How much "spying", "stealing signals", "headset equipment eavesdropping/malfunctioning", "video taping", etc. goes on at the high school level?

 

Where does the line between "competitive advantage" and "cheating" begin and end?

 

How do you prevent it?

Personally, if I were the coach of a big time program, I would get a "bug sweeper" and quickly run it over my locker room when I went on the road, just to be sure.

I heard that a school we played used to use a handheld scanner to listen to the opposing coaches during the game. Sideline coach had it on his belt and had an earpiece in, would yell last second adjustments after plays were called down from up top. I don't think he was ever caught red handed.

 

This IMO is crossing the line. Stealing signs from the sidelines is pretty cheesy too and crosses the lines IMO.

Big blowup locally a few years ago when Pulaski County coaches and parents caught a guy taping practice from a parking lot across the street from the practice field. This also crosses the lines.

 

I've seen chain gangs cheat in youth football and the police have to come keep the order.

I've seen clock operator's on several occasions in middle school run a fast or slow clock depending on what the home team needed.

Maybe it's just the cynic in me, but I'm always really, really suspicious when I hear of teams having "headset malfunctions".

Big blowup locally a few years ago when Pulaski County coaches and parents caught a guy taping practice from a parking lot across the street from the practice field. This also crosses the lines.

 

I've seen chain gangs cheat in youth football and the police have to come keep the order.

I've seen clock operator's on several occasions in middle school run a fast or slow clock depending on what the home team needed.

 

Middle school even....how pathetic.

Maybe it's just the cynic in me, but I'm always really, really suspicious when I hear of teams having "headset malfunctions".

 

Especially when it never seems to be the home team.

Here's a hypothetical:

 

Player A transfers from School B to School C.

Schools B and C are archrivals in football.

Player A comes to you, the coach of School C, and says he wants to join the team.

Player A went through summer camp with School B, and as Coach of School C, you have a strong intuition that he learned their playbook and new wrinkles to their offense and defense.

 

You are the Coach of School C. How do you proceed?

Here's a hypothetical:

 

Player A transfers from School B to School C.

Schools B and C are archrivals in football.

Player A comes to you, the coach of School C, and says he wants to join the team.

Player A went through summer camp with School B, and as Coach of School C, you have a strong intuition that he learned their playbook and new wrinkles to their offense and defense.

 

You are the Coach of School C. How do you proceed?

 

That is free game to me.

 

We had a (basketball) player transfer to us and was ruled eligible about 3-4 days before we played his old school. We had our scouting report already but he confirmed we knew all their sets and quick hitters.

Here's a hypothetical:

 

Player A transfers from School B to School C.

Schools B and C are archrivals in football.

Player A comes to you, the coach of School C, and says he wants to join the team.

Player A went through summer camp with School B, and as Coach of School C, you have a strong intuition that he learned their playbook and new wrinkles to their offense and defense.

 

You are the Coach of School C. How do you proceed?

 

 

 

I think anything a kid knows/remembers is fair. But, if he hands you a playbook, that crosses the line and the coach should not take it.

 

We had a disgruntled parent send us a "playbook" of a rival one time. When we realized what it was, we called our rival, put it in an envelope, and sent it back. We did not make a copy of it either.

 

One of the assistants of our rival made an interesting comment though when we sent it back. He said you already know everything we do, it wouldn't have mattered if you had kept it.

We've had a coach tell us they were stealing our signals. I loved our HC and DC's response...."if that's what it takes".

Is it relatively easy to eavesdrop on the other team's headset equipment?

 

I've always thought it would be.

 

What types of security measures can teams take to prevent this?

 

What avenues of recourse are available to aggrieved parties? Reporting it to the KHSAA? or is this something that is just kept taboo for fear of being wrong and/or blackballed from coaching circles?

What about fields that are "weathered" by someone other than God? :lol2:

These are typically guys who are teaching kids in school as well as on the field. Double bonus. :no:

Is it relatively easy to eavesdrop on the other team's headset equipment?

 

I've always thought it would be.

 

What types of security measures can teams take to prevent this?

 

What avenues of recourse are available to aggrieved parties? Reporting it to the KHSAA? or is this something that is just kept taboo for fear of being wrong and/or blackballed from coaching circles?

 

At one time I could pick up one of the local schools coordinators on my work walkie talkie, while standing in my driveway about 2 miles from the field. Some schools with more money can purchase scrambled versions but most schools still have older headsets that are not scrambled.