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i have a question. in ohio if you are ineligible for the regular season, are you still able to participate in scrimmages? i looked on the ohsaa website and couldnt find anything. thanks in advance

Why in the world would a coach play a player who is not eligable for the regular season in a scrimmage. only makes sense if you can't play thru the season you cant play in scrimmages. I know for a fact that a coach can be suspended for his conduct in a scrimmage.

ask south points new coach. 2 ineligible players played in the last scrimmage, when 3 eligible players didnt even dress. its been awhile since ive been in high school, but i thought if you didnt have grades you werent allowed to dress, you had to sit on the bench? maybe things have changed since then, but those were my thoughts why play people who cant help you during regular season?

might ask ironton's coach.... i think he's done the same with one this year.....understandable maybe with so many who were still playing football

I don't know the answer to that question but the players who are ineligible due to grades will be eligible from the first week in January provided they make the grades. SO IF they are eligible for half the season I would assume they get to practrice but just can't play in a game until then.

I know that Clay had kids who were ineligible because of grades but they practiced with the team all year so that when their next grading period came in, they were ready to play. I am sure Portsmouth had football players who did the same thing. So, I believe you can practice with the team but you just can't play in games. Only make sense, why make a kid sit out completely if they transfer or have a bad grading period.

i know you can practice if your ineligible, but i wasnt sure if you could play in a scrimmage? its not considered a real game so i was unsure.

Most schools and most sports I know use ineligible players in practice if they want to play and whenever they become eligible they can play. I know of Chillicothe kids who have done this recently in football and basketball. Last Year one basketball player practiced all season and then began playing in January. I do not know if he played in preseason scrimmages although I assumed at the time that he did. A football player before that practiced all season and played his first game of the season in the playoffs. I also know of a Centerville athlete(who now plays at WVU) who did the same thing a few years ago.

I don't understand the mentality of people who think it is wrong to let a kid practice and scrimmage if they are ineligible. Some kids struggle with grades and have rough home lives. You can't imagine what it's like to have drug addicted parents, bouncing from place to place or being left with Grandparents. For some of these kids, sports is the only structured part of their lives, but many will say "Tough luck" and want them out. It is supposed to be about the kids.

my2cents wrote:I don't understand the mentality of people who think it is wrong to let a kid practice and scrimmage if they are ineligible. Some kids struggle with grades and have rough home lives. You can't imagine what it's like to have drug addicted parents, bouncing from place to place or being left with Grandparents. For some of these kids, sports is the only structured part of their lives, but many will say "Tough luck" and want them out. It is supposed to be about the kids.

I agree! Sports are the only motivation some kids have to make the grades and get their education. I know this from experience as a coach. When not in the sport that they want to play, grades suffer, but when that motivation of making the grades or you will not be able to participate in games is put in, the kids work harder.

I had a kid one year that was going through an extremely difficult time at home and really was struggling with their grades before the season. This player was ruled ineligible because of the poor start to school and had to sit out for 9 weeks. I decided to keep the kid on the team because I knew if I didn't, they probably would have never made the grades. Sports kept this kid's grades up because they loved to play so much. Now, a few years later, this kid is doing really well in school. I like to think that me keeping this kid really helped bring them through the tough times they were going through at the time. I hate to think what would have happened if I would have kicked them off the team.

Kids are lucky to have coaches like you who care more about them than the game. I know of a kid who moved into a homeless shelter with his mother because he was concerned about her addiction to drugs. Because of this situation, he wasn't able to make some practices and decided to quit the team. He later realized that he still wanted to play but the coaches wouldn't let him come back. I think after talking to them about his situation and what he had to go thru to even get to practice, they now are ashamed of their decision, but it's too late. To all the coaches out there, there are some good kids in some really bad situations. Take time to find out the underlying reasons before making rash decisions. Things are not like they were when you were in school.

gahs4ever wrote:Im sure at least in part the local school has some discretionary say in this. At Gallia Academy if you are not eligible at the start of the season, you will not be playing that sport that year if you gain your eligibilty back in mid season, and if you think about it, how fair is it to the kids who kept their grades up and had practiced and played all year long to take a back seat to someone who hadnt in mid season?

I AGREE EVERY KID GOOD OR BAD KNOWS AT THE START OR MIDDLE OF THE SCHOOL YEAR THAT IF THEY WANT TO PLAY SPORTS THEY HAVE TO KEEP UP THIER GRADES. SCHOOL SHOULD COME 1st NOT SPORTS,SOME OF THESE STUDENTS ARE YOUNG ADULTS AND ITS TIME TO START GROWING UP.

Some students figure out early on just exactly when they need to buckle down and get the grades. Just like some are always hurt during conditioning but are ready when the games begin. Seems odd after watching this happen for so many years. I'm sure we have all witnessed it.

There are many young people who have very difficult lives. I do want to give credit to the coaches and teachers who help them. THANK YOU! Seeing these things day in and day out must be very difficult.

4ever, I disagree. If a kid can come in midway thru the season and cause ANY player to take a backseat then he must be very deserving of the opportunity and downright a better player. I am sure he would have to begin at the bottom and work his way up to earn PT. And I certainly agree with kids being involved and staying close to the program if not academically eligible or in other situations, any coach wearing blinders to reality should feel very shameful, these are kids!!!!

As a coach, two things you always want to do are to start the year off strong and intimidate the rest of the league. The two ineligible players were probably better than the other 3 that you said didn't dress. Even though the two won't play in the actual season, killing the other team in a scrimmage gets you pumped up and also intimidates your future opponents.