By now you’ve probably received a summary of the rule changes for 2006, either from GHSA or from the National Federation (NFHS). There are a total of 14 changes impacting 17 different rules that apply to 11-man football for 2006.

As it looks now, the “major” changes we’ll have to deal with in 2006 are covered by modifications to the following rules. We’d like to suggest that each of you be sure these changes, in particular, are fully covered to your satisfaction in the GHSA clinics.

1-5-1a – At least a four-snap chin strap shall be required to secure the helmet. This is the implementation year for this requirement. It continues the increasing emphasis on safety as it applies to the sport. Like all other safety-related rules, you can expect that the presence and USE of all four snaps will be watched closely. You can save yourselves a lot of “cheap” 5-yard penalties by making sure your players use the mandatory snaps without exception.

1-5-1i – Mouth guards shall be of any readily visible color, other than white or clear. This is also the implementation year for this rule change. If you haven’t already gotten a source of colored mouthpieces, time is wasting. Failure to have a colored mouthpiece can bring you a 15-yard penalty. This is because in the pre-game meeting when the head coach verifies that all his players are “legally equipped,” use of a legal mouthpiece is covered by that statement. Thereafter, when a player is found in the game wearing any illegal equipment (a white or clear mouthpiece is just like illegal cleats in this case), the head coach is subject to being assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for having falsely asserted that all his players were legally equipped. Since this rule change was well publicized for a couple of years in advance, there should be no real shortage of colored mouthpieces in the marketplace.

1-6-2 – Phones and headsets are permitted for use by anyone during an authorized sideline time-out. This means that you may now allow a player to talk directly to the press box during an authorized sideline time-out. Notice here that the only conference where this is legal is a “sideline” conference. The clear implication here is that use of headsets on players during a non-sideline conference (one coach and only 11 players out on the field of play) continues the former practice that prohibited use of the headset on a player. Such “non-sideline” use could still draw a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty.

2-6-2a – An authorized sideline time-out shall be held directly in front of the team box and within the 9-yard mark. This seems to be for the purpose of clearing up ambiguity about where everyone must be to have a defined sideline conference during a time-out. The way the rule is worded, it appears ALL team members participating in this type of conference must be in the 9-yard marks bounded on each end by the 25-yard line (end of the team box area). GHSA will certainly to want settle just how this will be enforced.

2-40 – The word “intentional” has been removed form the spearing rule. This also looks like another move toward greater safety. As the trend of the past years has shown, serious neck and spinal injuries are down as the result of improvements in equipment and rule changes (and their strict enforcement) that have discouraged any contact initiated with the head. The exact wording is now: “Spearing is the use of the helmet in an attempt to punish an opponent.” As in all other safety-related rules, this will be called without any regard whatsoever to how the violation would have otherwise impacted the play in which the spearing occurs. This is a 15-yard penalty, that if also considered “flagrant” can also result in the offending player’s ejection. The continuing message: Don’t lead with the head.

4-2-2 – A holder may now recover a snap and retain the same options of going back to a knee for the kick, advance, pass or running the ball. This looks like an attempt to make the rule easier and more intuitive to administer. It appears that a mere bad snap may be handled by everyone as if it were a good snap from the point of view of the options offered the holder. Note that the holder still must rise from his knees to legally make any type of pass (either forward or backward).

7-2-8 – The option to use a “planned loose ball” has been removed. The apparent intent here is to outlaw the so-called “fumblerooskie” altogether. Commentary on this rule change on the NFHS web site states that a lineman in the vicinity of the snapper cannot advance a loose ball. This is without regard to whether the ball was deliberately or accidentally made to become loose.

7-5-10, 13 – The act of illegally touching the ball by an ineligible player carries the same penalty whether the act occurs behind, in or beyond the line of scrimmage. In effect the ineligible who touches the pass beyond the neutral zone, no longer is automatically guilty of “Pass Interference”, but is instead guilty of “Illegal Touching.”  The ineligible can still interfere, but it isn’t automatic that he did so by merely touching the pass. This is a big change. Previously, illegal touching of a forward pass in or behind neutral zone by A was a 5-yard and loss of down penalty. Pass interference was charged for touching by an A ineligible beyond the neutral zone. Now all illegal touching (as long as it isn’t also interference) is 5 yards and loss of down regardless of where the touching occurs, while pass interference by A remains 15 yards and loss of down.

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