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Show Times to Thursday, Jlll( Sports Editorial If I ran the UHSAA: some changes would occ MARTIN HARRIS Times Sports Editor In the past two years, I have seen great games and matches, amazing athletes perform per-form at their best and so many great state championships. However, I've seen a great deal of things that need to be changed and some other things that could be better. So as part of my farewell, I thought I'd take over the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA) and do some touch up work. The first thing that needs to be changed is the way athletes move schools like the pros during free agency. I have written many times on the problem prob-lem and I still think it is one of the biggest problems facing the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA). The legislature says students can go to whatever school they want. Well, as the UHSAA, I determine eligibility. I say, if an athlete attends a school outside of hisher geographic boundaries, they do not play varsity sports. Junior varsity is as good as it gets. It's tough love but it needs to be done to level out the playing field. Maybe then there would not be the constant con-stant complaints of other teams cheating or coaches recruiting. Now that was easy. Next up, I am increasing punishment on violent athletes. Several incidents have come across my desk this year ranging from hazing in Sanpete to a malicious incident involving an elbow being thrown by an East High basketball player. The wrestler was barred from the state tournament by the school district not the UHSAA, the minimum punishment I would think. The basketball player was suspended just two games by the school, while the player he knocked out suffered greatly from the blow. The player continued contin-ued his season with the short interruption and competed with his team in the state tournament. As the UHSAA, I don't want to get involved in punishment as far as attending attend-ing school but I get to say when an athlete has forfeited hisher right to participate because of inappropriate or illegal actions. I think the pair of wrestlers and the basketball player should say good bye to prep sports. Their actions are assault regardless of the candy coating. There is no toleration for this type of behavior and the punishment needs to fit the offense. Next, the UHSAA did a lousy job during the last realignment and made a mess of things. (I don't even like the amount of classifications but I'll address that shortly.) short-ly.) Region Seven in 4A is loaded with some of the best schools in the state in most sports but yet they have been put into a smaller region with the fewest number num-ber of playoff spots. So- they beat up on each other and then get only three playoff spots for their trouble. The problem is that the fourth place team in the region is quite often a top ten team among the rest of 4A. For an example, I turn to the state tournament tour-nament results for the past two seasons, since the latest realignment took place. Region Seven and its five members have taken home 16 of a possible 36 state championships in that time. It doesn't take a degree in math to realize that that leaves just 20 for the other three regions combined. The next closest is Region Five, which has eight members, they took home nine. Region Four and its six schools grabbed six and Region Six and its six schools took five. In case you think it is a region that is top heavy just taking home titles. Region Seven schools took home 15 second place trophies during the past two years. The next best in that category was Region Four with eight. In fact, seven times in the past two years, Region Seven has taken first and second-place in a state tourney or meet. With Mountain View, Orem, Timpanogos, Pleasant Grove and Lone Peak, you've got some of the best basketball, basket-ball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track and field, cross country, wrestling and soccer soc-cer teams in the state. The way it stands now, Region Five gets five spots, Region Six gets four, Region Four gets four and Region Seven three. Where is the logic in that. If that is the way they drew it up then they should of given Region Seven an extra team to even things out. They should have put Lehi in there or at least American Fork. The way it is, there is no reason why the Cavemen should be in Region Six with Provo, Timpview and the south county schools. The association did an awful job and the mess needs to be fixed now and not two years down the road. Therefore, I am going to put Lehi in Region Seven, effective for the 2003-04 school year. The Pioneers can complain all they want but its time for them to take a step up starting next year. Region Seven gets four spots and to cut the field to 16 teams will just trim a spot from Region Five. There fifth seed is usually dog meat anyway. Other changes can wait until the next realignment in a couple of years but Lehi The Region Seven All-Stars 1 "l.i f. t IT V ( 'if Photo by Martin Harris The Region Seven All-Stars. Front row (L to R): Timpanogos' Lyndsi Hill, Mountain View's Kaycie Zimmerman and Mallary Gillespie.Middle row: Lone Peak's Hillary Welch, Mountain View's Katie Welling, Timpanogos' Kristine McCustion and Stephanie Richins, and Mountain View's Chelsey Mikalauski. Back row: Timpanogos coach Randy Richins, Orem coach Paul Clark, Mountain View's JaNae Wright, Orem's Nicole Stratton, Pleasant Grove's Amanda Gordon, Lone Peak's Abby Lyman, and Mountain View coach Cal Jones. Baseball clinics at UVSC The Rocky Mountain School of Baseball will conduct two separate two day hitting and pitching clinics in Orem at Utah Valley State College. The. first clinic will be held Monday, June 16 and Tuesday, June 17 with the second clinic held on June 18 and 19. The hitting sessions will be from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. each day, and the pitching sessions will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Players can attend the hitting or pitching ses sions or both. The camp staff will include college coaches, scouts and former pro players. For more information or registration information go to www.rmsbb.com or call toll free 877-272-0862. comes up now. There enrollment is big enough. Plus, there football team did well against 4A opponents last year if I remember correctly. Now, its time for the big realignment two years down the road. There are too many classifications (5) for the number of high schools (124). So, I'm ditching 5A and going back to just four. In fact 5A, there are only 21 teams and 16 get to go to the state tournament in each sport. That is more than 75-percent. I am all for