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Section XI News

NYSPHSAA Central Committee Recap

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is holding its annual summer meeting of the Central Committee on July 30-31 in Verona, NY. The primary focus of the meeting is to vote on proposals, listen to discussion items pertaining to interscholastic athletics and to afford superintendents, principals, athletic representatives, and section executive directors the opportunity to meet in small groups.

The Central Committee approved the revision of classification cut off numbers (effective Fall 2020) and a policy for combined practices in the sport of football. The Central Committee also approved the institution of a penalty for practicing on courts at the Girls Tennis Championships. Additionally, in the sport of boys volleyball, a pool play tie breaking procedure was approved for the 2019-2020 season; reverting back to the previous procedure. A number of proposals in modified sports were approved by the Committee.

Other approved items include the creation of an Annual Officials Appreciation Day, which will take place on the Wednesday of Week #13 of the NYSPHSAA Standard Calendar. This year, Officials Appreciation day will be celebrated on Wednesday, October 2nd, 2019. The Committee also approved the addition of Unified Basketball and Unified Bowling to the Scholar-Athlete program.

DAY 2 RECAP

The Central Committee approved Ithaca College as the host site for the 2021-2023 Boys Swimming and Diving Championships. Kenmore West High School was approved as the host of the 2021 Girls Gymnastics Championships. A proposal to host the Boys Golf Championship at Cornell University on week 47 (one week earlier than the traditional week the event is held) of the NYSPHSAA standard calendar was defeated by a vote of 24-22. As a result, the NYSPHSAA office will re-bid the tournament in an effort to secure a venue to host the championship on week #48 of the standard calendar. The Committee approved the girls volleyball regional rotation listed on page 90 of the agenda.

A proposal to make a significant change to the transfer rule that would allow student-athletes to participate at the sub-varsity level was approved by a 35-11 vote. The proposal will allow students in grades 7-10 who are ineligible, as per the NYSPHSAA Transfer Rule, to practice and participate at the sub-varsity level during their period of ineligibility; non-corresponding transferring students in grades 11 and 12 who are ineligible, as per the Transfer Rule, would be limited to practice only.

The proposal to follow NFHS rules in the sport of ice hockey and play 17-minute periods for the 2019-20 season was defeated by an 18-16 vote with 12 abstentions by three sections who do not have hockey. A proposal to increase the number of games/contests with restrictions on the number of scrimmages was defeated 26-20. By a 26-20 votes, the committee defeated a proposal to revise the prescribed penalty for exceeding the maximum number of games or contests.

The Committee approved increasing the filing fee to $500.00 and require a unanimous decision by the NYSPHSAA appeals panel to overturn a sections decision. The creation of a NYSPHSAA Foundation was approved. A committee will be created by presidential appointment to discuss the formation, structure and operation of the NYSPHSAA Foundation.

The 2019 Central Committee meeting concludes with the 2019 NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame Banquet Wednesday evening. The 2020 Central Committee meeting will take place July 28-29 at the High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid.

Section XI News

Free Movement Approved in High School Girls Lacrosse

INDIANAPOLIS, IN (July 23, 2019) — Allowing players to freely move around the playing field after a whistle is one of 12 changes to high school girls lacrosse rules approved for the 2020 season.

All rules changes recommended by the joint National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and US Lacrosse (USL) Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee at its June 17-19 meeting in Indianapolis were subsequently approved by the NFHS and USL Boards of Directors.

“The committee addressed topics ranging from equipment requirements to the philosophical change to free movement with intention and extraordinary attention to detail,” said Lindsey Atkinson, NFHS director of sports/communications associate and liaison to the Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee. “The commitment of the joint NFHS/USL committee to do what is best for high school girls lacrosse was evident in both the content of their discussion and the outcomes of their hard work.”

The change to free movement impacts several areas of the NFHS/USL Rules Book. Rules 5-1-2 and 5-1-3 have been adjusted to eliminate the requirement for players to stand in place after an official’s whistle.

