3.110 COACHING SCHOOL PARTICIPATION
3.111 During the school year, students shall not participate in any coaching school, camp or clinic for any interscholastic sport
or which provides instruction in any skill of an interscholastic sport. A coaching school, camp or clinic is defined as any
program, sponsored by an organization or individual, which provides instruction in sports theory and/or skills; which
does not culminate in competition, and which is attended by more than two (2) persons from the school which the student
attends. Programs that involve only demonstration of skills and sports theory without providing instruction and
requiring active participation by attendees are not considered coaching schools. Violation shall cause ineligibility for a
period not to exceed 365 days.
3.112 Students may attend a coaching school, camp or clinic during the summer months provided they do not attend before
school is out in the spring or after Saturday of Week Number 4 in the IHSA Standardized Calendar. Such coaching
schools, camps and clinics may be conducted by an individual, group or even a member school and instruction at such
programs may be provided by any person. However, in the case of a school-sponsored camp, participation may not be
restricted to high school students who have been certified eligible for athletics.
3.113 Students may participate in school physical conditioning programs and recreational programs.
3.114 During the school year, students may serve as demonstrators for a coaching school, camp or clinic conducted exclusively
for coaches or officials. Students may participate in one practice session for such event with the instructor for whom
they will demonstrate.
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Illustrations for Section 3.110 of the By-laws
The illustrations and situations it contains are for purposes of assisting in understanding the application of the particular by-law to which they
pertain. In the case of any conflict, whether actual or believed, between the illustrations, examples or situations in this publication and the constitution
or by-laws of the IHSA, the constitution and by-laws shall control.
209) LESSONS DURING SCHOOL YEAR
Q. What is the eligibility of students from three different schools who take lessons at an area club under the following
circumstances:
a) Two students from each school comprise a six-member group, taught by one instructor who is not a coach at
any of the schools?
b) Three students from school A, two from school B and one from school C comprise a six-member group taught
by the same instructor as in (1)?
c) Six students from school A comprise the group, but the instructor is not a coach from school A and, along with
receiving instruction, the group competes as a team in scheduled matches against similar team groups from
other clubs?
d) Two students each from schools A, B and C comprise the lesson group and receive instructions as in (1), but
another identical group is present, watching and listening, as this group receives its lesson?
A. The lessons in (a) and (c) are acceptable (By-law 3.111). In (b) the students from School A and in (d) all of the students
would be in violation of the rule and would be ruled ineligible for a period not to exceed one year. (By-law
3.111)
210) LIMITS TO PERSONS IN LESSONS
Q. What is the IHSA position regarding students who participate in sports lessons at any time during the school year?
A. Students from member high schools may participate in sports lessons at any time during the school year, provided
no more than two students from their high school participate in any given lesson. (By-law 3.111)
211) LIMITS AT SPORT CAMPS
Q. Is it permissible for five students from an IHSA member school to go to Florida during the school year and take part
in a baseball instructional program?
A. No. During the school year, a student may participate in sports lessons, provided no more than two (2) students from
his/her high school are participants. (By-law 3.111)
212) SCHOOL PAY CAMP FEES/LEAGUE FEES
Q. May a school pay fees for students participating in a summer sports camp or summer league?
A. Schools may only use funds from their activity accounts to pay fees for summer sports camps or summer leagues if
the funds have been raised by school teams, school clubs or booster clubs for that purpose. (Article 1.420)
213) SCHOOL PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION
Q. May a school provide transportation for students attending a summer sports camp?
A. Yes. (By-law 3.154)
214) COACH AT CAMP
Q. May a school coach be a staff member at a summer camp which students from his/her school attend?
A. Yes, provided the camp is conducted between the last day of school in the spring and Saturday of Week 4 in the IHSA
Standardized Calendar. Note: Any day during the camp on which the coach and any student from his/her school are
involved together in sports instruction will be considered a contact day for both the coach and student. (By-law 3.112)
215) Q. A non-school softball team plans to begin practice in January for its summer competitive season, and continue these
practices twice a week until its first competition in June. Would a student violate the by-laws by participating in these
practice sessions?
