ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION August, 2012 Volume 5, Number 7 2012 AHSAA August Update Inside this issue: Savarese Commentary 1-2 Cadence Bank New AHSAA Sponsor 3 Stallworth Commentary 6 2012-13 Calendar of Events 7 Making A Difference Recipients 8 Briggs Commentary 10 AHSAA 2011-12 Audit 15- 17 EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE SAVARESE WELCOME BACK Welcome to the 2012- 13 school year! Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that we were deeply involved in spring sports champion- ship play and looking forward to a relaxing summer? And yet, fall sports practices are about to begin and the start of a new school year is upon us. Your roles as adminis- trators, teachers and coaches are held in the highest regard by all of us on the AHSAA staff. You have the awesome opportunity and respon- sibility to make a positive impact on the students in your school every day and I can’t thank you enough for making that commitment. Executive Director Steve Savarese and AHSADCA Director Alvin Briggs congratulate 2011-12 AHSAA Athletic Director of the Year Larry Morris of Scottsboro High School at the Coaches Championship Banquet in July. FOLLOW THE AHSAA ON TWITTER AT @AHSAAUPDATES
Transcript
ALABAMA
HIGH
SCHOOL
ATHLETIC
ASSOCIATION
August, 2012 Volume 5, Number 7
2012 AHSAA
August Update
Inside this
issue:
Savarese
Commentary
1-2
Cadence Bank
New AHSAA
Sponsor
3
Stallworth
Commentary
6
2012-13
Calendar of
Events
7
Making A
Difference
Recipients
8
Briggs
Commentary
10
AHSAA
2011-12
Audit
15-
17
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
STEVE
SAVARESE WELCOME BACK Welcome to the 2012-
13 school year! Doesn’t it seem like just yesterday that we were deeply involved in spring sports champion-ship play and looking forward to a relaxing summer? And yet, fall sports practices are about to begin and the start of a new school year is upon us. Your roles as adminis-trators, teachers and coaches are held in the highest regard by all of us on the AHSAA staff. You have the awesome opportunity and respon-sibility to make a positive impact on the students in your school every day and I can’t thank you enough for making that commitment.
Executive Director Steve Savarese and AHSADCA Director Alvin Briggs congratulate
2011-12 AHSAA Athletic Director of the Year
Larry Morris of Scottsboro High School at the
Coaches Championship Banquet in July.
FOLLOW THE AHSAA ON
TWITTER AT
@AHSAAUPDATES
Serving Schools Each Day Is Our Mission Field
Page 2 Volume 5, Number 7
Steve Savarese
Executive Director
I want to update you on sev-eral important AHSAA topics for our member schools: Already on the AHSAA web-site are two useful tools to help with the required forms and in-formation that must be submit-ted each year. The first is a “Deadline” list of the required forms and deadlines. The second is an “Audit Checklist” to help in maintaining the information that should be kept on file in the principal’s office. Both can be found under the heading “Member Schools.” Phase 2 of the AHSAA com-puter software program with C2C Schools is not quite ready. We appreciate your patience as the AHSAA and C2C Schools work diligently on the new soft-ware. We will begin the year with our current software and may implement some components of the new software as it becomes available. We expect to have the total program ready for the 2013-14 school year. The Central Board of Control has approved a new District Compliance Officer Program. We have contracted with eight former AHSAA administrators to serve as district compliance officers. Not only will they audit each member school during the year, but they will be available to serve as a resource for our schools with initial questions about bona fide move eligibility issues. We believe this is a proac-tive measure to help member schools avoid rules violations.
School packets will be mailed the week of Aug. 1. I urge you to re-view this valuable information and share it with each member of your staff. Once more, the Central Board of Control has approved $1.2 million for schools under the Revenue Sharing Plan. In three years, the program has returned $3.6 million to member schools. Checks will be distributed only after each school has accurately completed its online registration for 2012-13. As always, I want to extend my appreciation to our corporate sponsors, who are so vital to the success of the AHSAA and AH-SADCA – al.com, Russell Athlet-ics, Wilson, Encore Rehabilitation Services, Coca-Cola, Cadence Bank and TeamIP. I also want to thank you for your continued support of our corporate sponsors.
