In order to be part of our program, prospective student-athletes must meet and follow the requirements for participation in the athletic programs at Waltham High School.

Pre-Tryout Requirements:

A student must be declared eligible by the athletic director according to the standard listed in this section before he or she will be allowed to tryout for a team.

A. Physical Examination

Any student who plans to participate on a school sport team must have a physical exam performed within thirteen months prior to the start of the sport season. A copy of the student athlete's most recent physical exam must be submitted to the athletic trainer.

Physical forms may be faxed to the athletic department at 781-314-5496.

For those students who do not have a private health care provider, arrangements for free pre-sports screenings at Waltham High School must be made with the athletic trainer.

B. Parent's Permission Form

The Interscholastic Athletic Parental Permission Form is available in the Athletic Department and the Main Office of Waltham High School. The form needs to be completed once every school year. Parental signatures on notepaper or telephone calls will not be accepted.

C. Yellow Card

The release from Liability and Indemnity Agreement needs to be completed thoroughly by the parent/guardian and student athlete. A new yellow card needs to be completed for each sport the student athlete participates in each year.

D. Academic Eligibility

A student must always be enrolled in and passing at the conclusion of each marking period, at least 20 credit hours. For the fall season, final grades from the previous school year are used to determine eligibility.

Waiting Period

A student is not eligible for competition until 11 days after the proper paperwork is submitted AND that student receives proper clearance from the sports trainer/staff.

Medical Concerns

• A student may become injured as a direct result of playing in a high school sport. The coach reads the offical duty to warn document to all student athletes the 1st day of practice each season.
• Any student who suffers an injury must complete an Athletes Accident Report as soon as reasonably possible following the incident.
• Medical Alert bracelets/anklets must be taped to the body and marked in red.
• Mouthguards are available to students who request them. WHS provides the first, replacements cost $1.

Tryouts

In some sports, more students try out than can be kept on a team. When this situation occurs, cutting is necessary. Cutting students is a difficult and agonizing process, and all coaches realize that sensitivity and communication are essential.

During the tryout period the coach will explain team information, expectation and criteria used to select players. It is the student's responsibility to demonstrate to the coach that he/she understands the information and can meet the criteria.

It is the coaches' responsibility to evaluate and communicate with each athlete during the tryout period and decide which students will be placed on the team. Students who are cut from a team will be informed in person by the coach as to the reasons for the cut and will be offered suggestions for future improvement. Students cut from one team will be encouraged to try out for another team if there is space on that team.

After tryouts begin, an athlete may leave one team and try out for another only with the consent of the coach and the athletic director.

Team Selection

The issue of team selection is complicated and requires ongoing discussions with the Athletic Director and coaches to maintain a balanced perspective.

While it is reasonable to expect that varsity teams will be made up of the best players, it is also important to recognize that high school athletes who work hard and can contribute to the team's success should be given the opportunity to be on the varsity team. The athletic department must, therefore, work to balance the desire to reward achievement with a sincere effort to include as many students as possible.

After You Make the Team

The head coach will conduct a preseason meeting with all students and parents to communicate expectations, team rules and responsibilities.

1. Academic Eligibility
   A student must always be enrolled in and passing at the conclusion of each marking period, at least 20 credit hours. For the fall season, final grades from the previous school year are used to determine eligibility.



2. Commitment
   
   • During tryouts and after team selection, the head coach will distribute and explain expectations related to practice times and locations and game schedules. Students are expected to make at least a six-day, two- to three-hour daily commitment to the team each week.
   
   
   
   • At the ninth grade (freshman) and junior varsity levels most of our teams do not practice or play one weekends, but students may expect practices or games each school day. Normally, practices will consist of an average of two hours of team activity per day taking place sometime between 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. The preparation times before and after practices or games bring the usual total time to three hours per day.
   
   
   
   • At the varsity level, weekend and/or evening practices and games are more commonplace, and students should expect regular involvement during these times. Because many of our teams share facilities, and because some teams use facilities off campus, practice and game hours may vary considerably. Contact the coach or the athletic office for more specific information concerning practice and game times.
   
   
   
   • At all levels, in all sports, students are expected to provide their own transportation to and from practices.



3. School/Family Vacations, Extended Absences, Conflicts with School Events
   • Every team member is expected to be present for all team practices and contests.
     
     
   • Due to scheduling parameters, many of our teams practice and/or play during scheduled school vacations and/or holidays. Although extended absences are discouraged, the athletic department recognizes that certain circumstances do require them.
     
