By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.9, December 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0909/bbrage.htm
Although efforts have been made nationwide to enhance the spectator experience at volleyball matches, a recent measure by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) actually brought silence to the court this fall. Off the court, however, it elicited an uproar among high school coaches.
In an effort to support the National Federation of State High School Associations' (NFHS) point of emphasis on good sportsmanship and standards of conduct, the WIAA announced in early August that organized cheers from team benches would be prohibited beginning with the 2001 season.
The initial announcement was made during the WIAA's preseason rules meetings, which all high school coaches attend. Although the WIAA withheld elaboration on the measure until the August 31 edition of The WIAA Bulletin, Karen Kuhn, WIAA Associate Director in charge of volleyball, indicated at the meeting that organized cheering and cheers that included slapping or stomping on the floor would be interpreted as a violation of NFHS Rule 12. In addition, bench players would be required to remain seated at all times. Violations would result in a team penalty.
"This is an effort to make sure there is positive, not negative, cheering on the court and sidelines," Kuhn told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the days after the initial announcement. "This [rule] is an evaluative measure. Volleyball has been very good, but some cracks have begun to form, and we just want to take care of those cracks before they become crevasses."
But coaches disagreed and were immediately concerned with how broadly the measure was worded. "The rule was introduced as saying cheering was going to be de facto unsporting conduct," says Ted Schulte, Head Coach at Catholic Memorial High School in Waukesha. "Any organized cheers, anything on the part of the bench that included standing up, was, by definition, unsporting and would be sanctioned. And that is saying players can't compliment their own teammates when they do well. That seemed ludicrous."
Schulte wasn't alone. Soon coaches from around the state were sending letters to the WIAA and the state coaches' association to share their concerns. And though many coaches supported maintaining good sportsmanship in principle, most argued that there wasn't a problem grave enough to merit such a dramatic response.
But those at the WIAA insist that the measure isn't a new rule, rather a clarification of the NFHS' Rule 12 on conduct. Nor is it an effort to single out volleyball.
"The WIAA, in all sports, continues its commitment to increase the awareness and importance of good sportsmanship by identifying concerns and stopping actions which do not [emanate] good behavior," explains Kuhn. "The WIAA has already placed similar guidelines in other sports. For instance, in ice hockey, players can't use the 'Sieve' cheer, and in basketball, players can't head-butt, body-butt, or chest-up."
But under pressure from coaches to relax the interpretation, the WIAA compromised and twice announced new rules. On August 31 and then again on September 21, new wording was released to coaches and officials.
The revised guidelines once again allow players on the floor to huddle and do an "Ace" or "Roof" cheer after a point or side-out, provided it doesn't delay the next service. But they are not allowed to slap or stomp the floor as part of any cheers.
Guidelines governing bench players, however, are still strict. Clapping and organized cheers are okay, as long as they are not negative. But bench players must remain seated except to react spontaneously to an outstanding play or greet a replaced player. In both cases, bench players must immediately sit back down. In addition, bench players may not stand or step toward the court during a cheer or response to a good play, or run the length of the bench to slap hands with other bench teammates.
Even with the compromises on what is permissible, coaches say the new cheering rules are a challenge on game days. "Momentum is probably the most important element of volleyball," says Cindy Stuckey, Head Coach at Divine Savior Holy Angels High School in Milwaukee. "And momentum is destroyed by the inability to cheer.
"In addition, the bench has a very limited way to stay motivated and involved in the game," she continues. "As coaches, we spend a lot of time trying to motivate our bench to cheer and stay in every point of the game. So to remove that function from them almost makes them as much of a spectator as the fans."
Schulte claims the guidelines have also impacted game atmosphere for the worse. "Parents and fans don't lead cheers," he says. "If the kids on the bench get a little raucous when the team starts doing well, that gets picked up by the fans in the stands. Since we were well into the season by the time we received the final clarifications, we developed a pattern of not cheering. And I think, as a result, a lot of teams tend to be much quieter. The rule has not affected how the game is played. But I think it has cheated the kids out of part of the experience."
Looking at the larger picture, Schulte believes the complications that arose over this issue indicate that sportsmanship cannot be easily legislated. "Officials have always had the authority to control the bench," he explains. "But the WIAA tried to write all these rules to say what is and isn't sporting conduct, and you can't possibly address every variation.
"It's like the Supreme Court trying to define obscenity," he continues. "They said, 'We may be trying to define the undefinable.' And the same is true of sportsmanship."