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| 2009 |
| THE PRESS RULE 12/11/2008 One of the most confusing rules to fans, players and coaches alike is the press rule. We follow the same press rule as the Wood County Elementary School League does. It's in our set of rules, but here is a quick explanation: No team may press in the first half, that's easy enough. Now enters the confusion... In the second half of the ballgame, teams are permitted to press as long as the scoreboard does not have a 20 point or greater point differential between the two teams. Once a 20 point differential has been established, NEITHER team is allowed to press. The press may not be reinstituted unless and until the point spread becomes 10 or less. This rule was put in to keep an aggressive, pressing team from running the score up on an opponent. One problem with this rule occurs when the press is not allowed, whether in the first or second half, and a defender remains in the backcourt playing defense. Usually the game is stopped with the ref yealling "no press", and the offense then takes the ball out of bounds. To help keep this from occurring, the refs have the ability to call a technical foul on the defending team who broke the rule. Confusing?? Yep...but that's the rule!! |
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| EQUAL PLAYING TIME 12/15/2008 The way the PBL is set up, each player gets equal playing time with all her fellow teammates during the regular season. To regulate this and also to help the league officials track playing time, each coach is required to leave all 5 of his or her game starters in for the entire first quarter. The lone exception to this is an injury. Getting several fouls called on a player does not allow a coach to left her in the first quarter. A player who starts the game MUST play the entire quarter. The same holds true for the second quarter. Any player who did not start in the first quarter, must start and play the entire second quarter. If a team does not have 10 players for a game, the coach must equally sub in the girls who played the first quarter into the second quarter. Confusing?? It can be, but more than that, it can be a real chore for a coach to keep track of playing time and keep it as even as he or she can. Most coaches rely on their assistant on the bench to track the time. There is a penalty for overplaying a player in a game. The league has the option to sit the player in the next game for the same amount of time they were overplayed. Also, a team that does not play their girls equally faces the possibility of dropping a position in the seeding for the tournament. These penalties are strictly at the discretion of the league directors. Generally they will not be enforced on the first infraction, only after a coach has been warned. This has not been an issue in recent years as all coaches are doing their best to comply. |
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| TOURNEY PLAYING TIME 12/20/2008 Last week we discussed the equal playing time rule. This week we will take a look at the playing time rule for our season-ending tournament. Unlike the regular season, a coach may play who he wants in the tourney games. There is no rule stating that a player must play during a tourney game. That is one of the reasons we institute the so called "5th quarter" rule during the tournament. This is a running clock quarter in which the score does not count towards the actual game. All the players have friends anbd family who attend these games and at least this way they get to take the court for their fans. With that being said, most coaches in the past have really worked their players during the regular season so that they will be able to produce for them in the tournament. It is not at all uncommon to see fourth graders starting tournament games and being very productive. The league has also seen girls who do not get much playing time one year, turn around and be dynamite players the next year. Regardless of your age or grade level, you should spend the regular season showing your coach just what it is that you can add to the team when the all-impotant tournament rolls around!! That is what the regular season is for. |
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| PRACTICE TIME 12/27/2008 One of the most common calls we receive is in regard to practice times for the individual teams. Each team is strictly limited to one practice per week for a maximum of 2 hours. Anything above that is in violation of league rules. Practice time and dates are totally at the discretion of the individuAl coaches. Each coach must find a gym that is available to practice in. Also, they must do so at a time that is convienent for both the coach and the players. Some coaches, depending on their circumstances, practice less than once a week. The important thing to remember here is that the regular season is a time when a smart coach will be using game situations to practice his or her team for the season-ending tournament. Why do we limit practice time? It is simply because we realize that both coaches and players have a lot of stuff going on outside the PBL. This rule keeps all teams on equal footing and creates a situation in which practice should not become a burden. We feel all our coaches are doing their very best to commit to the players and the league. Hopefully this will all pay off in the emd by having a very competitive tournament! |