A. Yes, on two possible grounds: a) competition must follow the first practice session of a team within no more than two
weeks and in this case it would not; b) a student may not practice with a non-school team while a member of a school
team in the same sport. (By-law 3.111)
216) Q. If more than two students from one school attend a particular camp or clinic during the school year, are all students
at the camp or clinic, even those from other schools, in violation of this by-law?
A. No. (By-law 3.111)
217) Q. May an incoming freshman participate in a school sponsored camp?
A. Yes, provided there is no violation of By-law 3.070 (Recruiting) by the school conducting the camp. (By-law 3.112)
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218) Q. Since attendance at camps, clinics and coaching schools is prohibited after Week No. 4 in the IHSA Standardized
Calendar, are private lessons also prohibited?
A. No. Private lessons which are attended by two (2) or fewer people from a high school are not considered coaching
schools and, therefore, are not prohibited at any time. (By-law 3.111 and 3.112)
219) Q. Is participation in pom pon, speech, music or other activity camps or clinics restricted by this by-law?
A. No. This by-law, as all the by-laws in Section 3.000, pertains exclusively to athletics and the eligibility of students for
athletics. (By-law 3.121 and 3.112)
220) Q. Is there any time period during which participation in school physical conditioning and/or recreational programs is
prohibited to student athletes?
A. No. (By-law 3.113)
221) Q. May activities involving the “skill(s) of a sport” be conducted as part of a school physical conditioning program?
A. Such activities are permitted in school physical conditioning programs, provided they are conducted purely for the
development of strength, endurance and general physical fitness, without instruction, coaching, competition or other
relation to the theories and strategies of any sport. (By-law 3.113)
3.120 ALL-STAR PARTICIPATION
3.121 No student at a member school shall participate on an all-star team in basketball, football, soccer or volleyball during the
student’s high school career until completing their interscholastic athletic eligibility in that particular sport. A student
may participate in no more than three (3) all-star contests in a sport.
Illustrations for Section 3.120 of the By-laws
The illustrations and situations it contains are for purposes of assisting in understanding the application of the particular by-law to which they
pertain. In the case of any conflict, whether actual or believed, between the illustrations, examples or situations in this publication and the constitution
or by-laws of the IHSA, the constitution and by-laws shall control.
222) ALL-STAR FACTORS
Q. What factors are used in identifying an all-star contest?
A. In identifying an all-star contest, answers to the following questions will be reviewed (Constitution 1.420):
(1) Are participants selected by an individual or group according to a structural system relating to athletic
ability, performance or reputation?
(2) Does publicity for the event state or imply an honorary status for participants?
(3) Are the contests, by name or otherwise, identified as all-star?
(4) Does any revenue generated through ticket sales or other means accrue to, or are expenses paid by a
sponsoring agency or organizations?
(5) Is the contest sponsored by a non-school agency?
(6) Is the contest sponsored by a school agency?
223) SAME SCHOOL “ALL-STARS”
Q. If all participants in a contest which meets the general definition of an all-star contest attend the same school, is the
contest an all-star event?
A. Yes. The number of schools which may have students in the contest is not a factor in determining whether the contest
is an all-star event. (By-law 3.121)
224) INDEPENDENT TEAMS AND ALL-STAR COMPETITION
Q. Is an independent team ever an all-star team?
A. It may be. According to the published list of all-star factors, if an independent team is formed to play in one game
or one tournament, it is viewed as an all-star team. If it engages in a regular schedule of competition, it is a permissible
non-school program, and high school students may participate. (By-law 3.111 and 3.120)
225) ALL-STAR COMPETITION WHEN ON TEAM IN ANOTHER SPORT
Q. May a student participate in a national all-star high school basketball game during the month of April when the student
is a member of the school’s boys tennis team?
A. If the all-star game is approved by the IHSA Board of Directors; if the student has not participated in any other allstar
basketball game; and if the student is a senior who has completed all high school basketball eligibility, participation
in the all-star game may be approved without impact on the student’s eligibility for tennis. (By-law 3.120)
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