Punttheball

Is anyone using Douglas shoulder pads? What line are you using? Like or dislike? What line of Riddell are you using? Like or dislike? We have been using the Power SP series and are looking to for same or better quality. We also have a few new Schutt. I am indifferent about them.

The week we went the teams attending were Culver, HSE, Wawasee, and Lake Central.

Manchester University runs a team camp. You go and run practices and have scrimmages with other teams that are there. They stay for 4 days and three nights if I remember right. $175 per camper. Its not a bad deal.

Not sure what part of this you are not getting? They were tacky/sticky...whatever term you want to use. It has been established that they have worked a state finals. They stated that nothing can be used on the ball! Must be taken from the box or bag and used. Nothing could be done to the balls. They were wrong. They admitted they were wrong. Does this clear it up for you?

The balls were tacky! That's it. They also stated they have never felt balls like that and that I must have done something illegal. They had never even had a team that has used the prep kit on a ball before.

I did. He apologized and said he was not aware of the video or the suggestion from Mr. Faulkens to use it. The most frustrating part of the whole thing was the unwillingness of the crew to listen to reason. Everything was matter of fact. I was wrong and they were right. They had worked a state championship game and that was that. It wasn't even about the balls. It was the arrogance of two of the crew members. There was no way the prep kit would make the balls tacky. They accused me of spraying an illegal substance on the ball. I felt I maintained a professional approach to it and they called a great game. They are for sure a top notch crew, but the night started rough for sure. I am glad it is something that has been brought up and hopefully the message spreads among the crews.

Thank You!

This crew was adamant that it was illegal. Bobref on the GID believes it is legal. So there you go. This was the first crew that has said anything. They did not back off on the idea that it could even be considered. It was not a great experience as you are in the middle of warmups and the crew says your balls are illegal. I was told several times that they have worked state finals games and no one has ever used this on balls that they have officiated the game in. I stopped trying to reason with them. They even said the National Federation outlaws anything like this. So I believe there needs to be a clarification. Not sure how that process works.

Absolutely agree on point one. The prep kit makes them much better to use. The Nike ball is superior and cheaper.

I have been tempted to buy the mud and have looked for a horse hair attachment for a drill to help the buffing process.

We just clean and apply the wax bar and buff them with the brush. Not really, but we have not touched any of the balls we ordered for this year. We don't need them. The process we are using keeps the balls great for a few years.

I couldn't agree more. They come out of the box unusable to me. They are very slick and after they are used for any extended period of time, they are hard and slick. We are using the same game balls as last year because of the use of the prep kit.

So I would like to get an idea of how many teams are using the Wilson Ball Prep Kit on their balls? I would like to get coaches to respond to this Poll. We were told last Friday that this was illegal by our officiating crew. This is not a foreign substance. It is recommended by the manufacturer of the Wilson footballs and is made by the Wilson company. There are videos made to show it is used and applied to make the balls last longer.

I was talking about a practice kicking ball. Gesh!! And we don't even use the spray. Just the wax stick and brush.

Sure. He is very approachable I hear.

This crew was pretty sure they were right and I was wrong. I was told several times that they were state championship officials. As a coach, I cannot win that argument. They let us use them because they checked them in and then brought it up. Otherwise we were going to need to use another set of balls. Just seems like there needs to be some kind of a clarification.

I agree. How does this get across to all officials or is the rule an interpretation? Foreign would be a spray glue or something like it to increase the grip. This is a Wilson product as you said.

We apply it straight from the box and then before each game. We have 5 balls we set aside as game balls for the year. If we use this product on the balls, they will stay good for two years. If we didn't they would not make half a season before they are slick and very difficult to use. They become kicking balls.

This past Friday, we were told by an officiating crew that our balls were illegal. We used the recommended Wilson Ball Prep Kit on our Wilson footballs. The crew said that this was not legal. Wilson balls are good balls if you can use this kit to preserve and condition the leather. If not used, they become very slick and useless. Why is a manufacturer telling us to use a product to improve the condition of the leather and prolong the life of the ball, but officials are telling us we can't. Any help would be appreciated. The crew was very sure of themselves in their conviction of the rule. We have used this method for a while with our footballs and this is the first time it was an issue. The balls were still used as the official checked them in and did not say anything until afterwards. They were very reasonable guys and did an excellent job during the game.

Can football run an open gym session where coaches just supervise kids running their own practice sessions outside of the Limited Contact Period. Does Basketball count Open Gym as a summer practice/competition day for their program?

We had a team back out so we are in need to two more teams for this date. Currently it is us and North Judson. We are looking for Non-Hoosier North Conference teams. Contact me here or at ronald.shaffer@zebras.net.

We have one more opening for the July 22nd date.

Rochester is looking for officials that would like to get some preseason work in. We would like 5-6 officials for the evenings of July 22 & 29. Please contact me if you are interested. ronald.shaffer@zebras.net

Rochester is looking for three teams to join them for an evening of 11 on 11. The date is July 22nd. Please contact me here or message me if you are interested. Email: ronald.shaffer@zebras.net