Please take the time to write them a note of thanks for their support. Information is available in the member school packets. As we enter the new school year, I want to challenge member schools to meet with every coach, player and parent to en-courage them to represent their schools in a sportsmanlike man-ner and remind them that educa-tion is at the forefront of AH-SAA contests. Your commitment to good sportsmanship is a tre-mendous lesson for everyone associated with your school. Coach Buddy Anderson of Vestavia Hills High School was recently honored by the Fellow-ship of Christian Athletes (FCA). In his acceptance speech, Coach Anderson spoke from the heart about the challenges administra-tors, coaches and teachers face each day and the importance of setting the right example. He referenced the many thou-sands of people who minister to the poor and downtrodden on the mission fields across the world each day, but he said coaches, teachers and administra-tors also serve on a mission field each day at school, impacting the lives of their students and players and making a lasting, positive difference in their lives. He’s absolutely right. And I couldn’t be prouder to serve in this mission field with each of you. May God bless you in all that you do and I hope you have a wonderful school year.
ALABAMA
HIGH SCHOOL
ATHLETIC
ASSOCIATION
June/July, 2012 Page 3
AHSAA Corporate Sponsor Spotlight
AHSAA Welcomes
Cadence Bank The AHSAA is proud to welcome Cadence Bank as its newest Corporate Sponsor. Cadence Bank directly is supporting the children, schools and communities of Alabama through the AHSAA’s revenue sharing program. Over the last three years, $3.6 million in corporate support has been returned to AHSAA member schools through this program. For its dis-tinguished past and promising fu-ture, the AH-SAA owes much to the commitment and loyalty of generous friends like Cadence Bank. Cadence Bank, N.A., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cadence Bancorp, LLC, is a $5.5 billion bank based in Birmingham, Ala. that operates more than 100 locations across Alabama, Flor-ida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Cadence pro-vides consumers, small- and middle-market businesses, and commercial clients with a full range of banking, financial man-agement, investment and trust services, treasury management, international, retail and mortgage products. Backed by 126 years of financial expertise, Cadence is a sound source of capi-tal for companies operating within its six-state footprint and specializes in industry-leading treasury management services. Driven to do the right thing, Cadence’s mission is to use all of its resources, tools and services to deliver on customers’ goals, accelerate growth and fund innovation. More information can be found at www.cadencebank.com.
administrators can bene-fit greatly from the many avenues available to them for professional development. The NFHS has several courses now available online. The NFHS is continuously developing courses such as these to help support safety and protection for coaches and student-athletes. Please take advantage of these courses as re-lated to ongoing issues in safety in school environ-ment and athletic environment. Here are some recommended online courses that are free from the NFHS.
Creating a Safe and Respectful Environment: Provides coaches and administrators critical educa-tion about the serious issues of abuse, sexual har-assment, hazing and bullying. It will be available beginning Aug. 1 at www.nfhslearn.com. Other courses include Concussion in Sport – What You Need to Know, The Role of the Par-ent in Sport, and Sportsmanship. The AHSAA encourages coaches, administrators and parents to check out these courses. In addition, the NFHS also offers other required courses for coaches’ certification: Fundamentals of Coaching, Sports First-Aid and Concussion Awareness. Coaches are required to also have a current CPR certification and must complete the STAR Sports-manship Coach component (link found at www.ahsaa.com) to complete certification. Student Concussion History Form Due Each Year: The Concussion History Form that was re-quired for the first time last year for all student-
Page 6 Volume 5, Number 7
athletes participating in the AHSAA is required annually. That means each student-athlete should submit the form signed and dated by the student and the parent as a requirement to participate in AHSAA sponsored athletics. The form, just like the Pre-Participation Physical Form, is good for one calendar year and must be renewed by the last day of the month it becomes due.
