gathered around the scene scream "Well hell yes, he's cheating! He's actually drilling holes in the ice!"
To say that we think the State of Wisconsin is a bit backwards is a bit of an understatement. This latest development is just another piece of evidence in our case that prohibition should be re-introduced in Wisconsin immediately.
The WIAA, which is the governing body of high school athletics in Wisconsin is considering a new rule pertaining to JO volleyball. The WIAA currently has policy in place that states that any non high school team should not "resemble a high school team" except for in the summer. Now this is a bit of a vague statement regarding what may or may not be done in regard to non school type programs such as club volleyball, but the spirit of the rule intends to prevent high school coaches from mandating if and where players should go play off season volleyball. The new proposed rule states that no more than 3 members of any high school volleyball program can play for any non high school team in the offseason, with the exception of summer months and seniors that have exhausted all of their high school eligibility. This is just king of the dumb rules. In fact, I am referring to this rule as the "Ice Fishing Bylaw" from now on. By enacting this new rule, the WIAA feels that athletes will not feel pressure from high school coaches to play on off-season teams, or if they choose to play on their own accord - the coach cannot influence them to play on any certain team. You can read the bulletin on the proposal here:
http://www.wiaawi.org/index.php?id=310.
I would fear that if enacted, this ruling would hurt far more athletes than it would help. I mean this is just a great job of the WIAA making the decision for kids "easy" here. This rule simply makes it unreasonably difficult for them to participate in the sport of volleyball in the non high school season. Similar to Minnesota, the vast majority of kids playing JO volleyball is not the Elite, travel to qualifiers, go to AAU, pay $3000-5000 per season kind of deal. Most kids participating in our region fall into the category of "I love volleyball, I may not be among the elite now, but I would like an opportunity to play on a club team to perhaps enhance my skill level, advance my standing within my high school program, and add to the overall depth and strength of my high school program by playing on a team comprised of my peers that happen to go to the same high school as me". At recent count, North Country Region boasted the 3rd highest participation in JO volleyball in the nation. Where do you think we get the numbers of kids to create that enthusiasm for volleyball? They're not all playing at M1, Northern Lights or MN Select, that's for sure.
To give an example, I run a JO program here in Minnesota. It is a 3 team club, and it is a very typical model used here in Minnesota by literally hundreds of JO programs in state. I have a lot of kids who play at Armstrong High School that want to play volleyball year round. That is their choice. They understand that Armstrong is a very competitive program and they want to improve their skills and enjoy the experience of the game in the winter and spring months. If you are reading my column here on this site, you understand that our community is not exactly bursting at the seams when it comes to funding for volleyball. So I created an opportunity for kids to play during the off-season - Armstrong JO. We secure gym space, at little cost with help from the high school administration. Our AD is particularly helpful and supportive of the growth and maintenance of a strong volleyball program at Armstrong. We find coaches to coach these teams, and present the chance for them to play a 5 month season with the MN Select power league, NCR President's Day Festival, NCR Area Event, Mizuno uniforms, new Mizuno volleyball shoes and use of equipment for $700. Not a bad value and we have a line out the door at tryouts for these teams. Not because of undue influence by the coaches, but because of a genuine enthusiasm for volleyball coupled with a great opportunity to practice in a nice facility that is close to home, affordable and a chance to play with friends and peers that all attend Armstrong.
We do have to pay attention to MSHSL and NCR (Minnesota State High School League) rules when running this program. The MSHSL mandates that high school coaches may not influence decisions of athletes as to if and where they play JO volleyball. We can all agree that this is a good thing can't we? Who needs an overbearing varsity coach telling kids what they should do with their winter and summer months? I do hear about isolated incidents of this and I just have to shake my head. I mean I truly think that that coach needs to take a step back and realize that that behavior is not what youth sports is about. Essentially, the coach is trying to serve selfish goals or serve the goals of their program by acting in this manner and it is my belief that high school sports are still compelling today because of the purity in the competition. What makes varsity competitions great is putting on the uniforms on Tuesday and Thursday night and playing against the kids from two towns over, knowing it is not about any one "star" making $20 million per year, or receiving under the table "benefits" but your school's team against mine - Bring it. Any coach that would pressure kids in this manner needs to regain a grip on reality. The MSHSL also states that the Varsity, JV and Sophomore coach may not coach or give instruction of any kind to any member of the previous years Varsity, JV or Sophomore team unless they have exhausted MSHSL eligibility. This is also a good thing.