Free movement allows players to freely move around the playing field, instead of being required to hold their positions on stoppages including possession time-outs (Rule 4-3-3), injury time-outs (Rule 4-2-3), major and minor fouls (Rule 5-3-1), when the ball goes out of bounds (Rule 6-3-1) and free position or alternating-possession restarts (Rule 10-1).

“This will be an exciting rule change for the high school game, one which we believe will enhance the athlete experience on the field and ease the workload on officials to monitor players off the ball,” said Caitlin Kelley, US Lacrosse women’s lacrosse director and the USL liaison to the Girls Lacrosse Rules Committee. “The rules committee prioritizes safety, integrity of the game, pace of place and growth. We want our student-athletes to love the game and attract new players to the sport too.”

Additionally, in Rule 4-3-3, players may now be substituted for during a possession time-out, except for the player being awarded the ball and the offender.

Rule 5-4-4 has been amended to allow self-starts on boundary restarts. On boundary restarts, opponents must give the player in possession of the ball at least two meters — an additional meter from the previous requirement (Rule 6-3-1b).

When a stoppage in play causes the ball to become dead that was in the critical scoring area, Rules 4-3-3, 5-1-3, 5-3-1 and 7-3 PENALTY now indicate play will resume on the closet dot.

“The impact of free movement on the rules is complex,” Atkinson said. “The committee was diligent in addressing each impacted rule to ensure a comprehensive implementation of the concept into the high school game.”

Self-starting when self-start is not an option is now considered a major foul in Rule 10-1 under false starts. Additionally, under major fouls, a check to the neck is now included under check to the head with a mandatory card assessed.

Rule 5-2-2 was amended to allow any number, up to 12 players from each team, on the field prior to the start of each draw. Prior to the change, each team was required to have 12 players on the field unless a team could not do so legally.

Changes to Rules 2-2-5 and 2-4-3 amend crosse and stick requirements. A crosse now meets specifications if the ball moves freely in the front of the pocket, removing the requirement for the back of the pocket. Additionally, during stick checks, game officials will ensure that the ball rolls out of the back of the pocket when placed in the upper third of the head at its widest point and the stick and head are tilted 90 degrees.

“The committee felt that it was important to separate the performance requirements of the front and back face of the head during stick checks,” Atkinson said. “This change simply distinguishes the differences in performance and clarifies the stick check process.”

In a change to Rule 2-7-4, equipment cannot be modified from its original manufactured state and it must be worn in the manner the manufacturer intended.

Rule 2-7-2 now requires that all eyewear worn on the playing field bear the SEI (Safety Equipment Institute) mark for certification by January 1, 2025. Eyewear must still be SEI certified for the 2020 season; the requirement for a physical mark on the eyewear does not take effect until 2025. All approved eyewear is listed on the SEI website at www.seinet.org.

“SEI certification and the ASTM standard remain the same and an important part of maintaining safety for our student-athletes,” Kelley said. “The rules committee extended the requirement of the physical markings on the eyewear in order to minimize unnecessary cost to the consumers.”

A change to Rule 6-3-2 clarifies that a player’s body or crosse that is inbounds and nearest to the ball determines possession of the ball when play resumes.

In a tweak to Rule 9-1, the description of the minor foul, covering, is now described as covering a ground ball, instead of guarding. Additionally, preventing an opponent from playing the ball by covering the ball with the body now constitutes a minor foul. Previously, using a foot or crosse to guard a ground ball was a minor field foul.

Rule 2-8-4 now prohibits the use of video replay to review an official’s decision, consistent with other NFHS rules.

The final rules change adjusts Rule 10-1 regarding the free position after a major foul. The free position will now be taken on the 12-meter fan closest to the spot of the foul.

A complete listing of the girls lacrosse rules changes will be available on the NFHS website at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Activities & Sports” at the top of the home page and select “Lacrosse-Girls.”

According to the 2017-18 NFHS High School Athletics Participation Survey, there are 96,904 girls participating in lacrosse at 2,781 high schools across the country.

Section XI News

Two from Section XI Named to NYSPHSAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) is pleased to announce the members of the 2019-20 Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). This year, 12 new members will join the SAAC, teaming with the 10 returning members who served as juniors last year. The SAAC is made up of two student-athlete representatives, one male and one female, from each of the eleven sections in New York State.