Coaches, Administrators Should Be Cognizant Of Rule Changes Changes in the AHSAA Concussion Policy and Two-A-Day Practice Rule go into effect for the 2012-13 school year. The rules now read: CONCUSSION POLICY: Any student-
athlete who exhibits signs, symptoms or
behaviors consistent with a concussion
shall be removed from the contest and
shall not return that day. Following the
day the concussion symptoms occur, the
student-athlete may return to practice or
play only after a medical release has
been issued by a medical doctor.
TWO-A-DAY PRACTICES: Two-a-
day practices may not be conducted on
consecutive days. When two-a-day prac-
tices are conducted, a four (4) hour
break is required between the end of the
first practice and the beginning of the
second practice. Only one practice per
day may be in full pads. The other prac-
tice that day can only be in helmets and
shoulder pads. It is important for each coach and administrator
to know the AHSAA rules. Please take the time
to familiarize yourself with the rules and regula-
tions governing your sport to insure your school
has the best school year possible in 2012-13.
Tony Stallworth
Associate Executive
Director
NFHS Courses Available For Professional Development
Junior High/Middle School Conference Set For Aug. 22
The third annual AHSAA Junior High/Middle School Conference will be held at Alabama State Uni-
versity Aug. 22. The purpose of the conference is to discuss junior high and middle school rules and
regulations as well as the responsibilities of each school’s administration as it relates to AHSAA mem-
bership and participation.
Concerns to be discussed include rules/regulations, mentoring, financial management of athletic funds
and medical and health-related issues. Also included in the agenda will be a panel discussion entitled
“Preparing The Student-Athlete For the Next Level”. This session will involve middle and junior high
administrators, athletic directors and coaches in an open forum, with a question-and-answer session for
attendees.
2012 Making A Difference Recipients Honored For the second straight year, the AHSAA honored six individuals as Making A Difference Award recipients. The award is given each year to one individual chosen from each of the AHSAA's six classifications. Nominations were submitted by AHSAA member schools and other support organi-zations. Criteria for this prestigious award include the person’s character, integrity and service above and beyond the norm which has had a life-changing impact on the nominee’s community or school. The 2012 recipients included, from left: Girls basketball coach Renard Davis of McIntosh (1A); Softball coach John Smith of Hatton (2A); Principal Frances Shipp of Weaver (3A); Boys basketball coach and athletic director Richard Robertson of Andalusia (4A); Golf coach and girls sports pio-neer Janet Latham of Athens (5A); Veteran assistant football and basketball coach Peter Braasch of Vestavia Hills.
Page 9 Volume 5, Number 7
AHSAA AUDIT CHECKLIST All records should be in the principal’s office and made readily accessible to
AHSAA auditors.
Student birth certificate.
Student Release Form (signed by parent and student). Forms must be com-
pleted annually (NEW).
Student pre-participation physical forms (must be signed by a medical doctor
or D.O). Forms must be completed annually.
Student concussion history forms (must be signed by student and parent/
guardian). Forms must be completed annually.
Student STAR Sportsmanship completion documentation.
Coach Certification documentation (For head coaches, assistant coaches, non-
faculty coaches). This includes proof of completion of Principles of Coaching
and First Aid Courses.
Coach CPR certification (must be active).
Coach Concussion Course completion documentation.
Coach STAR Sportsmanship completion documentation.
