Another ref question, RE: 25-sec. play clock

[kissinger]

Yes, NCAA games at NCAA stadiums.

 

It is neither required, nor desirable for highschool stadiums to have 25 second clocks.

 

Have to disagree. It is HIGHLY desirable that high school stadiums have play clocks. Take 100% of the pressure off officials and places it where it belongs within the rules. Its the obligation of coaches and players to play within the rules. Otherwise, change the rules. Thus far, the biggest excuse for not having them, and yes, its an excuse because in reality it isn't that costly when sponsorships are considered, has been cost.

[Jumper_Dad]

Yes, that is a great idea on paper. But it's impractical at the highschool level because there are very few teams that can pull it off, even with teams who we all figure are "championship caliber".

 

Somerset has had play clocks for two years and there doesn't seem to be a lot of issues with teams not getting the plays off. There have been penalties but no more than normal.

[kypride]

Professional sports rules are black-and-white and are based on money.

 

NFHS rules are different: "...the purpose of interscholastic sports is an extension of the educational process." Officials can make decisions based on both the spirit, and the letter of the rules.

 

Please don't forget that important distinction.

 

It's this attitude by many officials that infuriates many fans and coaches.

[offside]

It's this attitude by many officials that infuriates many fans and coaches.

 

Attitude? It's written in the NFHS Handbook.

[offside]

Have to disagree. It is HIGHLY desirable that high school stadiums have play clocks. Take 100% of the pressure off officials and places it where it belongs within the rules. Its the obligation of coaches and players to play within the rules. Otherwise, change the rules. Thus far, the biggest excuse for not having them, and yes, its an excuse because in reality it isn't that costly when sponsorships are considered, has been cost.

 

You have a valid point; we do use the 25 second clock at PJS for the finals.

 

If all schools had play clocks, we wouldn't be discussing why the officials didn't call more delay fouls--we'd be discussing why teams get called for it so often.

[MountainThunder]

You have a valid point; we do use the 25 second clock at PJS for the finals.

 

If all schools had play clocks, we wouldn't be discussing why the officials didn't call more delay fouls--we'd be discussing why teams get called for it so often.

 

:thumb:

 

I understand your points from earlier and concur. I believe we are on the same page that not all schools would have play clocks unless it was mandated and many schools would not want to have the extra expense. It could make it more consistent, but then the next complaint would be that officials are setting the ball ready for play too quickly or too slowly and negatively impacting their team. Also, many high schools have people running their clocks who are volunteers and may not pay attention as much as they should to reset it correctly each time.

[JIM SEYMOUR # 85]

Professional sports rules are black-and-white and are based on money.

 

NFHS rules are different: "...the purpose of interscholastic sports is an extension of the educational process." Officials can make decisions based on both the spirit, and the letter of the rules.

 

Please don't forget that important distinction.

 

OS

 

Very well stated.:thumb:

[kypride]

Yes, indeed. And sometimes the zebras look bad because last week's game was very close, the clock was ticking, and we had to be technical and make a procedural call against your team. And this week, we decided to ignore it against your opponent because this week, it doesn't matter.

 

Yor interpretation of the rule book leads to things like you stated above, and this infuriates fans and coaches. Lesser officaials when given leeway make calls that don't make nearly as much sense as what is described above.

[offside]

Have to disagree. It is HIGHLY desirable that high school stadiums have play clocks. Take 100% of the pressure off officials and places it where it belongs within the rules. Its the obligation of coaches and players to play within the rules. Otherwise, change the rules. Thus far, the biggest excuse for not having them, and yes, its an excuse because in reality it isn't that costly when sponsorships are considered, has been cost.

 

I think I have changed my mind and completely agree with you.

[FC]

The main reason why I asked the questions about the 25 second play clock was because Fort Campbell installed them this year. I did find it rather odd that officials would discourage the use of play clocks in high school. IMO several good points were made on both sides of the argument for and against strict application of the 25 second rule. However, I think that clock/time management is often an important part of the game that some teams/coaches don’t do well. I believe that using play clocks helps both the officials and the teams when it comes to both enforcing and abiding by the rule and time management. The point about volunteers running the clock is also valid and in the end it is the Officials time that matters.

[kypride]

West Virginia did a poor job of end game clock management last night in thier loss.

[offside]

The main reason why I asked the questions about the 25 second play clock was because Fort Campbell installed them this year. I did find it rather odd that officials would discourage the use of play clocks in high school. IMO several good points were made on both sides of the argument for and against strict application of the 25 second rule. However, I think that clock/time management is often an important part of the game that some teams/coaches don’t do well. I believe that using play clocks helps both the officials and the teams when it comes to both enforcing and abiding by the rule and time management. The point about volunteers running the clock is also valid and in the end it is the Officials time that matters.

 

Well, I think you have to be odd to be an official in the first place.:cry:

 

Good teams don't have much of a problem with the play clock. It's the ugly games that I think of first whenever this topic arises. The main resistance that I had until this discussion is that it will lead to more flags in lopsided games or in games between teams that frankly aren't very good. Those games don't need more flags.

 

But, I'm warming to the idea that even the young teams could eventually adapt. And maybe a visible play clock would actually help them speed it up.

[The_Stallion]

Somerset has had play clocks for two years and there doesn't seem to be a lot of issues with teams not getting the plays off. There have been penalties but no more than normal.

 

Play clocks would help the players as well as officials. While in the huddle players arent counting in their head how much time they have left. The clocks would stop arguments between coaches and refs about how much time has passed and wouldnt allow the refs to give teams more time. Fans, players, coches and officials would all benifit from having the play clock.

[FC]

West Virginia did a poor job of end game clock management last night in thier loss.

 

This past weekend I was at a high school game and the home team had a 26-20 lead with less then 3 minutes remaining. They ran the ball on 1st down and gained about 4 yards. For reasons that still escape me, they passed on second down – incomplete, passed again on 3 and 6 – incomplete and had to punt the ball running only about 20 seconds off the clock. The opposing team drove down the field and scored to win 27-26. This was a prime and most recent example, of poor clock management by the coaches. This same team had a 26-6 lead going into the 4th quarter. They are not a pass oriented offense and were having success running the ball so why the play calling, I don’t know.

[PtownDude]

I think all teams should hire a "clock/timeout" coach, because that happens far too often. Did anyone see Romeo Crennel basically waste a timeout Sunday night? (I guess the clock/timeout coach could sit in a booth with the "when to go for 2" coach, since that gets messed up a lot too:lol:)

 

I'm not an advocate of forcing high schools to have 25-second play clocks installed, but I would like to see some consistency in its application. I don't think anyone would question an extra second or two, but allowing an extra seven or eight seconds per play in a one-possession game seems to make a travesty of this rule.

 

I don't want to dump all over a WKC crew, but I thought the big mistake that was made was actually admitting they were giving both teams 30 seconds to run plays. If a coach had asked me, I would just have said "25 seconds, coach!" and left it at that.