The Georgia High School Association is still at work in this unfortunate lame-duck time for director Gary Phillips. There’s a related story in the Observer about the next executive committee meeting in April. There’s the investigation that could lead to Grayson High’s state football championship being vacated (that was on ajc.com), and the awarding of literary champions (everything from singing to arguing).

Hey, if there weren’t the need for changes, for what would we even need the association?

There’s at least one soccer coach I’m aware of who does not like the high school overtime rules. First, you play two periods five minutes long each to completion, then if necessary do a penalty kick shootout. Arguments include that five minutes isn’t enough time for any serious scoring to develop between good, evenly matched teams, and that the shootout uses something completely different from regular play to name a winner.

But the penalty-kick thing isn’t just done in high school, but all the way to the big FIFA level. We have seen World Cup winners determined in this fashion, men’s and women’s. And usually it’s 0-0 after regulation and overtime because those players are far more concerned about not giving up points than scoring.

What would be the alternative to a shootout? Keep on playing regular soccer? Well, take that last point into consideration and some of those matches might still be going on right now, provided all players haven’t died from exhaustion.

In an ideal world sporting event outcomes are determined in regulation play. But we also have the college and high school football overtimes that take a majority of the field out of consideration. And softball teams put a runner on second base to start all extra innings; it’s something the World Baseball Classic experimented with, and may also be the case in the minor leagues.

The other alternative is no overtimes, declare co-champions. Actually, the GHSA did that in football until two games in one season (2006) ended in ties. Since then, we’ve had OT in football finals, including the aforementioned Grayson win against Roswell to help close out the Georgia Dome.

The other rule change I want to address isn’t one that determines a game’s outcome … or does it?

High school baseball in Georgia now sets pitch-count limits for a game and the required rest periods depending on how much one hurler throws in a game.

History lesson: From my experience covering GRPA tournaments, there was an innings limit for pitchers of 14, after which the player was considered ‘burned.’ High school had the rule that 10 innings was the limit for a day and 14 for a week’s period. Yes, I have seen a player go seven in Game 1 of a doubleheader, start Game 2 but have to leave after the third. I have seen a team forfeit a win because it let a pitcher go 11 on the mound.

In one state playoff best-of-3 series, I watched a pitcher win a seven-inning complete game to start things off. The other team took Game 2 later that day. Game 3 was set for the following day, and the Game 1 winner was back on the bump, pitched seven complete and won the series. Combined pitch count was supposedly somewhere between the 230s to 260s.

The first news I remember of pitch count limits being installed was in Little League baseball almost 10 years ago. It’s something I had an interest in covering Warner Robins American. One pitcher could only go 85 in a game (and finish a batter if he reaches that number during an at-bat).

I am completely in favor of this … under certain conditions. In some cases, I feel decisions need to be left up to the coaching of the teams involved. Why? Because it can impact the outcome of a game, and we want the players to determine that, not a rule book.

Most Little League tournaments were done in a pool format, where you knew your schedule, who you would play and when. In that case, a pitch count makes sense. You only throw 20 one day, you are good to do the next.

These tournaments, though, would change to a four-team single elimination, where you either win or you are done. So the next game for the non-winner … there isn’t one.

There was a game, in 2009, where Justus Sheffield, Gary’s son, pitched for Tennessee against WRALL in the Southeast Regional semifinal. Only the winner moves on as the favorite to reach Williamsport.

It was a great pitcher’s dual with Sheffield and Blake Jackson. These games only go six innings, and Tennessee is leading in the sixth. WR is threatening when Sheffield has to leave due to his pitch count. Tennessee doesn’t have anything close to Sheffield’s stuff behind him, and they lose.

The point is, it should have been the best vs. the best to decide at least that inning. In an elimination bracket, an innings limit, like six, makes more sense. Then you can look at pitch count to determine his next availability, which in this case didn’t matter because that team was out.

(For the last six years the Little League World Series is double elimination.)

Sheffield, by the way, won Gatorade Player of the Year for Tennessee baseball as a senior, signed with Vanderbilt, was drafted by Cleveland with a high compensatory pick and was part of last year’s trade with the Yankees for Andrew Miller. Don’t think a few more tosses eight years ago would have ruined all that.

High school teams rarely play back-to-back. Most times it’s two or three days in between, or the eight-day break the Packers now have after going consecutive days.

It’s my view that coaches shouldn’t be forced into pitching changes mid-inning; let him make that call. Now after an inning – with the game still in progress – you can tell him the pitcher is ‘burned’ going beyond 105.

There’s been the other argument that you can’t trust these coaches to make the right decision. I have been told by one that, without consulting the pitch count, he stayed with pitchers deep into a game because he still “looked” strong.

Will this be a factor come playoff time? Remains to be seen.