The purpose of this policy is to enhance the experience each of our student athletes has in their high school sports’ careers and to help them benefit under the safety, skills and knowledge our coaches provide. The Northern Region believes in the value of activities and the role they serve in producing well rounded students. We encourage our student athletes to participate in as many school sports and activities as possible and highly recommend that each member of the Northern Region cultivate this climate at their respective schools.

The Northern Region will follow the VHSL Out-of-Season Policywith the following clarifications and added restrictions:

Extend the Fall Season Red Period 1 Week, 7 Calendar Days, to allow for the Majority of Fall Sports to have uninterrupted tryouts. This is 1 week added to the 10 day “dead period” imposed by the VHSL for the fall season. Day 11 of the VHSL Fall Season Calendar will be first day of the 7 Day Red period for the Northern Region. This is due to the fact that many Northern Region Schools do not start the season on the VHSL calendar start date.

GREEN DAYS

  • Each sport will have 12greendays per offseason, not to include the summer. During the summer a team may either have 10 green days OR have a maximum of 5 Green days and attend a maximum of 1 Summer Team Camp as defined.
  • The summer season
  • Greenday activities must be open to everyone and advertised
  • Each School will monitor their teams’ greendays
  • It is the school administrations’ duty to track and record these days
  • The first call with questions concerning violations will go to that school’s Principal
  • The principal will report to the region
  • Penalties for violations will be handed down from the Region using established penalties
  • Coaches that are listed as school coaches are NOT allowed to coach teams in any league during any time frame unless the team is comprised of no more than 1/3rd of players from that school(except for the exception below)
  • Example: a coach can coach a fall basketball team of 15 players if 5 or less of his school’s players are players on that fall team
  • Any non-protective equipment that would be used during the season can be used
  • Ex. Balls, hurdles, discus, shooting machine, pitching machine
  • The following school issued protective equipment is permissible for use during green days and will serve as a safety feature only and not for contact purposes
  • Football helmets
  • Lacrosse helmets
  • Goggles for field hockey and lacrosse
  • Goalie gear
  • Catcher’s gear
  • Baseball/Softball helmets
  • At no time can two or more schools jointly participate in individual or team activities of any kind during red, green, or yellowdays(except for the team camps permitted)
  • These activities will be open to everyone, will NOT be required, and in no way will they be connected to the tryout process for team selection

Green school year:

  • Each season is defined by the VHSL calendar
  • These green days are designed for individual skill work and to offer our student athletes an opportunity for improvement
  • These greendays must conclude prior to 7 calendar days before the region start date of the upcoming season
  • Ex. If Region Start date for winter is Nov. 12 then the last green day for spring and winter sports is Nov. 4
  • Non-Team activities are the only ones permissible during these green days
  • Small group work is permissible
  • Individual skill work is permissible
  • Examples of what the rule allows
  • 3 on 3 in basketball at a goal working on entry passes, or working on pick and rolls is permissible
  • Soccer small group “games” using cones for footwork is permissible
  • Quarterback working with backs on footwork running plays is allowed
  • Quarterbacks throwing with receivers is allowed
  • 7 on 7 passing is allowed
  • Examplesof what would be a violation of therule and is not an intended outcome of the policy
  • Full court 5 on 5 basketball games
  • Football offense running plays as a full offensive team
  • Baseball doing a full scrimmage with hitters and a defensive team in the field

YELLOW DAYS

  • All other days outside of greenandred days are yellowdays
  • Weight training and condition are allowed
  • Open gym/fieldactivities are allowed during this time as long as they are continuous to school activities and are on school grounds
  • i.e. any open gym/field activity must occur at the first time it is available. (ex. School “A” has VB practice 5-7pm, so school “A” must have open gym after the school day before VB practice, School B has VB practice 3-5pm, so their open gym can be 5-7pm)
  • These activities cannot involve coaching in any form
  • These activities must be advertised and open to everyone
  • Coaches may be present if sport specific activities are occurring at these activities, such as basketball during open gym, but may not coach. They are present for supervisory purposes only
  • Use of sport specific equipment and protective equipmentare prohibited
  • Examples: shooting machines, rebounders, helmets
  • These activities will be open to everyone, will NOT be required, and in no way will they be connected to the tryout process for team selection

Team Camp Information: The Northern Region will allow up to 2 Team Camps per year with a

maximum of 1 team camp allowed during the summer period.

Outlined below is the Criteria for a Team Camp:

  • All Positions of the Sport are available for work
  • Large group setting
  • The coaching staff is working with all students
  • Must include a minimum of 3 schools
  • The Activities are over Consecutive Days
  • Camps may not exceed 5 days each
  • Must follow all school system guidelines for camps and clinics
  • Camps DO NOT count against green days