Athletic Directors Advisory Committee

Minutes
August 29, 2006 • 9:15 a.m.
Robert W. Hughes FHSAA Building
Gainesville, Florida


Denarvise Thornton called the meeting to order at 9:15 a.m. The following committee members were in attendance: Mike Colby, Hialeah-Miami Lakes HS/FIAAA; Andy Chiles, Varela HS (Miami); Wilson Edwards, Palatka HS; Ed McPadden, Vanguard HS (Ocala)/FACA; Scott Murphy, Navarre HS; Robert Repp, Lake Weir HS (Ocala); Chip Salerno, Lake Gibson HS (Lakeland); and Tim Sparkman, Astronaut HS (Titusville). FHSAA staff members present were John Stewart, Commissioner; Denarvise Thornton, Senior Director of Athletics; Jamie Watkins, Associate Director of Athletics; Paul McLaughlin, Director of Athletics; Gary Pigott, Associate Director of Athletics; Shanell Young, Associate Director of Athletics; Tamara Forrester, Associate Director of Athletics; Justin Johns, FHSAA Intern; and Alex Bouldrick, FHSAA Intern.

1. Mr. Thornton welcomed the committee members to the Robert W. Hughes FHSAA Building. He briefly explained the procedures for the meeting and the expense vouchers.

2. Mr. Thornton gave a brief statement regarding the purpose of the meeting and had those in attendance introduce themselves.

3. Michael Colby, Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School and FIAAA Liaison, is the standing chairperson. With a unanimous vote the agenda was adopted by the committee (Motion: McPadden, Second: Edwards) as well as the minutes from the committee meeting held Mar. 15, 2006 (Motion: Repp, Second: McPadden).

4. Each sport advisory committee report was reviewed. Detailed information regarding recommendations can be found within the minutes of each specific advisory committees report.

BASEBALL
Paul McLaughlin
2006-07 (2004) Recommendation #2: Change Region Championship game to a best two (2) of three (3) game series. Tuesday, May 6, 2008, a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 p.m. with the second game of the doubleheader beginning 30 minutes after the first game ends. If a third deciding game is necessary it shall be played Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at the site of the visiting team in the first two games. The committee was advised that the Softball Advisory Committee would like the recommendation to be amended, so that this format could be used for softball region play as well. Concerns expressed by committee members included, loss of time from school, conflict with exam schedules, and requiring host facilities to have lights.
A motion was made to accept the proposal with the following modifications: all three games must be played at the same site; participating teams will alternate as home and away (game 1, host school is home, game 2 host school is visitor, game three will be decided by a coin toss); and the recommendation will remain a two year pilot program. The recommendation was approved 8-0. (Motion: Edwards, Second: Murphy)

SOFTBALL
Jamie Watkins
2006-07 Recommendation #1: Move softball forward by two (2) weeks: The recommendation failed within the Softball Advisory Committee Meeting due to the lack of a motion. The committee discussed the possible calendar changes and was informed that a committee of FHSAA staff would be reviewing this information for all sports. The Athletic Directors Advisory Committee was advised that the Softball Advisory Committee might want to reconsider this recommendation once the FHSAA Calendar is adjusted to the new “start date” if deemed necessary. This recommendation also allowed for warmer weather during the season throughout Florida’s northern region.
2006-2007 Recommendation #2: Apply for a second NFHS Experiment for the pitching distance in softball to remain at 43’. (Motion: Sparkman, Second: Edwards) The recommendation was approved 8-0.

TENNIS
Gary Pigott
2006-07 Recommendation #1: Begin the tennis season two (2) weeks earlier. The tennis season would then begin with baseball, which is one week later than softball. This would lengthen the season and make it comparable to baseball and softball. The recommendation was approved 8-0. (Motion: Edwards, Second: Sparkman)
2006-07 Recommendation #2: Add the district runner-up to the tennis play-off system. A motion to approve with the following amendment was made: all district tournaments must now start on Wednesday. The recommendation was approved 8-0. (Motion: Sparkman, Second: McPadden)

TRACK & FIELD
Shanell Young
2006-07 Recommendation #1: Pay regional meet referees (FHSAA registered) $30 plus $0.60 per mile one-way. (Provision to waive the requirement of contacting a registered track and field official, as meet referee by commissioner’s approval remains intact.) The current policy requires meet referees to register as an FHSAA official, but silent relative to the meet referee’s pay. This recommendation was amended to reflect $50 plus $0.60 per mile at the meeting in September of 2005 by the Athletic Directors and Fast Tracked. A motion to approve was made by Edwards and seconded by Sparkman. The recommendation was approved 8-0.
2006-07 Recommendation #2: Remove the requirement to have numbers on the back of all uniforms. This would cut down on the expense of uniforms, due to the wear and tear on the numbers. The lack of this requirement is a concern to the Athletic Directors Advisory Committee for sportsmanship purposes. A back number helps to identify athletes and a motion to deny was made. The recommendation was denied unanimously. (Motion: Sparkman, Second: Repp)

The Committee was also advised that a sub-committee of Track and Field Advisory Committee Members was currently addressing the idea of an all finals competition. One of the main purposes for considering an all finals competition is to give relief to the competing student-athletes. The current format of the FHSAA State Finals causes participants to compete back to back in many events with no rest. This format does not allow for our competitors to compete at their very best during each event.