I can imagine that if the varsity coach were to coach Armstrong 17-1, there would be a tremendous amount of unspoken pressure on the best juniors and sophomores to try out for this team. Perhaps indirectly, this would be a source of anxiety if the athlete wanted to play at MN Select, but feared repercussion by the varsity coach if they did not try out for Armstrong 17-1. Again, a good rule that protects the interest of the athletes reminiscent of the recent ban on Speedo swimsuits on men in Minnesota public beaches. Nobody loses - Good Times.
A unique "loophole" in these rules lies in the 9th grade class. A Varsity, JV or sophomore coach may instruct members of the 9th grade teams in their respective programs during the JO season and likewise the 9th grade coach of said program may instruct members of the Varsity, JV and Sophomore teams during club months. I currently coach Armstrong 15-1 during the club season, in addition to coaching a team for MN Select. I feel this is a great opportunity to work with the future stars of my high school program during the winter months. It is also a great opportunity to keep my "teenage lingo" up to snuff. For example, I now end all emails phone calls and text messages to players with the phrase - "Hit me back, yo!". I have found this is somehow the most reliable way to get a speedy response to my correspondence.
Is there an inherent "pressure" for the 9th graders to play on Armstrong 15-1? Perhaps - but I will tell you that they all happily attend tryouts without any coercion from me at all. I also know there are about a zillion other opportunities for them to explore if they so choose and some do. I can honestly tell you that I have never gotten the inkling that a player is on AHS 15-1 because they felt expected or pressured to join. The players universally view this in the same way I do - a chance to improve and build a relationship with other members of the high school program while enjoying the JO volleyball experience. I can't really see a negative in this whole process, and I will continue to offer this chance until I can really and truly find a downside. I mean - other than the ridiculous amount of my personal free time I invest in kid's volleyball.
If the MSHSL were to adopt the "Ice Fishing Bylaw" it would destroy opportunities like what I have outlined. Trust me, I am one of hundreds of high school programs running JO teams identical to this in our region. If Minnesota were to install this rule how would you even find teams for these kids to play on? Where would they practice? Worst case scenario, it would spell the end for community based JO teams as a whole in our region. Can you imagine the panic and scrambling? It would be like that scene in Van Wilder where the Tara Reid spikes her preppy boyfriends breakfast shake with horse laxatives before he goes to a job interview. He then sweatily deposits the contents of his bowels into a waste basket while the mortified interviewees stampede for the door. Just pure terror introduced into an otherwise smooth and docile process.
I understand that there are other states that currently work under similar rules to the "Ice Fishing Bylaw". I also understand the need for some semblance of rules governing non high school athletics. I just think Minnesota happens to have it right. There is a nice balance to what is and what is not allowed. To conclusively disparage the "Ice Fishing Bylaw", I offer an excerpt of the WIAA bulletin:
"Allowing school teams to voluntarily assemble at anytime during the school year would, quite conceivably, have a great deal of divisiveness associated with it. There already has been a member school that is considering a policy prohibiting participation in any nonschool sports during a particular sport's school season..."
"...Coaches within schools are in competition for the same athletes, who are playing in a nonschool program at the same time they are competing for the school program in a different sport. One could first question the merits of this on the physical well-being of a young athlete, and second, on the well-being of a young student."
There is a rule in place that states that JO tryouts may not take place in Minnesota until the day after the finals in the State Tournament. This is a good safeguard to preserve the sanctity of high school volleyball. Competition between JO teams and High School teams would be terrible - we can all agree. My problem is not with this issue, or the others I have detailed that this rule addresses, it is how the WIAA is proposing to police it. Particularly damning is the final sentence of the quote. I hate to break it to you, but the day of the 3 sport athlete is going the way of dial up internet. By the way, youth sports teaches valuable life lessons not limited to how to run a 5-1 offense. By choosing what you do with your life, then prioritizing what activities are important to you, you learn how to manage your personal time and obligations. This is called becoming a responsible adult. If you are going to limit participation in non school programs such as sports, so as to not conflict with high school athletics, why stop there? Why not limit all non scholastic activities? No more that 3 kids from the same high school may participate in any given church youth group, garage band or mentoring program.
Do you see the ridiculously slippery slope that they are headed down? Kind of like the frozen sheet of ice right before dozens of fish houses and pickup trucks all assemble for an Ice Fishing Contest.
So my plea to the WIAA is simple. Make it easy - cut some freeking holes in the ice.
Karl Katzenberger is a long time coach and supporter of youth volleyball in the State of Minnesota. He can be found sharpening his auger on the bench this fall as the Head Volleyball Coach at Armstrong High School. Comments/Feedback on this article or other worldly topics can be sent to ahsvb@hotmail.com or The Volleyball Donkey |
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