2012-2013
AHSADCA Coaching Mini-Clinic Series
Basketball — September 13
Wrestling — October 16
Tennis — October 23
Baseball —November 6
Track & Field — November 29
Soccer — January 8
Softball — January 10
Volleyball — February 7
Golf — February 12
Football — March 5 Outgoing 2011-12 AHSADCA President Jim Hunter, Jr., of Calhoun High School receives a plaque of appreciation from AHSADCA
Page 10 Volume 5, Number 7 Volume 5, Number 7
All-Star Sports Week And Summer Conference
Attendance Swoons Thanks To Work Of Many
Thanks to the city of Montgomery and the many com-munity volunteers who helped make the 2012 Summer Conference and 16th annual All-Star Sports Week such an overwhelming suc-cess. Our All-Star contests were excit-ing and well played – a tribute to the coaches and athletes as well as the selec-tion committee. The big hearts of the people of Mont-gomery made the week an experience our All-Star student-athletes and coaches will remember for the rest of their lives. Once again our sports committees gave us the greatest collection of professional speakers from the best college conferences including head foot-ball coaches Nick Saban of Alabama, Gene Chizik of Auburn and Garrick McGee of UAB. Our Leadership classes were overflowing with attendance with more than 3,000 coaches, princi-pals and athletic directors coming to Montgom-ery for the week’s activities. The Sportsmanship Luncheon and the Champi-onship Coaches Dinner on the final day were great ways to end a great week. A total of 97 schools received banners for competing the 2011-12 school year with no fines or ejections. Hackle-burg High School principal John Hardin gave a stirring address at the luncheon, and al.com pre-sented eight $1,000 grants to a school from each district in honor of the sportsmanship accom-plishments. We thank al.com for their continued support of our sportsmanship mission. On hand to pre-
sent the checks were Julie Clark-McKinney, Wes Sinor and Matt Scalici. The eight schools receiving the grants included: Bayside Academy (District 1); Opp (District 2); Akron (District 3); Central Coosa (District 4); Parker (District 5); Spring Garden (District 6); Hackleburg (District 7); and Clements (District 8). 10 Schools Receive Lemak Award: Alabama State School Superintendent Dr. Tommy Bice spoke and Lemak Group CEO Matthew Lemak was on hand at the Championship Coaches banquet, which honored the 90 coaches who directed teams to an AHSAA state title in 2011-12 and also awarded $25,000 in need-based grants to 10 schools. Lemak presented a check of $2,500 to the 10 Lemak Award recipients. The award is named in honor of Lemak’s father, AHSAA Medical Advisory Board member and re-nowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lawrence Lemak. The schools receiving the grants were Addison, A.L. Johnson, Brantley, Central-Coosa, Chilton County, Enterprise, Fruitdale, Hatton, Notasulga and Slocomb. The Lemak Award has provided a total of $130,000 in need-based grants to AHSAA schools since 2008. The schools were selected from more than 50 applications by a special committee. Coaches Children’s Scholarships: Ten 2012 sen-iors were recipients of AHSADCA Coaches’ Children Scholarships. These scholarships go to children of high school coaches or administrators. The 2012 re-cipients included Catherine Shipp, Davidson; Court-ney Nicole Douglas, Red Level; Kimberly Kay Hines, Benjamin Russell; Robert Bagwell, Spain Park; Trevor Scott Ford, Piedmont; Victoria Noel Williamson, Tal-ladega; Ashlyn Renee Lane, Sylacauga; Grace Newton, Lauderdale County; Ethan Pharr, Vina; and Hallie Miller, Hartselle. NFHS Coaches of the Year: Three coaches, Stacy Luker of Sweet Water (football), John Esslinger of Scottsboro (boys cross country) and John Smith of Hatton (softball), were honored as 2011 NFHS Sec-tion III Coach of the Year Award winners.
Continued on Page 11
Alvin Briggs
Director, AHSADCA
Page 11 Volume 5, Number 7
All-Star Sports Week Contest Results Baseball: South 6-15, North 6-3 (North leads series 15-10-1)
Softball: South 0-7, North 0-5 (North leads series 21-7-2)
Girls Soccer: North 6, South 1 (North leads series 9-2-1)
Boys Soccer: North 3, South 1 (North leads series 7-4-1)
Volleyball: North wins 25-23, 25-22, 25-22 (North leads series 12-4-0)
Girls Basketball: North 68, South 67 (OT) (North leads series 14-2)
Boys Basketball: North 65, South 57 (North leads series 44-25)
Football: North 34, South 12 (South leads series 28-23-2)
Briggs Commentary: Continued from Page 10
Section III includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina and
South Carolina.
