We are at the time of the season where close outs become more likely--especially in State tournaments and at National Qualifier. It is awful that coaches have to pick and chose but it happens. So here is a simple elimination bracket which is used as an example of how our close out rule works:
#1 Dowling
#8 Roosevelt AB
#5 Waukee
#4 Roosevelt CS
#6 Valley
#3 Ankeny
#2 Roosevelt ZZ
#7 Roosevelt XX
The debate between #2 and #7 would never be heard in an effort to keep judges "clean" for the end of the tournament. Hence, it is either called a coach-over or a close out. In Iowa close-out is used. At that point tab would call the coach of the team to the tab room and force the coach to chose which team goes on.
At Roosevelt, we try really hard NOT to play favorites. Thus, our rules only allow the coach to chose the higher seeded team...which in this case is Roosevelt ZZ. Seeds would be based on win-loss records, speaker points, various tie breakers, etc. But our rule is the higher seed (in theory, the hotter of the two teams in that tournament) advances. No exceptions.
In the bracket above if Roosevelt #4 and #8 seeds both won their QF rounds, they would become a close out in semi finals. We would send the 4th seeded team to finals.
Even when a team claims they don't want to go forward, even though they earned the right to advance under our rules, we generally send them on. There must be a VERY compelling reason (illness, TOC bids, leaving the tournament, etc for us to violate our rules). Faced with that issue this year we sent on the team that deserved to go on.
The only other time we openly violate the above close out rule is at All Iowa Finals and National Qualifiers. At All Iowa Finals, we will always protect seniors unless there are seniors on both sides of the close out. We do not want a senior career to end in a close out if at all avoidable. However, we have experienced the senior vs. senior close out before and we simply forward the team that is highest seeded once again. In 2008 that produced a lot of tears because we closed out two senior girls for a senior and junior. But that is the only way it can be and be fair to the team at large.
At National Qualifier, the paradigm we use is slightly different. We would seek to make a decision that benefits the team as a whole--allowing more qualifiers to attend the national tournament. So for example, if two PF teams close out--we would have to chose.
One element of the consideration, is who has qualified in something else-such as extemp or oratory. Normally we would know the IE results or the student signed intention sheets prior to that decision--but even that fails us sometimes.
We can only do the best we can do at Qualifier. But again, if the correct thing to do is to send seniors, that is what we will chose to do. We maintain a moving scorecard at qualifier to keep track of these things. But even with the information we have at hand, sometimes a coach really wants a decision back.
Sometimes we roll the dice on a decision and send the lower seeded team to nationals hoping the higher seeded team can pull it out. It is a gut call at that time and place. Ankeny rolled the dice two years ago based on what tab told her of the likely pairings in a final round. She thought she could get both through and didn't. Tab missed a possible pairing. Had she known of it, her decision would have been different.
This is the one area where a student's perceptions or a parents perceptions could be that we really are playing favorites. Hence, the close out rule that we have. All Iowa Finals and Qualifier are the two times that sometimes a coach just has to make a decision and someone isn't going to be happy.
Last year at IHSSA state we closed out Mike and Sam (at that point in time clearly our best PF team), and went through 3 other close outs per our rule. We were rewarded with a state team championship because the teams we closed out to got the job done. We can't control a lot of things in a tournament, and certainly can't control who seeds in elimination brackets where. Nor are those brackets published during the tournament. Hence, we never know about close outs until they happen. We can only do what we can in a close-out situation.
If you are a close out victim, take it in stride. There is never anything personal. Coaches try to do the best we can with the circumstances we have and sometimes not having all the information we need to make the right call. Taking your frustration out on a coach afterwards serves no value. A coach will look you in the eye and tell you--you had six prelims--six chances to have better speaks, a better win loss record, etc. It is what it is--sorry. Don't blame coaches for what could have been.
