IHSAA Moratorium Discussion and High School Participation
Recently, the Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc. Board of Directors rejected a proposal that would have mandated IHSAA member schools to institute a second moratorium week of their choosing, whereby member school coaching staffs would have no contact with student athletes during the time period defined as summer. A lively and spirited discussion transpired citing the positives and negatives of such legislation. Given the diversity of the conversation and a lack of solidarity on this topic, the proposal was defeated, yet significant concerns are harbored by both the Board and the IHSAA staff regarding summer participation.
Your Association staff continues to receive feedback from parents and student athletes regarding the offerings provided by member schools during the summer. Concerns are not grounded in the types of opportunities being presented yet the frequency by which these activities are scheduled. The IHSAA Student Advisory Committee has also discussed this topic in detail and when confronted with the question of adding a second moratorium week, a small majority favored the proposal. Additionally, while the by-laws provide that activities offered in the summer are voluntary in nature (See Rule 15-3), there is increasing pressure being exerted by coaches upon student athletes to attend said activities and the notion that a failure to attend these sessions may effect participation on the school team is also growing.
While the Board chose not to mandate a second moratorium week for the entire membership, it is still within the discretion of a member school to institute a period of time during the summer that contact between coaches and student athletes is restricted or prohibited. In reality, many member schools have voluntarily chosen to institute additional moratorium time within the summer in an effort to address this concern.
As you plan ahead to this summer and years to follow, I would encourage you as a school community to carefully examine this topic and reassess the needs of your student athletes and their parents. In some cases, your research will support your current levels of programming while in other environments; you may discover a reduction of involvement might be appropriate. Whatever your conclusions reveal, it is with sincere optimism that the physical, mental and emotional well-being of our student athletes is paramount in your deliberations and that competitive desires are ancillary to the primary consideration.
Sincerely,
Bobby Cox
Commissioner
Indiana High School Athletic Association, Inc.