The Georgia High School Association is doubling fines to $200 for missing online rules clinics after coaches paid $122,000 for 1,220 clinic no-shows last year.
Going a step further, the GHSA no longer will let coaches work until they complete their clinics. In the past, they could pay their fines and still join their teams.
“We feel it’s important that you complete the clinic, so I made the recommendation to the board of trustees last fall that we up the fine,” GHSA executive director Tim Scott said Tuesday. “The trustees agreed and said they wanted to more than just double the fine to put some teeth in it. So now you have a deadline to complete the clinic or you can’t coach. We want all of them to know the rules and provide the best for their athletes.”
Clinics are sports-specific and typically take less than 30 minutes to finish. They consist of slideshows and videos. The GHSA schedules the clinics in three-week windows leading to each sport’s season.
Coaches who miss these clinics will have 10 days to make amends. Schools found to be allowing a coach to work without completing a clinic after the deadline will be issued a lack-of-institutional-control fine.
Coaches who have not completed clinics also will forfeit their GHSA passes, which give them free admission into all GHSA events statewide.
“I think it (coaches missing clinics) is a combination of starting their season and being busy and forgetting,” Oconee County athletic director Curt Miller said. “Still no excuse.”
Of GHSA’s 466 member schools that year, 356 got flagged at least once. The percentage of clinics missed is not easily computed, but it’s probably around 3%.
“When you look across state, 1,200 (clinic no-shows) may sound like a lot, that’s a small compared to all coaches,” Scott said.
Lambert and Westminster led the state with 15 missed clinics apiece during 2023-24, the most recently completed academic year.
Lambert, a Class 6A school, has 90 coaches who cover 120 coaching positions. Westminster, a Class 4A school, has 78 coaches covering 100 positions. Those include community coaches who are not otherwise employed by the school.
The school with the best attendance was Buford, a Class 6A school with 140 coaching spots covered by 122 coaches. Buford had no missed coaching clinics.
Most schools have fewer than 100 coaching positions. Class A schools generally have fewer than 40.
Among all sports, football drew the most missed clinic penalties by with 151, although football also has the most coaches. Some schools have more than 20 assistants in that sport.
Per capita, the sport penalized the most is likely competitive cheerleading with 139.
Monday’s executive committee meeting had a light agenda. The committee approved a proposal to allow video review in championship competition for competitive cheer, sideline cheer and dance competitions. Those sports join football as the only GHSA sports that allows video review.
Coaching clinic fines by school in 2023-24:
$1,500 - Lambert
$1,500 - Westminster
$1,200 - Cherokee
$1,200 - Hiram
$1,200 - Shiloh
$1,200 - St. Pius X
$1,100 - Eagle’s Landing
$1,100 - Marietta
$1,100 - Morgan County
$1100 - Mount Vernon
$1,100 - Prince Avenue Christian
$1,100 - Rockdale County
$1,100 - Woodland, Stockbridge
$1,000 - North Hall
$900 - Atlanta Classical
$900 - Gainesville
$900 - Grayson
$900 - Greater Atlanta Christian
$900 - Lake Oconee Academy
$900 - Walton
$800 - Bleckley County
$800 - Butler
$800 - Calvary Day School
$800 - Cartersville
$800 - Miller County
$800 - Rockmart
$800 - South Gwinnett
$800 - Stockbridge
$800 - Winder-Barrow
$700 - Bowdon
$700 - Bremen
$700 - Carver, Columbus
$700 - Decatur
$700 - Dublin
$700 - Dunwoody
$700 - Flowery Branch
$700 - Holy Innocents’
$700 - Houston County
$700 - Jackson County
$700 - Jones County
$700 - Josey
$700 - North Forsyth
$700 - Peach County
$700 - Wayne County
$700 - West Laurens
$600 - Benedictine
$600 - Cedar Shoals
$600 - Coffee
$600 - Dooly County
$600 - Effingham County
$600 - Jefferson
$600 - Madison County
$600 - Marist
$600 - Newton