     
   • Students who anticipate being absent from team activities for an extended period of time due to family vacation plans, religious obligations, school sanctioned activities, or college visitations are expected to contact their coaches to discuss absences before making plans.
     
     
   • Although practices may be conducted on religious or school holidays, athletic practices are not mandatory on religious holidays. There will be no penalty for missing practice on a religious holiday. Coaches should be notified in advance if a student will not be at a practice or game.
     
     
4. Daily Attendance, Homeroom, Class Cuts
   
   Students are expected to attend all scheduled periods during the school day. Athletes must be in school in order to practice or play that day. The athletic department will make every possible attempt to check daily class and school attendance. Exceptions such as doctor's appointments and college visits must be cleared by the housemaster in advance, whenever possible. The athletic department reserves the right to remove a student from a team for excessive cuts or truancy and may reinstate the student upon sufficient evidence of improvement.
   
   
5. School Academic Obligations
   
   Extra help sessions and make-up work are expected to be completed as soon as possible. On a practice day students should stay after school to complete work whenever necessary. Students should inform coaches, in advance, when practice time will be missed due to academic obligations.
   
   Once the obligations are completed, students are expected to report to practice on that day, as soon as possible. If students did not give advance notification to the coach, students should ask their teacher for a note explaining the tardiness. Students arriving late to practices due to make-up work or extra help will not suffer any athletic team penalty.
   
   The athletic department reserves the right to remove a student from a team for poor academic performance and may reinstate the student upon sufficient evidence of improvement. Reinstatement cannot be granted if students do not meet MIAA scholastic eligibility requirements. Coaches may place athletes on written "academic progress reports" when it becomes known that a student is performing poorly in the classroom.
   
   
6. School Discipline Obligations
   
   A student-athlete with a school disciplinary obligation is expected to fulfill the disciplinary obligation before reporting to an athletic practice and/or game. Students cannot expect, and should not request, disciplinary action to be postponed or cancelled for any athletic reason. The athletic department reserves the right to remove a student from a team for excessive disciplinary problems and may reinstate the student upon sufficient evidence of improvement. It is expected that our athletes be model citizens both in and out of school; they will be held to high standards and should set a positive example for all students.
   
   

Playing Time

There are many benefits to be gained by participating in athletics at the high school level. Young people learn the values associated with discipline, performing under stress, coping, teamwork, sacrifice, commitment, effort, accountability, citizenship, sportsmanship, confidence, leadership, organizational skills, participating within the rules, physical well-being and striving towards excellence.

Although there are many measures of success in the minds of each participant, perhaps the most emotional is "playing time" during contests. If a student has questions as to his/her playing time, he/she is encouraged to discuss them with the coach.

1. Ninth Grade and Junior Varsity Teams
   
   At the ninth-grade level the emphasis is on participation. The emphasis on the junior varsity team is balanced between participation and winning. Coaches will make a conscious effort to play all team members for as much time as is practical. There are many factors that govern an individual's playing time but perhaps most important are practice attendance, quality of effort, attitude, commitment and athletic ability.
   
   
2. Varsity Teams
   
   While coaches at the varsity level will make a strong effort to play all team members, the emphasis at the varsity level shifts towards fielding competitive teams with the goal of winning as many games as possible. This emphasis may result in uneven playing time among the athletes, with some students not playing in every game. The coach makes the often difficult decisions on who starts, who plays and for how long.
   
   

Equipment

Students have an obligation and responsibility to properly care for and return all equipment issued to them. Students failing to turn in all issued equipment, or returning equipment damaged through misuse, are responsible to meet the current replacement cost for such equipment.

Payment is required at the time of the loss. Payment must be received prior to the next season of athletic involvement or graduation, whichever comes first. Students may not be allowed to try out for a team or may have their diploma withheld if they have an equipment obligation.

MIAA Athletic Eligibility Rules

• Waltham High School is a member of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, the organization that determines the rules and regulations governing athletics in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
  
  
• MIAA student eligibility requirements for participation in high school athletics are quite involved. The MIAA regulations have been condensed considerably here in an attempt to highlight the most important rules and regulations.
  
  
• As with all MIAA rules, there is a waiver process. Waivers of MIAA rules must be initiated by the school principal. If the information that follows does not answer specific questions, or there is a concern that a waiver might be necessary, please contact the athletic office.
  
  

1. Age
   A student must be less than 19 years of age prior to September 1 of the current school year
   
   
   
2. Time Allowed for Participation
   A student has four consecutive years of eligibility from the date he/she successfully completes the eighth grade. Twelve consecutive athletic seasons are a maximum. Therefore, a fifth-year high school student is usually ineligible for interscholastic competition. There are some exceptions to this rule. See the Athletic Director for clarification.
   
