By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.7, October 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0907/bbchanges.htm
The ongoing fuss surrounding softball bats should come to an end this season, as both high school and college softball fully implement previously approved bat standards. Over the past two years, the NCAA and the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) each adopted the bat standards used by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA), but delayed complete implementation of the standards until the 2002 season.
NFHS rules state that all bats must now carry a permanent ASA certification mark. Previously, NFHS rules contained a grandfather clause that allowed bats meeting the ASA performance standards, yet missing the certification mark, to be used. That clause will no longer be in effect after January 1, 2002.
Under NCAA rules, bats must carry the ASA certification seal or be on the list of approved bats, which can be found on the ASA's Web site at www.softball.org. (Use the "About the ASA"link to find the certified equipment section.) The list includes bats from 19 manufacturers.
The NCAA is making bat compliance one of its primary points of emphasis for the upcoming season. "We want to verify that the equipment in our game is readily available to all teams and within the rules,"NCAA Rules Committee Chair and former Northwestern University Head Coach Sharon Drysdale told The NCAA News. "We will have to work out the details to make the compliance program effective, but I think it is a necessary step to ensure fairness."
The Rules Committee is keeping an open mind when it comes to finding ways to best enforce adherence to the new bat rules. For example, it has been looking at a bat-sharing rule that would require both teams to use one common bat rack during games. "We are going to continue to consider bat-sharing while we pursue the bat compliance concept,"Drysdale said.
The 2002 college season also marks the debut of the ball compression standard that was initially approved in 1999. In addition to meeting existing rules governing size, weight, and coefficient of restitution, balls must now have a maximum compression of 350 pounds, plus or minus 50 pounds.
Changes were also announced involving catchers' helmets for both high school and college players. Effective January 2003, both the NFHS and NCAA will require that catchers'helmets and masks be approved by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). The NOCSAE evaluation program includes testing both the top and sides of the helmet, meaning that all helmets must have double ear flaps. As a result, skull caps will no longer be allowed after the 2002 season.
The biggest change in the NFHS playing rules for 2002 involve substitutions. All players will now be permitted one re-entry to the game, provided they return to the same spot they previously occupied in the batting order. The previous rules limited re-entry to starters. In addition, a team that has gone shorthanded can insert another eligible player into the empty space in the line-up upon her arrival. A full list of the NFHS rules changes can be found at www.nfhs.org/sports/softball_rules_change.htm.
The NCAA Rules Committee made several changes to the playing rules effective with the start of the 2002 season. These changes will be reflected in the 2002 NCAA Softball Rules Book, which is expected to be available in December. Among the most important changes:
€ Pitchers will now have 10 seconds to release a pitch after receiving the ball. The previous rule allowed 20 seconds before release.
€ The DEFO (defense only) has been renamed the 10th player to eliminate confusion since she is no longer limited to playing defense.
€ A coach must attend the pregame meeting instead of any team representative. In addition, the time of the meeting has been changed from five minutes before the game to sometime prior to the game, and all warmup activity must be stopped during the meeting.
A full list of the changes to the NCAA rules, including editorial changes, may be viewed on the NCAA's Web site at www.ncaa.org/champadmin/softball.
In other NCAA developments, the Division I Softball Committee is preparing for the possibility of an increased tournament field by recommending that, beginning in 2003, the eight regional sites be determined two weeks prior to the tournament. Currently, regional sites are announced when the playoff field is determined the week before the tournament begins. A proposal to expand the bracket from 48 to 64 teams is currently before the Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet.
"The Committee believes that in order to be fiscally responsible, we need to assist our regional sites with as much planning time as possible,"said Kathy Orban, Committee Chair and Associate Athletic Director at Western Illinois University, in The NCAA News. "With the possibility of eight teams (per regional) after bracket expansion, it becomes even more difficult to reserve hotel rooms and pull the regional together with such short notice. We thought with predetermined sites, we could help our hosts put together a quality event and get the word out."
The Division II Softball Committee has recommended adjusting the criteria used to select teams for its tournament in order to put more emphasis on regional competition and better reward teams playing difficult schedules. The proposals will go to the Division II Championships Committee for consideration, and if approved, would be effective for the 2002 season.
In Division III, coaches not turning in score report forms to members of their regional advisory committee and all regional committee chairs next season will face a $150 fine for late or absent forms. The fine is already written into the rules, but has not been enforced in the past.
"As a committee, we felt it is the responsibility of an NCAA member to report the scores to the regional committees,"said Gretchen Weitbrecht, Division III Softball Committee Chair and Head Coach at John Carroll University, in The NCAA News. "For us to be as accurate as possible [in selecting teams for the NCAA tournament], we need to have this information. It just makes our jobs more efficient and worthwhile. We want people to know how important this is, even if they don't believe they are in the running for a championship berth."