IHSAA, IGHSAU approve use of shot clocks for 2022-23

BOONE — Three recommendations from the joint committees of the Iowa High School Athletic Association and Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union have been recently approved by both boards for boys and girls competition in basketball, bowling and track and field.

The IHSAA’s Board of Control unanimously voted the measures through at their annual summer meetings from Aug. 5-7, which will affect the bowling postseason and track and field schedule in the 2021-22 school year and basketball in 2022-23.

The most talked about announcement was the decision to introduce shot clocks to high school basketball in two years.

“The positives are it ensures pace of play, creates a more exciting product for fans and is a progressive move by the associations,” Newton Activities Director Ryan Rump said. “The negatives are it could have an adverse effect on those programs and coaches who like to dictate slower pace and it could be an increased competitive advantage for more talented teams and narrows the window to compete for less talented teams.”

Basketball: Shot clock added for 2022-23

The IHSAA and IGHSAU will use the NFHS allowance for state adoption to introduce a 35-second shot clock for varsity basketball, required of participating member schools starting in the 2022-23 season.

Use of the shot clock in sub-varsity competition will be allowed but not required. With a date set for statewide implementation, experimental exceptions will not be granted during the 2021-22 regular season.

“I love it,” Newton girls basketball coach Eric Vander Velden said. “People may think it’s only for the offensive team, but this is a great opportunity for teams to play great defense for 35 seconds and get rewarded for it. If I wasn’t a coach, high school basketball would be more enjoyable to watch, too.”

To encourage standardization among states, 35 seconds was the timing provided by NFHS approval.

Further shot clock information and rule implementation will be provided by IHSAA and IGHSAU as it becomes available ahead of the 2022-23 season.

“I don’t think it will change much honestly,” Newton boys basketball coach Jason Carter said. “We play slow and rarely have 35-plus second possessions, but it could affect the end of quarters maybe and the last few minutes of the game once in a while.

“We will definitely have to spend some extra time in practice with how to execute what we want to do at the end of quarters and close games for sure. But I think our kids will handle it well.”

Both Lynnville-Sully Athletic Director Mike Parkinson and Rump admit that adding a shot clock will create more costs and responsibilities on game days.

“It will be a one-time cost that we will have to absorb,” Rump said. “Finding more table workers will be a challenge for sure but both the cost and burden will be worth the investment if it provides a better product that the athletes, coaches and fans can enjoy.”

Parkinson isn’t really a fan of the change.

“It just adds to our school expenses and we don’t have any ways to fund it,” Parkinson said. “It might be tough on small schools.”

Lynnville-Sully girls basketball coach Jerry Hulsing also is not particularly fond of the change either.

“I’m disappointed,” Hulsing said. “I think in most games you are only talking a few possessions. It will be another cost and it’s hard to find people who want to work already.

“It’s not really going to affect how we play. Good teams are going be good. Bad teams are going to be bad. I think it is going to lead to more blowout games as I can not run clock to control the score anymore.”

Lynnville-Sully boys basketball coach Nick Harthoorn is looking forward to the challenge.

“The game is about the players, and I think our guys will be excited about the change,” Harthoorn said. “As a coach, I’m looking forward to the strategy and game planning that will go into preparing a team to manage the shot clock well on both ends of the floor.”

Like Vander Velden, Colfax-Mingo boys basketball coach Phil Grant, Baxter boys basketball coach Zach Hasselbrink and Baxter girls basketball coach Eric Padget all feel like a shot clock will help teams who play solid defense.

“I’m for it,” Grant said. “I think it’s going to improve the game and not just the stalling issues that could occasionally happen.

“I see it rewarding good defensive teams that can put together a good defensive sequence since an offensive team won’t have time to reset during the same possession.”

Hasselbrink added, “I love it. It’s much needed. It’s going to reward good defense and eliminate late-game stalls.”

While some feel lit might not look much different, Colfax-Mingo girls basketball coach Blake Warrick thinks it will be more entertaining for the fans in the stands.

“I like it,” Warrick said. “It should speed up the pace of games and make them more entertaining for fans and more fun to play for the kids.”

Track and Field: Earlier start date in spring 2022

Following recommendations from the joint track and field advisory committee, the start date for the 2022 season has been updated to allow for more practice time ahead of spring competition.

“I don’t have any major thoughts or concerns with the earlier date,” Newton girls track coach Rachel Tomas said. “The toughest part about it is Iowa weather can still be rough so it pushes practices inside for longer at the beginning of the season.”

The first practice date will now be Monday, February 21, ahead of the previous date of Monday, February 28. The first competition date will remain Monday, March 7.

“I like an early start,” Newton boys track coach Chad Garvis said. “It’s always good to have more time to prepare.”

PCM girls track and field coach Eric Karr, Baxter girls track and field coach Jason Aker and Colfax-Mingo boys track and field coach Matt Barkalow like the change for a variety of reasons.

“I will take it,” Karr said. “It’s a week of building a base, a week of speed, a week of technique and an extra week of doing what I love.”

Barkalow hopes the change helps with minimizing injuries during preseason training.

“I do like the extra week of practice with the first competition date staying the same,” Barkalow said. “The earlier start will hopefully minimize some of the early-season injuries.”

Small schools like Baxter, Colfax-Mingo and PCM could have trouble during that first week of practice if basketball seasons go long. Barkalow said he always gives his wrestlers and basketball players a week off before starting track practice and he will continue to do so despite the changing start date.

Aker hopes the extra practice can get his team more prepared for the early-season indoor meets.

“We can always benefit from extra practice,” Aker said. “Especially since it looks like the indoor meets will still be the same dates. In past years, I just don’t feel like we are ready to go compete indoors. I haven’t had a chance to meet with our ADs yet to find out if it overlaps with winter sports. That might be the downfall for small schools like us because the basketball kids won’t have much down time between seasons.”

Bowling: Postseason adds individual tournament

Starting in the 2021-22 season, the state meet and state qualifying meets will both be team and individual tournaments. Team events will feature Baker games, then a bracketed format at the state meet.

Individual tournaments will be three games, including a bracket for the top eight individuals at the state meet.

Details on host sites, qualifiers and games will be provided by the IHSAA and IGHSAU before the start of the 2021-22 season.

Bowling classifications for boys and girls also have been changed to move the largest 32 programs by enrollment to Class 3A, the next largest 32 programs to 2A and the remaining teams to 1A.