   
3. Transfers to Waltham High School
   The rules governing transfer students entering Waltham High School from another high school are quite involved. Information regarding the athletic eligibility of all students transferring to Waltham High School should be requested from the athletic office.
   
   
4. MIAA Bona Fide Team Member, Rule 100
   • The MIAA has defined a bona fide team member of a high school team to be "a student who is regularly present for, and actively participates in, all team practices and competitions. Bona fide members of a school team are precluded from missing a high school practice or competition in order to practice or compete with a non-school team."
     
     
   • A non-bona fide team member is ineligible for the next two contests or two weeks and is excluded from all MIAA post-season sponsored tournaments. There are exceptions and waivers available to this rule. If there are questions regarding this rule, please contact the athletic office.
     
     
5. MIAA Drug and Alcohol Policy, Rule 64
   • Waltham High School supports the MIAA rules governing drug and alcohol use by student/athletes. Be alerted that this MIAA rule represents only a minimum standard upon which schools may develop more stringent requirements. Coaches will alert students prior to the season if more restrictive penalties will be applied.
     
     
   • The Rule (MIAA Rule Book, Rule 64): A student athlete at Waltham (in season or out of season) "shall not, regardless of the quantity, use or consume, possess, buy/sell or give away any beverage containing alcohol; any tobacco product; marijuana; steroids, or any controlled substance. It is not a violation for a student to be in possession of a legally defined drug specifically prescribed for the student's own use by his/her doctor.
     
     
   • Note: At Waltham High School, this rule is in effect seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
     
     
   Minimum Penalties
   • First Violation: "When the Principal (or his designee) confirms, following an opportunity for the student to be heard, that a violation occurred, the student shall lose eligibility for the next two consecutive interscholastic events, or two weeks of a season in which the student is a participant, whichever encompasses the greater number of contests. No exception is permitted for a student who becomes a participant in a treatment program. It is recommended that the student be allowed to remain at practice for the purposes of rehabilitation."
     
     
   • Second and Subsequent Violations: "When the Principal confirms, following an opportunity for the student to be heard, that a second or subsequent violations have occurred, the student shall lose eligibility for the next twelve consecutive interscholastic events or twelve consecutive weeks, whichever encompasses the greater number of contests in which the student is a participant."
     
     
   • "If after the second or subsequent violation, the student of his/her own volition becomes a participant in an approved chemical dependency program or treatment program, the student may be certified for reinstatement in MIAA activities after a minimum period of six weeks. Such certification must be issued by the director or counselor of a chemical dependency treatment center."
     
     
   • "Penalties shall be cumulative each academic year, but the penalty period will extend into the new academic year, (e.g. if the penalty period is not completed during the season of violation, the penalty shall carry over to the student's next season of actual participation, which may affect the eligibility status of the student during the next academic year)." Note: For the out of season athlete, the penalty will commence at the start of his/her next athletic season.
     
     
6. Hazing
   Hazing is defined as any conduct or method of initiation into any student organization that willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or person. Under Massachusetts State Law, Chapter 536, Sections 16-19, incidents of hazing must be reported to the appropriate law enforcement officials as soon as reasonably practical.
   
   
   • Section 17. "Whoever is a principal organizer or participant in the crime of hazing as defined herein shall be punished by a fine of not more than three thousand dollars or by imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment."
     
     
   • "Hazing is defined as any conduct or method of initiation into any student organization, whether on public or private property, which willfully or recklessly endangers the physical or mental health of any student or other person. Such conduct shall include whipping, beating, branding, forced calisthenics, exposure to weather, forced consumption of any food, liquor, beverage, drug, or other substance, or any other brutal treatment of forced physical activity which is likely to adversely affect the physical health or safety of any such student or other person, or which subjects such student or other person to extreme mental stress, including extended deprivation of sleep or rest or extended isolation.
     
     
   • Section 18. "Whoever knows that another person is the victim of hazing as defined in section seventeen and is at the scene of such crime shall, to the extent that such person can do so without danger or peril to himself or others, report such a crime to an appropriate law enforcement official as soon as reasonably practicable."
     
     
   • "Whoever fails to report such a crime shall be punished by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars."
     
     
   • There is no initiation of any kind to be a member of any team at Waltham High School. Students and coaches found in violation will be dismissed from participation in the athletic program. It is the responsibility of all coaches to inform all team members about the hazing law.
     
     
   All students will be informed of the hazing law at the first team meeting and also be read the duty to warn of potential injury by playing a sport.