WEIGHTLIFTING
Shanell Young
The Weightlifting Advisory Committee did not have enough members present to make a quorum. Therefore, recommendations were not acted upon, only discussed. Key items the Weightlifting Advisory Committee discussed were the use of student-athletes as spotters and adding a class to Boys Weightlifting in order to level the playing field.

SPORTS MEDICINE
Denarvise Thornton
Minutes of the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) were reviewed and discussed. Specific items of interest were: the use of Epi-Pens for allergic reactions, the sterilization of wrestling mats, the 14-day recommended acclimatization period becoming mandatory, and athletic trainers receiving complimentary state tournament passes. There were no recommendations from the SMAC to act upon. Members of the SMAC deemed it unnecessary and impossible to mandate each school to possess an Epi-Pen. The recommendation to sterilize wrestling mats after two (2) rounds was forwarded to the NFHS for their SMAC to review. The FHSAA SMAC felt that the spread of germs and infection was more often caused by person-to-person contact rather than personal contact with the mat. With regard to the 14-day acclimatization period, there is particular interest in a statewide mandate rather than a “recommended” policy. This will help to prevent health risks related to interscholastic athletics. Lastly, it was noted that each team participating in a state series event, receives many complimentary passes to disperse at their discretion. It is recommended that a pass go to an athletic trainer or team doctor, but it is not deemed mandatory since the FHSAA provides medical personnel at State Final contests. Therefore, passes will continue to be given to each team to disperse as they choose.

CHEERLEADING
Jamie Watkins
A brief statement was made regarding the implementation of Competitive Cheerleading as an FHSAA-sanctioned sport.
2006-07 Recommendation #1: The FHSAA sponsor an Invitational State Championship for Competitive Cheerleading the third weekend of January (Week 30). This would give cheerleading squads ample time to prepare their routines safely and not overlap with football or basketball state series contests.
2006-07 Recommendation #2: The FHSAA Cheerleading State Championship includes, but is not limited to the following All-Girl divisions: Small (up to 12 participants), Medium (13-16 participants), Large (17-20 participants) and Extra-Large (21-26 participants). *More divisions (i.e., Co-Ed, non-tumbling, and non-mount, etc.) will be decided upon once the interest of the membership is collected within the FHSAA survey. This recommendation would allow all membership the opportunity to compete on a level playing field.
By a unanimous vote, both recommendations made by the Cheerleading Advisory Panel were tabled to allow FHSAA staff more time to collect pertinent data. (Motion: McPadden, Second: Edwards)

Items of particular interest that were discussed are as follows: cheerleading uniforms and the time it takes to get them, overlapping with other girls sports, following the same guidelines as other sports, football cheerleaders vs. basketball cheerleaders, a specific sport season, the possibility of tying with football which could include a short period in the spring for try-outs, gender equity and additional questions for the survey. Items that the ADAC requested be included in the FHSAA Competitive Cheerleading Survey are as follows: In what month is your squad chosen; What sports does your squad currently cheer for; and In what season would you prefer an FHSAA State Championship?

5. NFHS Coaches Awards. Ms. Forrester advised the committee that nominations were currently being accepted for state, section and national recognition of coaches within each sanctioned sport. The committee was advised that if they or any of their colleagues within their particular section would like to nominate an individual, they should do so as soon as possible. Last year the FHSAA had coaches receive NFHS Section Recognition in five (5) various sports.

6. Open Agenda: Members of the committee discussed the FHSAA State Final payment schedule and expressed concern with softball in particular. The specific concern was that local teams made money by going to state and teams who had to travel lost a great deal of money. The interest by members of the advisory committee was to find a way to evenly split the profits where teams are not making money when others are losing money. Mr. Thornton discussed suggestions submitted to the FHSAA regarding Track & Field Officials and some improvements that could be made from an official’s viewpoint. Items included scheduling district meets on alternate days by class and alternating those days from year to year, scheduling regional meets Tuesday through Thursday and require FHSAA-registered officials at all district and regional meets. These changes would help to cover the meets with officials more efficiently and require all officials to follow the same policies and guidelines.

7. By a unanimous vote, Mr. Colby adjourned the meeting at 11:40 a.m. (Motion: Sparkman, Second: Edwards)