It’s the classic “caught between a rock and a hard place.”
Last week, an NCAA committee offered support of a proposal to prohibit college coaches (except football) from making scholarship offers to recruits before July 1 between their junior and senior years in high school. Coaches also would have to receive high school transcripts documenting at least five semesters or seven quarters worth of academic work before they can offer a scholarship.
Yet, during this attempt to clamp down on an out-of-control system, the NCAA would still allow coaches to contact recruits …

Anthony Shivers:  Marcos de Niza football
Marcos de Niza running back Anthony Shivers is poised for a breakout year. He has been talking to Cal, Arizona and Arizona State and said he is close to getting scholarship offers. Shivers took a few moments out of his day to talk about one play he might not want to put on his highlight reel, and other topics.
What class do you dread the most? Math. I’m not good at math.
What reality TV show would you be on? I like that show Wipeout. I …

Junior quarterback Parker Rasmussen, Highland’s leader in rushing and passing yards per game last year, will play for Desert Ridge next season, according to Jaguars coach Jeremy Hathcock.

This tale puts “taking one for the team” to shame.
Michael Dudley won a Virginia football state championship at Thomas Dale high school last fall, but in this summer before college, the all-state wide receiver wound up being part of a different kind of glory.
According to Friday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, Dudley and a couple friends were eating at a restaurant when an argument broke out at a nearby table. A man accused his wife of an affair and then shoved her into a glass partition.
Dudley, voted most sociable in his high school …

The country is abuzz in soccer talk after Landon Donovan’s improbable injury time goal against Algeria pushed the United States into the Round of 16.
But does this burst of attention translate into participation?
Mesa boys coach T.J. Hagen didn’t see much difference four years ago when soccer tryouts were held at his school a few months after the last World Cup.
“I don’t know that there’s any correlation,” Hagen said. “It just raises awareness.”
The bigger key might be in the younger age group. It’s tough for high schoolers to try soccer for …

James Schilling will become the new baseball coach at Basha, pending school board approval, Basha athletic director Brent Rincon said Thursday.
Schilling was the coach at Williams Field last season, amassing a 17-12 record and a berth in the 4A-II state tournament.
He takes over for Ron Ifversen, who resigned after a 9-18 record this season.
“He’s a young, up-and-coming coach,” Rincon said of Schilling. “He really stood out as someone who fit with what we want.”

Chandler standout Jasmine Todd became the first Gatorade Arizona Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year to be chosen from the school.
The junior-to-be jumper and sprinter won the long jump (19 feet, 11 inches) and the triple jump (39 feet, 3 1/4 inches) at the 5A Division I state meet last month as the Wolves won a fifth consecutive girls championship.
The Tribune’s Female Athlete of the Year, Todd also won the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.10 seconds and anchored the winning 4×100-meter …

If only more Arizona kids were into the javelin. Doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue and it’s not at the forefront of minds, but at the Arizona high school level, we’re missing out on watching more Hannah Carson.

A college town inside a big city and an optometrist across from the football stadium helped Jordan Morgan cease his school search.
The former Valley Christian quarterback/safety/punter committed to the University of California in Berkeley on Sunday, hours after he visited the campus for the first time.
Morgan, who led the Trojans to a 2A state championship as a junior last season, had drawn interest from the Big Ten, Pac-10 and the military academies.
Morgan passed for 1,516 yards and 23 TDs, rushed for 1,407 yards and 20 TDs, made 139 tackles with …

Those who want to relive various glory days from last year and take a one-time step closer to “game” action on the football field may have found a couple hours’ oasis in these dog days of summer.
Both the 2A/3A and 4A/5A Arizona Football Coaches Association All-Star games are this weekend at Glendale Community College. The smaller schools play at 7 p.m. tonight while the 4A/5A game will be Saturday night.

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It’s the last chance to see some of the best graduated seniors from across the state and Valley-wide.
The players …