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So not like any other season, I have heard of a few players, from high profile commits to role players, getting in trouble or being placed in treatment programs/DUI's/ etc.. How do or should these be handled by the programs/HS league? Do off-season out of school issues face consequences? I am not looking to throw anyone under the bus, but curious what is/should be done, or how you guys feel it should be dealt with?

PuckNA wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 2:10 pm So not like any other season, I have heard of a few players, from high profile commits to role players, getting in trouble or being placed in treatment programs/DUI's/ etc.. How do or should these be handled by the programs/HS league? Do off-season out of school issues face consequences? I am not looking to throw anyone under the bus, but curious what is/should be done, or how you guys feel it should be dealt with?

Every high school athlete signs contract that they will not use chemicals (including tobacco for 18 year old). If a high schooler is caught using a chemical by the police, it is automatically reported to the school district, and then they are required to sit the athlete out for 2 game/2 weeks for first offense. I don’t remember the exact numbers but it gets significantly longer for 2nd and 3rd offenses. If it happens in the off-season they must sit out in the first season they participate in. That’s why winter athletes go out for cross country in the fall if they had an offense in the summer. They serve their suspension in a sport they don’t really care about anyhow. An additional loophole here is private schools where the player lives outside the community. Oftentimes offenses do not get reported to the private schools.

So I would guess another loophole is if parent puts them in a facility, without getting "caught"?

PuckNA wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 2:29 pm So I would guess another loophole is if parent puts them in a facility, without getting "caught"?

I believe so, yes.

ThatMNHockeyGuy62 wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 2:20 pm

PuckNA wrote: ↑Fri Aug 09, 2019 2:10 pm So not like any other season, I have heard of a few players, from high profile commits to role players, getting in trouble or being placed in treatment programs/DUI's/ etc.. How do or should these be handled by the programs/HS league? Do off-season out of school issues face consequences? I am not looking to throw anyone under the bus, but curious what is/should be done, or how you guys feel it should be dealt with?

Every high school athlete signs contract that they will not use chemicals (including tobacco for 18 year old). If a high schooler is caught using a chemical by the police, it is automatically reported to the school district, and then they are required to sit the athlete out for 2 game/2 weeks for first offense. I don’t remember the exact numbers but it gets significantly longer for 2nd and 3rd offenses. If it happens in the off-season they must sit out in the first season they participate in. That’s why winter athletes go out for cross country in the fall if they had an offense in the summer. They serve their suspension in a sport they don’t really care about anyhow. An additional loophole here is private schools where the player lives outside the community. Oftentimes offenses do not get reported to the private schools.

I believe it goes to 6 games/6 weeks for 2nd offenses and 12 games/12 weeks for 3rd offenses

Interesting how some of the worst kept secrets, get hidden away year after year... think we all want kids to do/be their best, but think a lot of programs look away if the kid isn't "caught", especially if a talented player. Yeah coaches need to win, but it should be life lessons more so, accountability.

I believe each school can enforce greater standards.

I know of schools that are very strict in this regard - public and private.

As a retired AD let me shed some light on this. In today's day and age it is extremely hard to prove that a student has committed a violation. Unless you have a citation issued from a law enforcement agency. The other scenario is if a student gets caught with a controlled substance on school property.
Parents today will do almost anything to keep their kid eligible. The hardest offense to enforce today is vaping. I would say 90% of HS students have vaped at least once and the new vaping machines look like a USB drive. Administrators in the school districts are very touchy about this also they tend to lean on the side of leniency instead of enforcement of the penalties. Two scenarios I had happen in my career. One at the beginning and one towards the end. I saw a young man smoking as he was driving out of the school parking lot. He was a football player. The next day I called him into my office and together we called his parents. I sat there totally stunned as he told his parents on the phone that what I saw was a straw. I stood my ground
and had the principal over rule me. Towards the end of my career a female was turned in because of pictures on social media that were turned in anonymously to our office. After conducting the investigation basically the person was guilty as OJ. The parents had a meeting with myself and the principal claiming that the pictures were photo shopped and the student accused was at home that Saturday night watching movies with the family.
I stuck to my guns again and once again the principal over ruled me. Times have changed from the days when parents held their kids accountable.
Since I retired some of my close friends that are AD's have told me scenarios like the two I described have be come the norm instead of the exception to the norm.

Mnnstar, thanks for sharing. Completely missing a teachable moment. Props to you for fighting the good fight, even if it isn't a winnable war.

minnstar thanks for fighting the good fight. Our AD has given up. Our coach drinks regularly on the bench. Parents have complained, but the AD always takes the coach's side. Families that bring this up, there player never sees the light of day on varsity again.

goaliedad31 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 3:47 pm minnstar thanks for fighting the good fight. Our AD has given up. Our coach drinks regularly on the bench. Parents have complained, but the AD always takes the coach's side. Families that bring this up, there player never sees the light of day on varsity again.

Drinks alcohol on the bench? I think with everyone having a camera now days that would of been on social media by now,
I find that hard to believe that the coach can get away with that and the AD looks the other way.

Crusty wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 8:23 am

goaliedad31 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 3:47 pm minnstar thanks for fighting the good fight. Our AD has given up. Our coach drinks regularly on the bench. Parents have complained, but the AD always takes the coach's side. Families that bring this up, there player never sees the light of day on varsity again.

Drinks alcohol on the bench? I think with everyone having a camera now days that would of been on social media by now,
I find that hard to believe that the coach can get away with that and the AD looks the other way.

I'm assuming he's being a little discreet and probably not knocking back a Budweiser without a koozie

Seeing some of the personnel decisions on some benches I think it's an issue that is way more wide spread !!!!

Crusty wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 8:23 am

goaliedad31 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 11, 2019 3:47 pm minnstar thanks for fighting the good fight. Our AD has given up. Our coach drinks regularly on the bench. Parents have complained, but the AD always takes the coach's side. Families that bring this up, there player never sees the light of day on varsity again.

Drinks alcohol on the bench? I think with everyone having a camera now days that would of been on social media by now,
I find that hard to believe that the coach can get away with that and the AD looks the other way.

I agree. Highly doubt any AD would allow a coach to continue coaching if they’re known to be drinking alcohol while on bench.