During the 2018-19 school year, the committee created NYSPHSAA Mental Health Awareness Week and had the opportunity to provide input on several proposals including the transfer rule and exceeding the maximum number of contests rule. This year, the committee will continue to promote the mental health initiative. In addition, the SAAC will focus on the creation of a NYSPHSAA Leadership Conference and continue to provide feedback on Executive Committee proposals.  A total of 76 student-athletes applied to be members of this years SAAC.

Erin Holler from Smithtown East, and Ben Glazebnik from Half Hollow Hills East have been selected from Section XI.

“We are excited to welcome the new members and the returning members of the SAAC this school year”, said Dr. Robert Zayas NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “Having student voices in our organization is key to providing feedback to further enhance and improve our programs with our member schools. We congratulate the members of the SAAC on their selection to this committee and look forward to their ideas and contributions during the upcoming school year.”

The SAAC will meet four times via teleconference during the school year. The first meeting will take place Sunday, September 22. The 3rd annual SAAC summit will take place on Saturday November 30th and Sunday December 1st at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse during the NYSPHSAA football championships.

Section XI News

Kings Park Coach, Teacher Dies Tragically

Kings Park coach and teacher Michael McDermott, 37, was jogging in St. James like he always does when he was tragically killed. Kings Park and Smithtown communities are mourning a great loss.

McDermott was a JV baseball coach at Kings Park High School, as well as a middle school physical education teacher.

Friends and family of McDermott have set up a Go Fund Me page to help off-set costs of the funeral and to help his wife and three young children.

Section XI News

NYSPHSAA Announces 18-19 Scholar-Athlete School of Distinction and Excellence Winners

The New York State Public High School Athletic Association, Inc. (NYSPHSAA) announces its 2018-19 Scholar-Athlete School of Distinction and School of Excellence Award winners.

The purpose of the School of Distinction and School of Excellence Awards are to unite varsity coaches in challenging their teams to achieve a statewide honor. This year, 35 schools earned the School of Distinction Award and 135 schools earned the School of Excellence Award.  An additional 5 schools received the School of Distinction Award and 19 more received the School of Excellence Award compared to 2017-18 school year. This year’s figures represent the highest number of NYSPHSAA member schools being recognized for their academic achievements.

“To see the numbers of schools honored increase again is a true testament the kind of student-athletes were have here in New York State,” said Dr. Robert Zayas NYSPHSAA Executive Director. “We continue to be proud of this program that highlights and celebrates schools that value the importance of academics, as well as athletics.”

Schools can earn School of Distinction status by having 100% of its varsity teams qualify for and receive the Scholar-Athlete team award during their respective sports seasons. To earn the School of Excellence Award, 75% of a school’s varsity teams must qualify and receive the Scholar-Athlete team award. The full list of School of Distinction and School of Excellence Award winners is below.

SCHOOLS OF DISTINCTION FROM SECTION XI

  • BABYLON JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL
  • ELWOOD/JOHN GLENN HIGH SCHOOL
  • KINGS PARK HIGH SCHOOL
  • NORTHPORT SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  • ROCKY POINT HIGH SCHOOL
  • SHELTER ISLAND SCHOOL
  • SMITHTOWN HIGH SCHOOL-WEST
  • WESTHAMPTON BEACH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

SCHOOLS OF EXCELLENCE FROM SECTION XI

  • CENTEREACH HIGH SCHOOL
  • COMMACK HIGH SCHOOL
  • COMSEWOGUE HIGH SCHOOL
  • EARL L VANDERMEULEN HIGH SCHOOL
  • MILLER PLACE HIGH SCHOOL
  • NEWFIELD HIGH SCHOOL
  • NORTH BABYLON HIGH SCHOOL
  • PATCHOGUE-MEDFORD HIGH SCHOOL
  • PIERSON MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL
  • RIVERHEAD SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  • SMITHTOWN CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • SMITHTOWN HIGH SCHOOL-EAST
  • SOUTHAMPTON HIGH SCHOOL
  • WALT WHITMAN HIGH SCHOOL