$600 - Portal
$600 - Savannah Christian
$600 - Statesboro
$600 - Thomas County Central
$600 - Trinity Christian
$600 - Tucker
$600 - Upson-Lee
$600 - West Forsyth
$500 - Allatoona
$500 - Archer
$500 - Atlanta International
$500 - Beach
$500 - Cambridge
$500 - Cass
$500 - Central Gwinnett
$500 - Clarke Central
$500 - Colquitt County
$500 - Drew Charter School
$500 - East Coweta
$500 - East Laurens
$500 - Franklin County
$500 - Habersham Central
$500 - Hebron Christian Academy
$500 - Jonesboro
$500 - Luella
$500 - McDonough
$500 - McEachern
$500 - Newnan
$500 - Norcross
$500 - Peachtree Ridge
$500 - Riverwood
$500 - South Cobb
$500 - South Forsyth
$500 - Stephenson
$500 - Sumter County
$500 - Thomson
$500 - Valdosta
$500 - Westlake
$400 - Bacon County
$400 - Baldwin
$400 - Banneker
$400 - Brookwood
$400 - Callaway
$400 - Carrollton
$400 - Cedar Grove
$400 - Cook
$400 - Dade County
$400 - Dalton
$400 - Dodge County
$400 - East Hall
$400 - Hampton
$400 - Hardaway
$400 - Heritage, Conyers
$400 - Jackson
$400 - Jackson, Atlanta
$400 - Jeff Davis
$400 - Locust Grove
$400 - Loganville
$400 - Lumpkin County
$400 - Mays
$400 - Montgomery County
$400 - Morrow
$400 - North Cobb Christian
$400 - Stone Mountain
$400 - Swainsboro
$400 - Tattnall County
$400 - Thomasville
$400 - Treutlen
$400 - Turner County
$400 - West Hall
$400 - Wheeler
$400 - Whitewater
$400 - Worth County
$300 - Adairsville
$300 - Aquinas
$300 - Brunswick
$300 - Bryan County
$300 - Calhoun
$300 - Calhoun County
$300 - Centennial
$300 - Central, Macon
$300 - Central, Talbotton
$300 - Cherokee Bluff
$300 - Christian Heritage
$300 - Collins Hill
$300 - Commerce
$300 - Crawford County
$300 - Creekview
$300 - Crisp County
$300 - Dawson County
$300 - Discovery
$300 - Douglass, Atlanta
$300 - Elbert County
$300 - Evans
$300 - Galloway
$300 - Glascock County
$300 - Glenn Hills
$300 - Gordon Central
$300 - Griffin
$300 - Groves
$300 - Harlem
$300 - Lakeside, DeKalb
$300 - Lakeside, Evans
$300 - Lamar County
$300 - Laney
$300 - Lanier County
$300 - Lithia Springs
$300 - Lovejoy
$300 - Mitchell County
$300 - Monroe
$300 - Monroe Area
$300 - Mt. Zion, Carroll
$300 - New Hampstead
$300 - North Springs
$300 - Northside, Columbus
$300 - Pataula Charter
$300 - Perry
$300 - Putnam County
$300 - Ringgold
$300 - Rome
$300 - Savannah Country Day
$300 - Sonoraville
$300 - Southeast Bulloch
$300 - Southwest DeKalb
$300 - Spencer
$300 - St. Francis
$300 - Starr’s Mill
$300 - Tallulah Falls
$300 - Telfair County
$300 - Terrell County
$300 - Tift County
$300 - Veterans
$300 - Vidalia
$300 - Villa Rica
$300 - Ware County
$300 - Wilcox County
$200 - Alpharetta
$200 - Arabia Mountain
$200 - Athens Academy
$200 - Baconton
$200 - Bainbridge
$200 - Banks County
$200 - Barrow
$200 - Berkmar
$200 - Bradwell Institute
$200 - Burke County
$200 - Chapel Hill
$200 - Chattahoochee County
$200 - Chestatee
$200 - Columbus
$200 - Creekside
$200 - Cross Keys
$200 - Darlington
$200 - Dougherty
$200 - Douglas County
$200 - Druid Hills
$200 - Dutchtown
$200 - Eagle’s Landing Christian
$200 - East Forsyth
$200 - East Jackson
$200 - Harris County
$200 - Harrison
$200 - Hillgrove
$200 - Howard
$200 - Johnson, Savannah
$200 - KIPP Atlanta Collegiate
$200 - Lakeview-Ft. Oglethorpe
$200 - Lee County
$200 - Lowndes
$200 - M. L. King
$200 - McIntosh
$200 - Meadowcreek
$200 - Mill Creek
$200 - North Atlanta
$200 - North Gwinnett
$200 - North Murray
$200 - North Paulding
$200 - Northeast
$200 - Northgate
$200 - Northwest Whitfield
$200 - Oconee County
$200 - Pace Academy
$200 - Parkview
$200 - Pebblebrook
$200 - Riverdale
$200 - Roswell
$200 - Rutland
$200 - Sandy Creek
$200 - Savannah Arts Academy
$200 - Seminole County
$200 - Social Circle
$200 - South Effingham
$200 - South Paulding
$200 - Southwest Atlanta Christian
$200 - Stephens County
$200 - Temple
$200 - Therrell
$200 - Toombs County
$200 - Tri-Cities
$200 - Walker
$200 - Walnut Grove
$200 - Warner Robins
$200 - Warren County
$200 - Westover
$200 - Westside, Augusta
$200 - Woodstock
$100 - Alcovy
$100 - Alexander