Twelve state coaches chosen by the AHSADCA as 2011 NFHS state coaches of the year were also honored. The
list included: Marvin Chou, Randolph (boys swimming & diving); Shawn Weltzin, Thompson (wrestling); Mark
Mincher, Huntsville (baseball); Rick Cleveland, UMS-Wright (boys tennis); Jesse Gamez, Fort Payne (boys soccer); Pam Wilkins, Addison (volleyball); Charles Tiller, American Christian (girls cross country); Tim Miller, Bob Jones (girls basketball); Greg Echols, Mountain Brook (girls track & field); Denise Tinney, Montgomery Academy (girls tennis); and Barclay Kercher, Spanish Fort (girls soccer). Larry Morris of Scottsboro was honored as state athletic director of the year and Jim Hunter of Calhoun High School as AHSADCA past president.
AHSADCA Director Alvin Briggs congratulates NFHS 2011 Section III girls cross country coach of the year Scottsboro Coach John Esslinger at the Championship Coaches Banquet.
Sylacauga High School senior Ashlyn Lane is shown accept-ing the AHSADCA Coaches Children Scholarship from Director Alvin Briggs as her father Greg Lane looks on. Lane was one of 10 recipients of the $1,000 scholarships awarded annually to graduating senior children of AH-SADCA member coaches.
Page 12 Volume 5, Number 7
Al.com Champions Challenge
Set For Cramton Bowl
Six teams have been selected for the for the seventh an-nual al.com Champions Challenge preseason football clas-sic at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl Aug. 24-25. Spanish Fort High School will take on Muscle Shoals High School in the first game of the three-game series hosted by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association on Friday night, Aug. 24. Beauregard will face Central High School of Clay County, the new school formed by the merge of football powers Lineville and Clay County high schools, at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25. The second game of the Saturday doubleheader will feature Mobile’s McGill-Toolen versus Northridge of Tuscaloosa at 7:30 p.m. The Toros, coached by Mark Freeman, finished 9-4 last season after winning the Class 5A state championship in 2010. Spanish Fort reached the third round of the 2011 Class 5A state playoffs before falling to eventual state run-ner-up Vigor. Muscle Shoals (11-2), coached by Scott Bas-den, went 9-1 in the regular season and also advanced to the third round of the 5A playoffs last year. Central of Clay County, coached by Steve Giddens, will open its doors in 2012-13. The Class 4A school will inherit the strong tradition of Lineville (10-4) and Clay County (12-2) – two rivals that made the annual Clay Bowl into one of the most recognized rivalries in the nation. Both teams reached the 2A and 3A semifinals, respectively, in 2011. Beauregard (10-2) finished 9-1 in the regular season with their only loss to Dadeville. The Hornets of Coach Smitty Grider advanced to the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs before falling to eventual state champion Jackson. Northridge enjoyed its best season in school history in 2011 as Coach Michael Smith’s Cougars rolled to a 9-1 regular-season record. Northridge (10-2) lost in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs to Oxford. McGill-Toolen (11-2), coached by Bart Sessions, lost to Central-Phenix City in the third round. Daphne beat Clay-Chalkville 24-21, Hueytown downed Thomasville 36-27 and Hamilton nipped Sweet Water 38-35 in last year’s sixth annual al.com Champions Challenge.
