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Friday, August 1, 2008
Ties should be thing of the past
Western Arkansas, AR
By: Nate Olson
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Photo(s) By: submitted
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Coaches have power to change rule in nonconference games
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“You know you get paid when you win,” Lee said. “Whether that’s fair or unfair that’s the world we live in. The feeling in the locker room would have been much better if we had scored more than them. It all depends on the situation before the game.”
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The Van Buren coaches’ spin job didn’t take. Former coach Chris Hill and his staff tried to convince their beleagured club a 21-21 nonconferene home tie against Mountain Home last fall was the same as a win.
“Once we got in the locker room and in film session the next day we tried to create that mindset,” said first-year Van Buren coach Mike Lee, who served as an assistant the past two seasons. “We stressed the positives and tried to hedge the tie into a win any way we could.”
After finishing 2-8 in 2006, the Pointers craved success. A win over Mountain Home would have given Van Buren a 2-1 record and more confidence, heading into the 7A-West slate.
“You know you get paid when you win,” Lee said. “Whether that’s fair or unfair that’s the world we live in. The feeling in the locker room would have been much better if we had scored more than them. It all depends on the situation before the game.” Mountain Home, a 6A school, came in here and tied a 7A school. I’m sure they were feeling pretty good, especially after we beat them pretty good (at Mountain Home) the year before.”
The 2007 season saw an inordinate number of ties, including a rivalry game between Central Arkansas Christian and Pulaski Academy and Bryant at Fort Smith Southside. Coaches involved agreed the rule should be changed.
Ironically, most coaches didn’t know the origin of the rule or when it went into effect. Some coaches speculated the rule protected players from playing long games in the heat of the summer.
The theory was close. Arkansas Activities assistant executive director Wadie Moore said the rule changed by the early 1980s because “coaches were concerned about injuries,” Moore said. There has been little discussion about the rule until the past few years when marquee games were affected.
Moore emphasized the rule isn’t a mandate from the AAA. Coaches voted for the rule, and they can vote to change it. The process involves the rule change being proposed at a district meeting and is reviewed by the governing body at the summer workshop, and then on the ballot.
“The reason I would like to do it is because you have to do it in the conference,” Fort Smith Southside coach Jeff Williams said. “Nonconference puts your kids in situations to prepare for the conference. In the conference, you line up and play to win.”
Other coaches will support the change, especially if the trend continues this season. The fear of injury has been replaced by the lack of closure a tie provides. Most coaches would rather lose in overtime than be saddled by an extra number in the third column of the standings. Overtime makes for excitement for fans and players. It needs to be a part of the nonconference season.
“It’s an empty feeling,” Lee said. “Definitely an empty feeling. I think we fell short of convincing (the players) that it was a positive. They had a big empty feeling and couldn’t shake it.”
Hopefully, coaches can worry about what plays to run in overtime and not how to navigate players through an awkward situaton.
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