TIFTON — When you go to a high school football game this fall, you may not notice any number of the items discussed at a GHSA football rules clinic.

But remember this one — sportsmanship.

Players’ conduct, coaches conduct and crowd control were points emphasized at Saturday’s clinic at Tift County High School. The clinic was the first of 21 set for across the state in the next two weeks.

Coaches and officials are required to attend a clinic, and can be fined $50 if they don’t. Clinics in South Georgia are also set for Monday in Albany (Westover High) and Aug. 10 at Ware County High.

In all, the GHSA’s presentation contains 65 PowerPoint slides listing changes, clarifications and points of emphasis in GHSA and National Federation rules.

Sportsmanship was the one point Brockey Brock spoke most passionately about.

“We’re trying to take a proactive approach to clean up something,” said Brock, a 32-year officiating veteran who conducted Saturday’s clinic. He’s the executive secretary of the Albany officials association and the director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Recreation and Parks Department. “It seems it got worse 10-15 years ago. It’s my opinion that this starts at home, being disrespectful to parents and adults.”

On the field, Brock points to past dark days of the Miami Hurricanes’ program and Deion Sanders’ on-field antics at Florida State.

“Kids, no matter what you say, emulate heroes or great athletes,” Brock said. “J.D. Drew (an Atlanta Braves outfielder and Hahira native) and the Drew boys (Braves’ pitcher Tim and Florida State shortstop Stephen) are good Christians, and we want people to act like that.

“What’s sad is we as coaches allow things to happen. I’ve seen players walk to an emblem at midfield and shoot at it. That’s not right. And who should stop that? Coaches, parents, they shouldn’t allow it.”

Agreed, said area coaches.

“We expect our kids to be football players out there, not referees or prizefighters or anything like that,” said Cook head coach George Dean. “When the ball is snapped it starts and when the whistle blows it stops. You play football in between.

“We work on (conduct) in practice, but it’s a 24/7 deal. It carries over into life.”

“It goes to the morals. If you teach it in the schoolhouse, it spills over onto the field,” said Brooks County head coach Ryan Branch. “We see games where conduct gets out of hand. It’s tough, especially when the people in the stands are going nuts.

“We’re trying to catch it before it happens. We talk about it on the practice field.”

This year’s sportsmanship issues go more to game management and crowd control. Schools must have a “game manager” to which officials can go to handle problems.

Security escorts for officials are now mandatory, and spectator control is a “high priority.”

Another point of emphasis: The people who are allowed to stand on the sidelines.

“It should be people who are really involved in the game,” Brock said. “It shouldn’t be the supporters; they should be in a good reserved seat. And officials sometimes are supposed to work on the actual sideline, and they can’t do it in high school. You should be selective who you have there.”

Schools are being asked to mark a restraining line 2 yards off the sideline as the colleges have. Other points of emphasis: coaches should stay in the coaches’ box, and players should stay out of that box.

The clinic was a day coaches and officials could come together, with Brock sharing stories about officials’ foulups and working with many of South Georgia’s legendary coaches.

“I like having them together, trying to give coaches and officials a perspective of what’s going on,” Brock said. “It gives me an opportunity to talk about things I was raised on and what other coaches have taught me through the years.”

Among the changes:

1. The GHSA’s protest rule has been deleted from the bylaws.

2. In setting the capacity of a football stadium, a seat is defined as 24 inches in width (not 18 inches). New capacity minimums are set for playoff games: Class AAAAA, 6,000 seats; Class AAAA, 4,000 seats; Class AAA, 3,000 seats; Class A/AA, 2,500 seats.

3. Playoff tickets prices are now: First round, $8; second and third round, $10; semifinals in Dome, $15; championships, negotiable. No discounted presale tickets are allowed.

4. Class AAAAA semifinal games will be played at 6 and 9 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 27, in the Dome; Class AAAA semifinal games will be played at the same time on Friday, Nov. 26. The Class AAAAA championship game will be at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4.

5. Towels must be moisture absorbing and not have any sticky/slippery substance on them. No gloves may have webbed fingers.

6. Legal conferences may be held on field (one coach, 11 players, three attendants) or within 5 yards of the sideline (any number of players and coaches).

7. Head coaches may call timeouts from the sidelines.

8. Clarifications in weather-affected games. In-classification games will be played to completion unless the trailing team declines (without concern of curfew). Games will be resumed at the point of interruption. Other games can be stopped after a cumulative one-hour delay. Games stopped before halftime are declared a no contest; the score counts in games stopped at halftime or later. An 11:30 p.m. curfew is to be enforced.

9. Snapper must face opponent’s goal line and have shoulders approximately parallel to the line.

10. Rules concerning illegal substitutions are a point of emphasis.