IMPORTANT
DATES
Aug. 1: School registration deadline Aug. 1: Catastrophic insurance deadline Aug. 1: AHCADCA registration deadline Aug. 2: Volleyball practice begins Aug. 6: Football practice begins Aug. 6: Cross country practice begins Aug. 6: Swimming practice begins Aug. 15: AHSAA Media Day, 9:30 a.m. Aug. 15: al.com Champions Challenge press conference, 11 a.m. Aug. 20: First day of school for AHSAA member public schools Aug. 23: First day of volleyball regular season Aug. 23-24: Football jamborees allowed Aug. 24: al.com Champions Challenge, Cramton Bowl, 7 p.m. Aug. 25: al.com Champions Challenge, Cramton Bowl, 5 p.m. Aug. 30: First day of football regular season Aug. 30: First day of cross country regular season Aug. 30: First day of swimming/diving regular season Sept. 1: Deadline for school information updated online
Note: Online Roster deadlines for volleyball, football, cross country, swimming due prior to first contest
Page 13 Volume 5, Number 7
We would like to welcome
everyone back to school this month. We anticipate the 2012-13 school year to be one of ex-citement that will provide lasting memories for our member school teams, coaches and fans. One reason is the upcoming volleyball season. The AHSAA is proud to announce these changes that will elevate an al-ready major sports event to even greater heights. First the new Super Regional format: The Super Regional format eliminates the need for the sub-state (single match) round of the playoffs. That will eliminate the travel issues that schools endured for the sub-state round. Teams from a particularly strong area will not meet until the finals or consolation round. The Super Regional format resembles the atmosphere of the Elite Eight playoff round. It will allow student-athletes and fans to be part of the excitement and energy level of an overall cham-pionship similar to that enjoyed in the regional basketball tour-naments that have been so popular since their inception in 1994. All teams will travel to a neu-tral site, thus eliminating the home-court advantage. Each court will be identical in compo-sition, size and designated play-able area. All teams will be play-
ing under the same conditions. The Super Regional format will have a positive economic impact for each host city. Sites for Super Regionals are Montgomery (South) and Hunts-ville (North) with six courts for each site for 96 teams. Each Super Regional will send four teams in each classification to the Elite Eight in Birmingham. The AHSAA State Volleyball (Elite Eight) will be held at the Metro CrossPlex in Birmingham. The AHSAA indoor track cham-pionships last winter were very successful, and we expect the Elite Eight to be met with the same enthusiasm. More seating allows spectators to have an unob-
structed view of the matches. Volleyball coaches, please check the AHSAA website for information concerning the Su-per Regionals and the Elite Eight state tournament. We owe a special thanks to the Volleyball Coaches Committee, the AHSAA Calendar and Com-petition Committee, the AHSAA Central Board of Control and Mr. Steve Savarese, Executive Director of the AHSAA, for all their hard work in making this dream come true.
Audit Checklist Now Online School audits will be a priority once again this coming year. The AHSAA goal is to help each member school be fine and ejec-tion free each year. That is why we have listed in the August Update and online at www.ahsaa.com an audit checklist of items that will be checked when a compliance offi-cer comes to each school. Principals and athletic direc-tors should take the time to check out this list. If you have questions, give us a call. We are here to serve you. We thank our schools for their dedication to fair play and good sportsmanship. Good luck this coming school year to each of you.
Super Regionals Add Excitement For Volleyball
Wanda Gilliland
Assistant Director
The Alabama High School Athletic Association has adopted its first-ever mercy rule for basketball contests. In the sport of basket-ball, a mercy rule was pro-posed to the schools and adopted for this upcoming season. The adopted mercy rule allowed by the NFHS rules is stated be-low. Rule 5, Section 5, Article 3, Note – A state associa-tion by adoption may insti-
AHSAA Adopts Mercy Rule For Basketball Contests
Page 14 Volume 5, Number 7
Greg Brewer
AHSAA
Director of Officials
tute a running clock when a specified point differ-ential is reached at a specified time in the game. By AHSAA Adoption: During regular season games only, at all levels of competition, a running clock will be used when a team has a 30-point ad-vantage in the fourth quarter. The running clock remains in effect for the remainder of the contest. The AHSAA hopes this rule will be used effec-tively in aiding our efforts to promote good sportsmanship. Still, the best “mercy rule” has always been com-mon sense and consideration of one’s opponent. Already the NFHS has established through its state adoption process “mercy rules” for baseball, softball and soccer competition.
