News from Idaho, where a coach was suspended after a series of violent plays .
Highland High School has a star player named Taysom Hill, who will play football at Stanford next year. Hill is the quarterback, and handles kickoffs for Highland as well.
Pocatello High School, in response to Hill being everywhere, decided to dedicate a player on the kickoff-return team to simply knock the snot out of Hill as he was kicking off. It happened several times during the game, though Hill fortunately wasn't injured.
Here's the video of one such play:
Pocatello was never flagged on any of the plays. Should they have been?
if that play is legal, then they need to change the rules. It's the equivalent of hitting a punter after the kick is made, and why they have penalities for it. The refs need to protect the player!! If the coaches were smart, which the play shows they are not, they would've had their player wait til the kid was in the mix and the put the block on. My son plays pop warner, and i assist as a coach, I would NEVER allow that type of playing. Coaches should be teaching team playing and sportsmenship, not how to be a dirty player.
once blame the player twice blame the coaches and team mates, three times credit the other team and fire the coaches and cut the team mates that fail to protect there own! you don't like this, tennis is a good sport' enjoy. anyway NO LEAGLE BLOCK IS DIRTY!!! STOP MAKING RULES TO PUSSAFY THE LAST REMAINING BASTION OF AMERICAN PASSAGE. unless you like rodeo!
The key here is that the play is NOT legal. The player delivering the blow is clearly across the line (10 yards from the kick) when the ball is kicked. That's why the hit is so bad; the kicker is dangerously exposed. If the hitter had been onside, the kicker would have had time to protect himself or avoid the hit, and it wouldn't seem so bad. It may or may not be justified to suspend the coach, but if the referee had done his job, the issue might have been avoided.
Ok, the play is illegal. The player crossing the line is boader line to being offsides at the kick. This is very hard for the line official at the receivers line to see both the receivers line and the kickoff at the same time, so it will get missed, BUT...... The kickers line official missed the fact that the kicker is afforded protection as a kciker and can not be "roughed" or "blocked" until he either regains his footing and moves into a defensive stance. Also, it is illegal to "Charge into or throw an opponent to the ground after he is obviously out of the play...." Finally, it is also illegal to "Make contact with an opponent which is deemed unnecessary and which incites roughness."
Each of these discriptions are directly out of a 2009 football officials hand book and since I am a football official (granted only highschool and I like it that way) these types of cheap shots at defenseless players is , unsportsman like, uncalled for and is childish. Rather than attempting to counter or defend against a strong player, teams will simple try to knock a player out of the game, usually due to a lack of charater of the losing coach or team. These young men are being taught to win at any cost, even if you have to cheat or perform under handed tactics.
I am pleased that the coach was suspended. This behavior has no place in organized sports. This young men are still someones child and this is only a game.
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