Open Letter to SDHSAA

I sent this letter to the South Dakota High School Activities Association about 3 1/2 years ago. I did not even get an acknowledgement from them. Instead, they chose to make hand checking a "point of emphasis" for about the tenth year in a row. I guess they thought I'd go away if they ignored me.

To whom it may concern:

I have announced boys and girls basketball games at Chamberlain High School since 1991. I have also been a fan and a parent of a high school basketball going back even further.

I have announced and observed over six hundred high school basketball games over the past 22 years. Most of those were viewed from the scorer's table.

I have seen different "points of emphasis" passed down by the South Dakota High School Activities Association. The enforcement of most of these campaigns typically falls on the officials. In most cases, the officials emphasize the rule in question, they get a bunch of negative feedback from the crowds and eventually the "point of emphasis" goes away.

While I understand the sentiment behind most of these efforts, (to make the game easier to officiate in some way) I am always skeptical of these campaigns because I do not believe the game is "broken" and needs to be fixed.

For some time now, I have felt that players need to do a better job of “checking in” to the ball game. The manner in which most players report falls between plopping down near the scorers table and slapping the table.

In order to make the official scorer’s job easier, players should be required to report their number and the number of the player for whom they are replacing. The scorer is responsible for tracking the quarters each player plays. Additionally, each facility should have a prominent "X" on the floor in front of the official scorer so players know to whom they are to report.

Coaches could spend five minutes at the beginning of the season discussing the proper way to check in to a game. After that, if a player does not properly report to the scorer’s table, he or she will not be acknowledged until he or she does so.

Both the official scorer and the scoreboard operator would benefit from this practice. It is not unusual for four or five players to be reporting in to the game while an official is calling a foul. The scorer could note the players entering the game prior to the chaos of foul reporting and substitution. Sometimes a player is sitting close to a coach discussing strategy as he or she awaits a break and the official scorer or scoreboard operator doesn't know he or she wants to enter the game because the player either did not report or did a poor job of reporting to the scorer.

I strongly encourage the SDHSAA to consider this issue as a "point of emphasis". I believe it would improve the flow of the game at the scorers table. I encourage the SDHSAA to canvas scorers and scoreboard operators to see if they feel their responsibilities would be easier. I feel certain those officials would agree.

Respectfully yours,

Doug Knust

I wish everyone could see the process up close. It would be very simple to fix this. If a player did not check in correctly, he or she would not enter the game until they did.

It's pretty easy to be cynical when it comes to the SDHSAA. I have seen some pretty damn dumb rules come from them. But this letter was written sincerely and with a desire to improve the process. I thought it would at least be deserving of a reply.

I guess not. They were too busy looking for socks that were too long or a head band that was the wrong color!