Free State High football coach Bob Lisher and the rest of the city's football, basketball and volleyball coaches will now have the option to take more of a hands-on approach to working with their athletes in the summer.

They haven’t won the lottery, but Lawrence’s high school basketball, football and volleyball coaches may have hit the next best thing.

At its Sept. 17 meeting, the Board of Directors of the Kansas State High School Activities Association passed a rule that will allow coaches in those three sports to have extended contact with their athletes during the summer months.

The ruling puts basketball, football and volleyball on an even playing field with other high school sports that have enjoyed such luxuries for years. It also brings Kansas one step closer to reaching the same competitive advantage of neighboring states.

“I love it. I love it!,” Free State High volleyball coach Nancy Hopkins said. “The way the rules used to be, Kansas kids were at a distinct disadvantage because they were not allowed to work with their coaches and teammates year round. But now they are.”

Specifically, the rule change increases the amount of contact coaches can have with their teams during the summer from one week to six weeks. In addition, the rule that limited the number of athletes coaches could work with at a given time has also been eliminated. That means from May 23, 2009 through July 18, 2009 high school coaches can coach their entire teams in leagues, at camps or during voluntary practice-type situations.

The rule change passed by a vote of 42-26 and figures to have a slightly different impact on each sport.

Here’s how:

Basketball

When LHS boys coach Chris Davis first heard about the rule change, he could not help but check his ears.

“Truthfully, my first reaction was disbelief,” Davis said. “It hasn’t always seemed like we’ve had the best interest of the kids at heart in the past, but this will certainly help.”

And by help, Davis was talking only about the athletes he coaches. Sure it will be nice for Davis and LHS girls coach Kristin Mallory, along with Free State coaches Bryan Duncan and Chuck Law, to be able to work with their athletes more in the summer. And sure it will be nice for those workout sessions to now be counted in hours instead of entire days.

“The new rules enable us, as basketball coaches, to spend time working with our kids outside of camps and small groups,” Mallory said. “This allows for group workouts and opens the door for more sport-specific skill training in the summer.”

Although she, too, was thrilled to hear the news, Mallory said KSHSAA’s recent action was only the beginning.

“I think it is a step in the right direction,” she said. “The problem is that Kansas has been multiple steps behind for years.”

Davis said he hoped the new rule would allow schools to host tournaments, leagues and add clinics to their summer schedule. He also said the new rule’s existence did not necessarily mean things would be different.

“There will be a definite learning curve involved,” Davis said. “It might still be a dad or someone else who coaches these teams, but now all coaches have the ability to come into practice and work with the kids to create a true core of a team.”

Football

For the city’s football programs, the new rule offers a chance to catch up with teams in its neighbor to the east.

“We’ve always butted heads with Missouri because they were able to coach their kids,” LHS coach Dirk Wedd said. “It’s been so difficult, you either have to send someone who’s not part of your staff to coach your kids or a former player. Now we can have our coaches out there and can actually coach.”

Somewhat relieved, Lisher talked with a hint of excitement in his voice about the possibilities the new guidelines create.

“There’s just a lot more we can do now,” he said. “We can work a lot more on fundamental things, getting people in the right positions and putting in some of our playbook. It’s just going to help make us better all the way around.”

Both Wedd and Lisher said they would not increase the demands on their athletes because of the new rules.

“Some guys might force their kids to be there all the time,” Lisher said. “But we won’t. We never have.”

Wedd agreed, saying the LHS athletic programs have a nice history of working together in the summer months to ensure that high school athletes were not overworked or burned out.

“Most of our kids play more than one sport and we realize we have to share,” Wedd said. “This isn’t going to be any more difficult than anything else. We’re used to sharing. This will just give us a little more time with the kids when we do have them.”

Volleyball

The Firebirds’ Hopkins has been a fixture in Lawrence’s volleyball community for years. In addition to organizing youth clinics and coaching at the junior high level, Hopkins used to run a Juniors program for high school athletes.

During that time, Hopkins coached against teams from all over the United States. And what she encountered at each tournament were teams more prepared than her own. It was not for lack of effort but instead because the teams Hopkins was coaching against were allowed to play together all year round.

“We would see kids from Hawaii, Texas, California,” she said. “And we were trying our best to compete with girls who had the same coaches and teammates all year. I’ve been there and I’ve seen the advantage those other kids had.”

Outside of honing their skills, Hopkins also said her girls were at a disadvantage when it came to recruiting. In essence, college coaches had to find Lawrence athletes two or three different times during the year. One day they were Lawrence High Lions and the next they played with a club team out of Topeka or Kansas City.

Lawrence High coach Stephanie Magnuson was one of those players in Hopkins’ Juniors program, and she agreed that Kansas girls were at a major disadvantage.

Magnuson, a 1996 LHS graduate, is in her second season in charge of the program. Before coming home, Magnuson coached for three years in La Quinta, Calif., where she guided her team to third place at state in 2006. That team included a nucleus of girls that had played together year round since they were 8 years old.

Because of KSHSAA’s recent rule change, that is now a possibility in Kansas.

“It makes a big difference,” Magnuson said. “Not only from the standpoint of chemistry and playing together but also, it’s hard to practice certain drills with just four people.

“Now that we can work with an unlimited number, it’s going to make things a lot better.”