Be Careful When Streamlining Rule Books

[Reginald Rutledge]

you're just gonna have to know when to let some things go.

Here's the bottom line I think on this. Simply pat the ref on the shoulder and tell him, this man is eligible. Inform the other team in accordance as well. That alleviates all the ill-will/heart-feelings that can come from much ado about nothing!

The game is played. A miscommunication has occurred but at the end of the day, it is the coaches responsibility to make the official aware of everything. The official has his hands full when he is trying to operate clocks, handle stats, and try to bring TV coverage to people across the country.

You played well. Barry played well. Controversial calls happen! Judgment calls happen. But you got to appreciate guys willing to drive 4-5 hours to play and officiate and try to keep that camaraderie rolling along. I know any of us would do it for each other. So let's congrats those OU Sooners for beating the #3 team in the country and move on.

Who do you have to play next?

Reg

[The Rookie]

I believe that I have let it go.

I didnt start this thread and said that there was a miscommunication plus added that Mike was very busy and just didnt here me .

In reguards to the rules I have said only that you should not ( IN THE future next year) have to even say that he is a eligible reciever and if you throw to him and hit him it will be a foul.

If you want to throw to him then call him eligilble.

This is only my take.

I told Barry during the game many times good play and that he did a good job after the game.

At the time it was very frustrating.

[mozeek]

I guess there is a whole part of this that some of us are missing?

[sweetka]

Originally Posted by The Rookie

I agree with you also to a degree

I had told him 2 times in the same series right before that play that he heard .

In the end it is my problem because it effected me very much.

I had just hit a 3rd and 20 my back was behind the secondary and runs stright and true. the score was 10-6 Barry .

You just hate after many hours of work to have the game change on an officals call that I THINK WAS A VERBAL MISCOMMUNICATION ON MIKES PART>
I told Mike later on my headstone you will read "I SAID IT YOU DID NOT HERE IT"

Very frustrating.

It is not even a rule that you have to declare a lineman eligible.


But I am the only one that s knows it.

Losses have a profound way of making you understand things about your team, and yourself. The question is what should you do with YOUR TEAM to ensure it doesn't happen. Now matter what communication is two way. What if Mike, and I am not defending him, said you never said anything? Sender + receiver+ acknowledgement from receiver=two way communication. If that did not happen then share the blame, correct your team, then move on.

Regarding the rules? If a man spent countless years to cover every nuance of a ruleset through various corrections of controversial or techinical discrepancies in the past, then it should take an equal amount of time to streamline them.

Just my thouhgts.

[eflfanatic]

I have to agree with Reggie's first post that started this thread. You have to be careful when streamling rules. As the chairman of the MFCA rules committee, I make it a point to read and study all available rule sets for playing the game. Some are very good and some leave way too much open which some coaches will use to their advantage. (I am quilty of that myself).

When writing rules you try to cover every situation, but inevitably something will get missed or left out.

Most people who play the game are familiar with the rules of football but it takes more explananiton to describe all the differnet ways that people have come up with to play electric football.

Many rule sets include statements such as the following:


RULE #1: Just because the rules do not say you can not do it, that does not mean you can do it. It is humanly impossible to have every possible scenario covered in text. If the rules do not say you can specifically do it then you can not do it unless you get prior and specific permission to do so before trying to implement it on the playing field. Anything not covered in the rules will be handled by the officials within the spirit of the rules.

or some similar disclaimer statement.

Again there's no way to cover every situation but you also have to know the rules you are playing under. I have seen too many coaches come to play a game and haven't even read the rules.

In my opinion this is just another argument for the need for a universal or one rule set.

[The Rookie]

Kenny
I dont know if I understand what your intent is fully but I said in the third like of what you copyed

In the end it is my problem because it effected me very much.

I have to live with it and make out of it what I can.

Me and Mike talked to 4:00Am Sun. night .
It was good for me to talk with him about the situation we are good and my take was I saifd it : He did not here me -

It all falls on me in the long run . End of story

[Reginald Rutledge]

for Shootout gameplay.

The difference is very minute in that it needs to be further enhanced for pro play and college play. That is being done before your very eyes by the discussions shown. For instance, we now know there is a difference in the "Tackle Eligible scenario between high school, college, and pro."

Just by your experience, it better serves the good of the game. I have lost some games in the past as the "experimental guinea pig" that came up on the short end of the stick of a call that I felt was unjustified! It happens to all of us.

But the rules are universal (that we play under) because I know I use these rules for the BAM, when I go to LA, in the DFW, or in the CBSMF or more importantly, in my solitaire league. So for me, these are my universal rules.

In other styles of play, they've got their universal ruleset too. Been in the game WAY TOO LONG to know what you are speaking of will never happen. So I play with what has been best entertaining for me over the course of time.

Reg

[sweetka]

Effective communication was probably the cause of the problem, it happens.

Streamlining rules is a long, delicate process. You first have to understand why the rule was put in place, what circumstances precipitated the need for the rule, then determine what language will satisfy that criteria with less wording. It takes a great deal of time and research. Plain and Simple.

We have policies and procedures where I work. The policies outline the requirements and are based upon, in my line of work, over 100 years of situations and circumstances.

Procedures basically detail how the objectives are to be met. These are basically the "how to". They are revised yearly based upon changes in the policy.

Sometimes a situation may come up during the year whereby the procedure needs to be clarified before the yearly revision. So, a memorandum is added temporarily until they can be incorporated when the procedure is revised.

Notice I didn't take anything away? It is because rules, and I have said this before, are built upon the same principles. There is a reason for them. If that reason is not understood then you go back in years when they are removed.

There is a difference in streamlining, ie, using more effective terminology, and change, ie, removing items catergorically. We need to clarify whether things were streamlined, or simply removed.

In looking back I didn't know this was about a game. I thought it was just a rules discussion. I miscommunicated, I should read more carefully. It happens. Sorry.

[Reginald Rutledge]

nothing wrong with Doug's team. They looked very good! It just comes down to someone has to lose and someone has to win. On that day, the Oklahoma Sooners were the better team.

I hope no one thinks they are not suppose to lose! I would definitely say if I felt that I am not suppose to lose, I probably should not be playing with anyone else. Half of winning is losing!

Doug, I am not saying that about you but I just know we (as a whole) read our own "press clippings" and think this is "life or death" to have a questionable call go against us. It's like our very existence depends on that call.

It's great that we've got this testosterone thing working and the "wolfin'" but we've got to also understand that the other team put in work too. I am guilty of that.

The rulebook is not the problem. Just put in your work. Don't walk up in a game thinking that other coach is just gonna lay down and let you win. And in the name of fairplay, just acknowledge a guy beat you on that given day.

Hey Doug, I thought we were gonna see Rookie 2.0 Version this year???

You told me you would not be Rookie 1.0 Version from 2009? Knowing you the way I do, I know you could not hold up for an entire 2010!!!!

I am praying I can hold it together for Reg Version 17.0!!!! I've been swearing to be a better person and coach for so long and some knucklehead like an RJ always bring out the worst in me! If I falter from Reg 17.0, you've got every right to remind me!!!

[sweetka]

I wouldn't know Reg. You stop cracking on Doug at my expense.

Seriously Reginald,

What's up man!

That camera is off the chain dude.