$100 - Apalachee
$100 - Armuchee
$100 - Atkinson County
$100 - Baker County
$100 - Brantley County
$100 - Cairo
$100 - Camden County
$100 - Carver, Atlanta
$100 - Chamblee
$100 - Charlton County
$100 - Clarkston
$100 - Dacula
$100 - Dalton Academy
$100 - DeKalb School of the Arts
$100 - Early County
$100 - East Paulding
$100 - Eastside
$100 - Fayette County
$100 - Forsyth Central
$100 - Fulton Leadership Academy
$100 - Georgia Academy for Blind
$100 - Georgia Fugees Academy
$100 - Georgia Military College
$100 - Glynn Academy
$100 - Gordon Lee
$100 - Grovetown
$100 - Hancock Central
$100 - Haralson County
$100 - Hart County
$100 - Hughes
$100 - Irwin County
$100 - Jenkins
$100 - Johnson County
$100 - Jordan
$100 - Kell
$100 - Kennesaw Mountain
$100 - LaGrange
$100 - Landmark Christian
$100 - Lanier
$100 - Liberty County
$100 - Lincoln County
$100 - Lithonia
$100 - Long County
$100 - Lovett
$100 - Manchester
$100 - Marion County
$100 - McIntosh County Academy
$100 - Metter
$100 - Midtown
$100 - Miller Grove
$100 - Mt. Bethel Christian
$100 - Mt. Paran Christian
$100 - Mt. Pisgah Christian
$100 - Mt. Zion, Jonesboro
$100 - New Manchester
$100 - North Clayton
$100 - North Oconee
$100 - Northside, Warner Robins
$100 - Northview
$100 - Paulding County
$100 - Pepperell
$100 - Pickens
$100 - Pike County
$100 - Providence Christian
$100 - Randolph-Clay
$100 - Richmond Academy
$100 - Ridgeland
$100 - Savannah
$100 - Seckinger
$100 - Shaw
$100 - Southeast Whitfield
$100 - Southwest Georgia STEM
$100 - Spalding
$100 - Sprayberry
$100 - Stewart County
$100 - Taylor County
$100 - Towers
$100 - Towns County
$100 - Trion
$100 - Troup County
$100 - Twiggs County
$100 - Union County
$100 - Union Grove
$100 - W. D.W.D. Mohammed00 - Washington County
$100 - Weber School
$100 - Webster County
$100 - Westside, Macon
$100 - Wheeler County
$100 - White County
$100 - Whitefield Academy
$100 - Windsor Forest
$100 - Woodville-Tompkins
$100 - Woodward Academy
$0 - ACE Charter
$0 - Appling County
$0 - Athens Christian
$0 - Atlanta Jewish Academy
$0 - B.E.S.T Academy
$0 - Ben Franklin Academy
$0 - Berrien
$0 - Blessed Trinity
$0 - Brandon Hall
$0 - Brooks County
$0 - Brookstone
$0 - Buford
$0 - Campbell
$0 - Cedartown
$0 - Central, Carroll
$0 - Chattahoochee
$0 - Chattooga
$0 - Claxton
$0 - Clinch County
$0 - Coahulla Creek
$0 - Columbia
$0 - Coosa
$0 - Coretta Scott King Academy
$0 - Cross Creek
$0 - Davidson Fine Arts
$0 - Denmark
$0 - Drew
$0 - Duluth
$0 - Echols County
$0 - Elite Scholars Academy
$0 - Emanuel County Institute
$0 - Etowah
$0 - Excel Christian
$0 - Fannin County
$0 - Fellowship Christian
$0 - Fitzgerald
$0 - Forest Park
$0 - Furlow Charter
$0 - Georgia School for Deaf
$0 - Gilmer
$0 - Greenbrier
$0 - Greene County
$0 - Greenforest Christian
$0 - Greenville
$0 - GSIC
$0 - Hapeville
$0 - Hawkinsville
$0 - Heard County
$0 - Hephzibah
$0 - Heritage, Catoosa
$0 - Heritage, Newnan
$0 - Innovation Academy
$0 - Islands
$0 - Jasper County
$0 - Jefferson County
$0 - Jenkins County
$0 - Johns Creek
$0 - Johnson, Augusta
$0 - Johnson, Gainesville
$0 - Kendrick
$0 - King’s Ridge
$0 - LaFayette
$0 - Lakeview Academy
$0 - Lassiter
$0 - Loganville Christian
$0 - Macon County
$0 - Mary Persons
$0 - McNair
$0 - Milton
$0 - Model
$0 - Mundy’s Mill
$0 - Murray County
$0 - North Cobb
$0 - Oglethorpe County
$0 - Ola
$0 - Osborne
$0 - Our Lady of Mercy
$0 - Paideia
$0 - Pelham
$0 - Pierce County
$0 - Pinecrest Academy
$0 - Pope
$0 - Quitman County
$0 - Rabun County
$0 - Rainey-McCullers
$0 - Redan
$0 - Richmond Hill
$0 - River Ridge
$0 - Riverside Military
$0 - Salem
$0 - Savannah Classical Academy
$0 - Savannah Early College
$0 - Schley County
$0 - Screven County
$0 - Sequoyah
$0 - South Atlanta
$0 - Southwest
$0 - St. Anne-Pacelli
$0 - St. Vincent’s Academy
$0 - Steam Academy
$0 - Stilwell Arts
$0 - Taliaferro County
$0 - Technical Career Magnet
$0 - Washington
$0 - Washington-Wilkes
$0 - Wesleyan
$0 - Wilkinson County
$0 - Woodland, Cartersville
$0 - Woody Gap
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