participation but they have watered down the competition for a state title. Let us compare to any other state. I randomly ran-domly selected North Carolina because I found their association's website. In 2001; they handed out five state titles in their sports, the same amount as Utah. One glaring difference is Utah has 124 schools and North Carolina has 350, almost triple. If things were even, Utah would condense con-dense to just two classes but that might be a bit dramatic but at least get rid of one. Five classifications for 124 schools is too many. I am taking to just four during the next realignment. Next up on my to-do list is rule changes. Some easy ones showed up this Spring. In soccer, the shoot-out in the playoffs. What a horrible way for a season to end. A team fights all year to get to the playoffs, you get some great teams to the final rounds and then when its tied at the end of overtime, you resort to a bunch of "free kicks". How stupid! Play until its over. Let the teams play till one of them really real-ly wins. Provo's boys team deserved better in the semis and so did Mountain View in the title game. A great season coming down to a shoot-out seems ludicrous. For the regular season,' its fine but in the playoffs play-offs let them play. Second, get rid of the international tiebreaker rule in softball. When a game goes extra innings, let them play. Don't put a person on second. Like I said above, a team fights all year for a shot at the title only to have a great pitching performance shattered because the UHSAA puts a runner run-ner on second. The bases are only 60 feet apart. A sacrifice bunt moves the runner to third with one out. Need an example of how crummy this rule is turn to the BonnevillePayson game in the state tournament. A 0-0 tie through regulation. Payson loses thanks to this silly rule. Let them play. Sooner or later somebody will earn the win. In the sport of baseball and softball, the speed up rule needs to be dumped. I don't know what the official rules are for soft-ball soft-ball but in baseball if I guy gets pinch ran for, he is out of the game. None f . ing a guy out and bringing hiJi 1 is not the sport. Make the c2at am a baseball purest, so I fojf-DH fojf-DH rule and I am not a fan J bats but those can stay if I of this stupid speed-up rule can't run 360 feet (240 in'! themselves, then let them dW Also in softball, I am getS two-hour time limit. Play until if what if the JV game is cut short v" should be earned for a full gan,e To basketball. A shot clock , nice. There is nothing more pajJ; watching a player hold a ball for? utes at half court holding a W !i their arms.' (I saw it happen this y it aoes not count as playing a snort mockery and I thought the coach h to lose the game. Shot clocks would cost someexfc but somewhere the money should i able. Maybe sell some more adverts gyms or something. As far as ha! clock operator, find a volunteer. A 1 o in lioolrnflirtll J.1 a iiau in M.aBi,va.u cum UUSODPr i- ITUCA A ' cusl Lxie unort. any more i- juengtnen tne quarters to at le apiece. Eight minutes just seems' short, especially when there is tt clock. In volleyball, I am keeping the : 1 , Al 3 T 11 Liuiicu. ecuimg uieiuuu. rtany SCOliB; nothing tor the sport. There's sot pure about making a team serve ii to score points. What's next. The deft baseball scores a run for every str recorded by their pitcher or a doiil! is a run for the defense. I just dor rally scoring, maybe I am alone t opinion. Since I control the association need ticket sales to generate revenut going to stop overlapping games at two athletic teams from the same are playing post-season toun;: games at the same time. For exai: turn to the state softball, baseball at: ketball tournaments. I know View's baseball and softball team- overlapping game times. The sat Orem High's teams. I cannot expect the student bodyt: port both teams when they play st neously in two different cities. I am sure there is more but that make for a busy first couple of week Unfortunately for high school at in Utah, I don't control the UnaA. fact, by the time you read this I woe be the sports editor at this paper. 0: Orem Recreation Departme summer basketball camps LITTLE HOOPSTERS Orem Recreation Department will be offering offer-ing Little Hoopsters basketball bas-ketball camps this summer. sum-mer. This program is open to boys and girls entering first, second, and third grade in the fall. At camp, children will be instructed in the basic skills and techniques of passing, dribbling, and shooting. While skills and drills will be taught, team work, sportsmanship, and fun will be emphasized. Each session of camp is held Monday through Thursday from 10-11:30 a.m. on June 9-12, June 23-26, July 7-10, and July 28-July 31. The fee is $25 and includes a camp T-shirt. Register early because camps fill fast and camp size is limited. For additional addi-tional information, call the Orem Fitness Center at 229-7154. SUPER HOOPSTERS Orem Recreation Department will be offering offer-ing a Super Hoopsters basketball bas-ketball camp this summer. This program is open to boys and girls entering fourth, fifth, and sixth grade in the fall. Participants will be instructed in the basic skills and techniques of 229-7154 passing, dribbling, and shooting. They will partic- Hailv earns activities that wj and encourage tnem 1 drills that the; learning. While drills will be tauBu work, sportsmansb; fun will be emp ; Camp will be mm fhrmi crh Thursday 10-11:30 a.m. on f 19, July 14-17, an ; 4-7. The fee is memoes a "-, Register early camps fill fast and size is limited. tional information. Orem Fitness W t Orem Recreation Departs summer day camps Orem Recreation Department will be offering offer-ing a summer day camp for children ages five through 11. Summer Youth Parks is a program that will keep the children busy with crafts, sports, games, swimming and supervised free time. This program runs Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for three weeks. Children are required to bring a lunch every day. Sessions are being offered June 30 through July 17 and July 28 through August 14. Cost for the program is $90. Register quickly because each session of Summer Youth Parks fills fast and size is limited. The Department is also offering a day camp geared for children ages four through six. Junior Youth Parks is a program that will keep the children busy with crafts, sports, games and supervised super-vised free time. The program runs Monday through with two cla & from 10 a.m. , j -lo-snn.-10 for three weeks. Sessions are offered June July 17 andct 14 through Aug , for the program Register because eacn Junior Youth fast and size is For add tion on either p U1C at 229-7167- |