Page 15 Volume 5, Number 7
AHSAA 2011-12 FINANCIAL STATEMENT STATEMENT OF ACTIVITIES
For the Year Ended June 30, 2012
Page 16 Volume 5, Number 7
AHSAA 2011-12 FINANCIAL STATEMENT GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
For the Year Ended June 30, 2012
Page 17 Volume 5, Number 7
AHSAA 2011-12 FINANCIAL STATEMENT INCOME FROM ATLETIC EVENTS
For the Year Ended June 30, 2012
Page 18 Volume 5, Number 7
June/July AHSAA School Fines and Ejections
$1.2 Million In Revenue Sharing, 5-Year Strategic Plan Approved By AHSAA Central Board of Control The Alabama High School Athletic Association Central Board of Control for the third straight year ap-
proved returning $1.2 million to its member schools under its Revenue Sharing Plan. The action was taken at its annual summer meeting in Montgomery July 25. The Central Board also approved a five-year Strate-gic Plan that was developed by a special Strategic Plan Committee headed by distinguished educator Dr. Paul Fanning. The AHSAA Legislative Council also approved the 2012-13 Sports Books and Handbook. The Revenue Sharing Plan, approved first by the Central Board in 2009, has returned $3.6 million to its
member schools in three years. The formula for the distribution of funds includes a differential between classifications and the number of sports played by non-football-playing schools. The plan returns excess funds back to the schools when the AHSAA has at least one year’s working capital in reserve. The differential this year was reduced between classifications to provide a larger share to the AHSAA’s smaller member schools. Also, for the 20th consecutive year, the Central Board voted to waive membership dues to all member schools – a cost savings of more than $75,000 annually.
The Strategic Plan Committee was chaired by Albertville High School Principal Paul McAbee along with
vice-chair, Robert Harris, principal at Springville High School. The committee included a broad-based repre-sentation from within the AHSAA’s member groups. It began work in July 2011 and the Strategic Plan was approved for 2012-2017 by the Central Board. “I want to thank the Central Board and Strategic Plan Committee for their strong leadership,” said Ex-ecutive Director Steve Savarese. “Returning another $1.2 million to our schools is certainly important to the financial well being of our schools. The Strategic Plan also now gives the AHSAA specific goals and di-rection and insures the success of our organization for years to come.”
The board also approved changing to area play in soccer in Class 1A-4A and 6A. The move reduces long travel for member schools. It also extends the state playoffs by one contest and reduces the regular season by two contests in Class 1A-4A. Class 6A moved to the extended playoff format last season though it re-mained in section play. Class 5A, which has fewer soccer-playing schools and is already in smaller groups, will remain in section play for the 2013 season. In other Central Board action: – Approved the financial reports for the spring championships in soccer, softball, baseball and track. Atten-
dance and revenue was up from 2011 in each sport. – Reviewed and approved the new Handbook, and the Fall, Winter and Spring Sports Books. – Approved the 2012-13 budgets for the AHSAA and the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association and the 2011-12 audits for each group. – Approved a Consent and Release Form that must be signed by all student-athletes and their parents be-ginning in 2012-13.
– Approved the implementation of District Compliance Officers to assist in school audits. – Approved the AHSAA’s social media plan of providing more timely information through a new Twitter ac-count. The AHSAA account can be accessed by following @ahsaaupdate. – Welcomed new board members Jamie Riggs of T.R. Miller, Richard Robertson of Andalusia, Keith Bender of Oneonta, Cathy Trimble of Francis Marion, Myra Miles of Hoover, Robert Harris of Springville, Ike Grant of Valley and Al Rauls of Buckhorn.
Page 19 Volume 5, Number 7
Meet The
AHSAA Staff
17thYear
Wanda
Gilliland
The AHSAA STAFF . . .
ALABAMA HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION Update
Issued monthly by the Alabama High School Athletic Association
