The American Southwest Conference received some good news last week when the Division III Management Council gave its support for allowing walkthrough sessions during the opening days of pre-season football practice. The ASC along with the Empire 8 and the New Jersey Athletic Conference all sponsored this legislation for the 2010 NCAA Convention in Atlanta.
The proposal will allow Division III schools to have walkthroughs-consisting of daily one hour instructional periods during the five day acclimatization period without helmets, pads or conditioning activities. Last year the proposal failed to make it to the convention floor as several committees expressed their concern over the safety factor of having walkthroughs during the hottest time of the year. Now with an additional year of research and the expected support of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, the proposal will go to the convention floor in January.
I hope the proposal will pass, because I think this is a good way for our coaches to get some additional opportunities to work with our student-athletes in a safe environment. I think that anytime we can create more opportunities for our coaches to be with our young people, it is a positive thing for both sides.
I realize that some of my colleagues might view this as an attempt by Division III to mirror Division I and Division II, which already has the walkthrough policy in place. Many times I hear representatives from Division III institutions remark that it is bad policy when we try to implement a policy that is in place from the other two divisions. I hear them say that we should be different than the other two divisions because that is where our identity is: we are the only division that does not offer athletic scholarships.
It’s not that we want to be Division I or Division II- we only want to provide our student-athletes with the coaching and support that they have come to expect from their high school. When we attempt to upgrade our facilities or petition the NCAA for more interaction with our coaches and student-athletes, it’s not an attempt to be the University of Texas. It’s an attempt to provide the student-athletes with the opportunities that they have grown up with, whether they compete for a club team or for a high school program.
The walkthrough proposal will not have a financial impact and should not require any additional manpower from athletic training or other support staff. I hope the membership will see the value of this proposal as the Management Council has.
Cowboy Up,
John Neese
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Time To Exhale After Great Homecoming
It was one of the busiest weekends on campus that I have been involved with and it was also one of our most successful. From Thursday afternoon to Saturday night, Hardin-Simmons was busy with Trustees meetings, homecoming activities and athletic events.
Friday night we had the Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner with over 230 people in attendance. All four of the inductees did a great job with their remarks and I thought it was a wonderful evening. I think several of the highlights for me were Collin McCormick thanking his mother for all of her support and basically saying that it was his turn to take care of her after all the years that she took care of him. Doyle Brunson said that when he was on campus he used to make fun of the Cowboys for Christ group, but that they knew what it took him forty years to learn.
All of our athletic teams were successful as the football, volleyball and soccer teams all recorded wins. What you don’t see in the box scores and game stories is everything that happened behind the scenes. With a hectic weekend like this, numerous people have to work long hours to make sure everything goes right. Thanks to our facilities staff for making sure that the fields were lined and marked and ready to go. Our athletic training staff and sports information folks also deserve a word of thanks for making sure that our student-athletes were taken care of –on the field and on the athletic website. I think all of our support staff should feel a sense of accomplishment for making sure that everything went as smoothly as it did.
So after this long weekend we get a slight chance to recharge our batteries, as everything is off-campus this week; after this past weekend, even the long drive to Alpine will seem easy.
Cowboy Up,
John Neese
Friday night we had the Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner with over 230 people in attendance. All four of the inductees did a great job with their remarks and I thought it was a wonderful evening. I think several of the highlights for me were Collin McCormick thanking his mother for all of her support and basically saying that it was his turn to take care of her after all the years that she took care of him. Doyle Brunson said that when he was on campus he used to make fun of the Cowboys for Christ group, but that they knew what it took him forty years to learn.
All of our athletic teams were successful as the football, volleyball and soccer teams all recorded wins. What you don’t see in the box scores and game stories is everything that happened behind the scenes. With a hectic weekend like this, numerous people have to work long hours to make sure everything goes right. Thanks to our facilities staff for making sure that the fields were lined and marked and ready to go. Our athletic training staff and sports information folks also deserve a word of thanks for making sure that our student-athletes were taken care of –on the field and on the athletic website. I think all of our support staff should feel a sense of accomplishment for making sure that everything went as smoothly as it did.
So after this long weekend we get a slight chance to recharge our batteries, as everything is off-campus this week; after this past weekend, even the long drive to Alpine will seem easy.
Cowboy Up,
John Neese
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