The memory of violence at high school basketball games last season still lingers in the minds of county coaches and administrators.
The violence, most notably a gymnasium-clearing brawl at a Mount Hebron-Oakland Mills game in which a coach was assaulted and ended in several player suspensions, overshadowed the most competitive race in history.
Atholton and Mount Hebron tied for the league championship with 10-4 records. Glenelg and Wilde Lake finished just a game behind at 9-5.
Attempting to quell a repeat of last season's turmoil, the school system has initiated widespread changes aimed at promoting sportsmanship.
Coordinator of Athletics Don Disney says the following changes resulted from last season's violence:
* The school system has changed the wording in its written regulations to specifically include attacks on coaches as a reason for automatic suspension of a student.
* Specific rules of behavior for spectators will be posted at admission tables and may be announced at each school's discretion before games.
* Boys junior varsity and varsity games will be played at the
same location to provide security at the JV games, because some shoving incidents between parents and coaches occurred those games last season. Previously, an administrative presence was not required at the JV games.
* Only one side of the bleachers will be used for afternoon games, and team benches at those games will be located on the opposite side of the gym -- away from the fans. This is to isolate the teams from the fans and to force students and parents to sit together.
* A supervisor of officials has been appointed who will evaluate -- unannounced -- the performance of referees, and will act as a hotline for coaches to vent their frustrations with officiating.
* Coaches are expected to teach sportsmanship at practice.
* Starting with this winter season, the county will award a sportsmanship cup each season to the most deserving school.
* Teachers used as security guards now will sit among their school's crowds at home games instead of standing near doorways or in hallways.
* Every coach is required to meet with his players' parents and spell out how they are expected to conduct themselves at games.
At Disney's seasonal rules changes meeting with coaches in November, and at his regular meeting with athletic directors last week, sportsmanship was the prominent point of discussion.
Ned Sparks, the executive secretary of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, who attended last week's meeting with ADs, thinks violence is not exclusive to Howard County.
"Poor sportsmanship is like an infection that's spreading and a lot of it comes from television," Sparks said. "An element thinks that part of winning is intimidation."
"Self-discipline and self-control are part of what we're teaching, and we're losing sight of that to some degree. We can't put up with it [lack of self-control] or we're heading for trouble."
The many procedural changes have evoked positive responses from coaches.
"Sportsmanship should be emphasized," Oakland Mills coach Dave Appleby said. "We need to emphasize respect for opponents and officials, and there should be no public displays of emotional behavior.
"We've been told to defuse things before they get started. But some coaches are more demonstrative than others, and some kids are not ready to handle extreme pressure."
Some coaches even plan to add new wrinkles of their own to promote sportsmanship.
"Our players are going to shake hands before games instead of just after games," Centennial coach Jim Hill said.
Shaking hands after games has some coaches wary because of a couple of unruly incidents during the fall season. At a Glenelg-South River girls soccer playoff game, a South River girl punched a Glenelg girl as the teams exchanged handshakes. And at an Oakland Mills-Fort Hill football playoff game, Fort Hill refused to shake hands and began taunting Oakland Mills players with racial epithets.
"I just hope people don't lose sight of why interscholastic sports are played," Hill said.
Hammond coach Mike Mongelli said his team has tried to reach out to the community to help promote sportsmanship.
"We invited everyone to watch an intrasquad game. Our team gave a clinic at the Bethel Christian Academy to sixth-grade girls. And we've invited the Cedar Lane School [for special education students] to our games."
"If my kids lose control during a game, they know they are going straight to the bench," Mongelli said.
Mount Hebron coach Scott Robinson is optimistic that the new emphasis on sportsmanship will pay off.
"I look for a big improvement," he said. "I'll allow absolutely no taunting or trash-talking by my players or they will be out of the game. It is up to the coach to instill sportsmanship in his players."
Disney agrees that coaches are the ones who can stop the
violence. "I don't think the coaches realize how empowered they are," Disney said. "I can't believe how many calls I get from parents who remain anonymous because they are afraid if they are identified it may come back to hurt their son or daughter."
Some point fingers at professional sports' poor record of controlling violence and the influence it has on high school players. "They watch the NBA and NFL and that's where it starts," Robinson said.
Atholton coach Jim Albert thinks that some of the violence also stems from a decreased awareness of the team concept among players.
"The concept of team is going by the wayside," Albert said. "Everyone is concerned about themselves and how much time they get on the court instead of playing for the good of the team."