The certification cards are to be turned into your chapter secretary, who will in turn forward them on to the TASO office. There, the cards will be scanned and put on file. In the perfect world, this would be done by all chapters and a member of each crew working a game from 7th grade through Varsity. However, with us not being in the perfect world, I would guess that only about half, if that, of the games worked have cards turned in for them. The main reason for this is as some have previously and correctly posted, is to CYA!!!
Whether it is done or not is up to each "crew" working a game. I can state that I WILL NOT work a game, at any level, where I don't have the coaches involved sign a certification card.....just sayin.....
I couldn't agree more! In properly using these TASO/NCAA cards, as I see it, it squarely places the UIL on the defensive in that TASO has taken the initiative to have these rules enforced whether they like it or not. It was brought to my attention that the UIL had earlier issued some form of written dispensation to the effect that coaches would not be required to sign off on any kind of statements regarding player equipment for preseason scrimmages in that the
Manor Road Crowd did not consider these to be games, and that only the playing of actual games would be meritorious of equipment approval by the coaches.
Now not being exactly the most studious legal scholar to come down the pike, I can't help but feel that at one of these scrimmages, if Lil' Johnny irreparably tears up some part of his body because his coach feels that those
Manor Road Minions are truely correct in their assessment that this is not a game, and therefore not applicable, then Mr. Big Johnny(Lil' Johnny's dad) is certainly going to have his stinger out and will be looking for a place to put it. The first people that he'll no doubt go after will be the Stripes because they should have enforced the equipment rules. Well, by TASO's participation in this equipment enforcement, it will somewhat offer insulation to the Stripes and to TASO because TASO did the correct thing and tried to enforce those rules. So now Mr. Big Johnny has no other deep pockets to go after other than the Head Coach, the AD, and the School District Superintendent, to pay for those gargantuan hospital bills. Sure, he can go after the officials and after TASO if he wants, but by their stance, they're going to be somewhat absolved from prosecution. And then he could even take it a step higher and go after the
Wizards of Id parked on their lofty thrones up there on Manor Road if he remotely thinks that their pockets or their liability insurance might offer a little deeper reserve to draw from. The problem with that is that if thrown into the courtroom as defendents in this matter, the
Manor Roadians will, no doubt, attempt to plea out "that they are a state agency and are therefore immune from prosecution and from lawsuits!"
I firmly believe that Mr. Fitch acted judiciously earlier today when he issued the directive that if the coaches in any way refused to sign those TASO equipment cards at the scrimmages, that the officials were to simply tell them that it against TASO policy and procedure to offer coverage for that scrimmage and that, without their submission and their signature, that they will be working without TASO football officials for that scrimmage.
In essence, this prescribed TASO action would squarely place the
Manor Road Minions between the proverbial rock
and a hard place!
