One thing I have heard from basketball coaches (and I imagine it would apply to other non-fall sports) is that it would be nice to get a week of contact at the beginning of the year - just to set a tone for the year, organize some schedule for (optional) out of season work and just make sure the freshmen understand what the groundrules are for playing - a little more than you can do with a welcome meeting or whatever they can get away with at the beginning of the year.
I hadn't thought about that before, but there is some merit there.
You might have heard that from me... because that is what I basically said on the basketball boards per some coaches a few months ago. LOL
You can't tell me these teams don't have out of season pick up games. Sure the coaches are absent, but that's what team captains are for. Heck we did this in h.s. Coaches just want more time. They are always going to want more practice time.
I just don't see why, at the DIII level, this is necessary. If it is necessary, someone needs to make a point about how it helps the student athletes in their collegiate experience, not a statement about how it helps the coach...
I think I had this conversation with Dave, too, at the Hoopsville classic - if so, he might have some specific examples as well. Maybe its policy at certain schools that need to change, but technically, freshmen aren't on the team until practice starts, I don't know if that prevents coaches from being as involved in their transition to school as they'd like to be.
I also don't necessarily have a problem with a coach taking a practice or two to install an offense he wants the guys working on, on their own, leading up to the season. Even if every team gets three days at the beginning of the year or whatever. I'm not going to argue for such a thing, just simply that I sympathize with the reasons for it and I wouldn't be against it. I just don't feel too strongly either way.
Yes... until a freshman is on the team and practicing, the coach has nothing to do with them - isn't allowed. What coaches have said to me is that a week at the beginning of the year - or make it say a three week period where there can be, say, 10 practices or meetings, would allow them to get with their teams, meet the new players (they can meet with them, but not much else - not hand out playbooks and such currently), and get people acclimated. They can also hand out the playbooks, give them specific exercises or guidelines they want them to follow to get ready for the season, etc. In return, lop off say 10-days or two weeks from the pre-season.
One coach actually said to me he gets frustrated every year when a freshman who might be playing basketball gets in trouble and people try and pin it as being a basketball kid. As he said, don't blame me or the program, he isn't part of the program and we haven't met with him or gotten to know him let alone lay down our rules!
I think it is a win-win because I also think the four-weeks of practice - more than ANY other sport including hockey who is in the same boat as basketball - is getting to the point of ridiculous.
Per football... to avoid any confusion, and maybe it was just me reading it and getting confused with responses, they already have spring practices... they just can't wear any padding and helmets. Injury chances are certainly high on the list, but so are the costs of running those practices. If you are going to put the full gear on, there has to be at least one Athletic Trainer there, if not two (due to the size of team). Where are small, and even large, schools going to find that manpower in the spring when the ATs are needed for the sports who are in session? Plus the maintenance and equipment staffs (for those who have them) who needs to make sure pads, helmets, practice gear, fields, etc. are ready. Basically treating it like a fall practice. At the convention last year, injuries and the manpower costs were the two most prevalent arguments against allowing full pads and helmet practices in the spring.
Now brace yourself for the twist. One person I was talking to who knows plenty of what is being talked about says one thing the review may be considering and some may bring up for a vote in 2017 is making all non-traditional seasons in all sports ... be like football's is currently. So less gear and pads (i.e. lacrosse) and more of simple practices. Personally, I would be in favor of this. When I played, spring ball was important and we practiced hard (soccer), but we didn't necessarily use a full size field, we might participate in a small half-field, 7-v-7 tournament, but nothing like they do now-a-days. I think the non-traditional season has gotten a little out of control in Division III and I know for a fact the presidents of schools are looking to scale things back as they do believe in the STUDENT-athlete experience and fear students are being told and practices are being held like spring/fall ball is as important and run just as hard as the regular season. In other words, a student may feel (whether it is true or not) that if they don't participate for good reason in the out-of-season practice, their chances of being on the team were in jeopardy. Presidents want their student-athletes to participate in more things on campus than just sports if they are so inclined and bigger and bigger non-traditional seasons are clearly hampering that.
Again, this will be discussed on Friday next week formally (though informally all week), there will be some straw polls, and then the committee looking into all this will go back and provide it's recommendations a few months later... then we wait and see if governance (Presidents and Management Councils) or any schools/conference take up any of the recommendations and endorse them for a vote at the 2017 convention.
In the meantime, I think football has a close vote, but loses again... and I think the ice hockey proposal (can't remember the details off the top of my head) is voted down as well based solely on the fact that the committee is reviewing things and broader decisions will be put forth. Unfortunately, in hind-sight, a moratorium on game, practice, etc. items was NOT put in place at the last convention... so football and ice hockey are trying to wedge in legislation.
AND if you are in for a long read, here is the final notice of what will be up for a vote (for the most part) at next week's convention (Division III only):
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2016%20DIII%20Official%20Notice.pdf. A lot of what is in the second half is talked about at the business meeting and voted through on the whole, as it was last year. It is the first half that features the votes and ALL the details there in. If you want the cribs note version, here you go:
http://www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/2016_DIII_Proposal_Chart.pdf.
I will be in San Antonio from Wednesday night through everything on Saturday. You can follow me on Twitter for news and updates. I will primarily use @davemchugh, but @d3hoopsville and @WhyD3Show will be used when necessary (or accidentally if I'm not paying attention to which account I am on!). I believe the hashtag for the entire event will be #NCAAConv, but that is for EVERYTHING. I don't think there is a specific D3 one, but we certainly could start something like #NCAAD3Conv or #D3NCAAConv... anyway.
