Are You Off-Season Compliant?

General Principles:

• There may be no out-of-season contact between coaches/students during the school year.
• Summertime out-of-season contact between coaches/students is allowed, but only if the student voluntarily engages in the activity.
• We cannot help what the colleges call their camps, but a so-called "team" camp is subject to all the same rules as any other camp attended by a secondary student.
• NO district funds can be used for any student to pay for a student's participation, either in whole or in part, in any out-of-season camp or clinic.

• Booster clubs that are independent of the district may offer financial assistance.
• If a student-athlete wants to use school equipment, including school apparel (e.g., a jersey), the district must charge fair rental value.

• When a coach employed by a school district sponsors a summertime, out-of-season camp or clinic, student-athlete participation must be voluntary and there can be no use of district funds. The camp or clinic may be operated under either of the following models:

• The camp/clinic is NOT a district activity. (This is the model favored by the DE, IHSAA and IGHSAU.)
•        If the district's facilities or equipment is used, the district charges the coach rent. 
•        All accounting and bookkeeping is done apart from district funds.
• The camp/clinic is sponsored by the district as a community service.
• The camp/clinic is NOT considered to be either a co-curricular or extracurricular activity.
• Therefore, any funds associated with it are not to be run through the student activity fund. If the camp/clinic is a
  regular event, use the enterprise fund; if the camp/clinic is not a regular event, use the general fund.
• Public funds cannot be used to help students with registration fees.

Any remuneration to the district's coaches that work the camp/clinic is not part of the coach's chapter 279 contract. Have a separate contract for payment to the coaches. Again, this is because the camp/clinic is NOT a co-curricular or an extracurricular activity of the district.

GENERAL INTERPRETATIONS

Can a school impose stricter guidelines on its coaches and/or students than those imposed by these rules? Yes. Stricter policies than outlined by these rules are the prerogative of the local district.

Who is covered by these rules? Students in grades 9-12 and personnel under contract to coach or who serve as volunteer coaches of a school team involving students in grades 9-12. Students and coaches in seventh and eighth grade are NOT covered by the provisions of these rules. However, local school districts may choose to extend nonschool participation rules to junior high school students.

9-12 COACHING CONTACT INTERPRETATIONS

1. Is a team meeting during the school year, outside the season legal? Each coaching staff is allowed one preseason team meeting during the school year, outside the season.

2. If a player works as an instructor at a grade school camp run by their coach during the school year, outside the season, is the coach violating the coaching contact? During the school year, outside the sport season, each student may work at a one-time, one-day clinic for elementary/middle school students run by their coach without their coach violating the coaching contact rule.

3. Can coaches officiate their athletes outside the sport season, during the school year or during the summer? Yes. Officiating does not constitute coaching contact.

4. During the school year, outside the sport season, can a coach practice or compete with or against his/her students in the sport(s) he/she coaches? No. Practicing or competing with or against students on a coach's team constitutes coaching.

5. During the softball season and after May 31, a softball player has enrolled in an off-campus basketball camp in which her basketball coach is a member of the camp staff. Can the softball player still attend the camp? Yes. The student can participate in any camp, clinic, etc. s/he chooses. However, the student's basketball coach shall not require his/her students to participate in the camp.

6. Does transportation during the school year, outside the season count as contact? No. The act of transporting students to non-school competitions, camps, clinics, etc. is permissible during the school year, outside the season as long as no coaching occurs. If school transportation is used it must be used subject to Iowa Code 285.10 (9) and (10).

7. Softball practice is scheduled from 1-3 p.m. A student is attending an on-campus camp that causes her to miss softball practice. If a potential conflict exists when an on-campus summer camp, clinic, workout, or other team activity is scheduled at the same time as a baseball or softball practice or game, the student athlete shall go to the inseason sport activity, unless released by the in-season coach. The in-season sport has priority. Local school administration shall determine how to avoid conflicts.

8. The high school football coach has a film session for a group of football players who also play baseball on a day during the summertime. Baseball practice is also scheduled at this time. Is this a violation? Coaching activities between June 1 and the first day of fall sports practices shall not conflict with sports in season. If a potential conflict exists, the student athlete shall go to the in-season sport activity. The inseason sport always has priority. Local school administration shall determine guidelines on how to avoid conflicts.

9. Can the coach of the high school basketball team coach a club or AAU volleyball team during the school year outside the volleyball season? Yes, as long as the high school basketball coach is not also serving as a high school volleyball coach (paid or volunteer) for his/her school.