For the 2025 fall high school sports’ season, the Vermont Principals’ Association officially released new guidelines allowing coaches to work with their teams outside of their sports’ regular season, a change proposed in spring earlier this year. The new rule, which passed in a 6-2 vote within the VPA, goes against long-standing precedent for school teams. It lifts all restrictions on coaches hosting practices and other team activities during the off-season, and makes the prospect of year-round coaching for school teams and athletes a reality.
Essex High School teacher, bowling, and golf coach, Justin Norris, expressed concern about how the rule change may alter how sports are viewed generally in schools.
“A well-rounded athlete that’s playing multiple sports is probably better than one kid that is focusing on one sport all year round,” Norris said. “I think [the rule change] could have the potential for [year round sports] to be even more hyper-focused.”
Norris also said that the change will likely extend smaller school districts and teams new opportunities, which may even the playing field.
“There’s lots of different clubs and outside opportunities here in Chittenden County to play your sport outside of high school, but in some other places in Vermont there isn’t,” Norris said. “Having your coach be willing to help outside of a season might give some of those kids some additional opportunities that they wouldn’t have otherwise had.”
Essex High School teacher and Varsity Basketball coach, Jesse Willard, shared this sentiment, bringing up the imbalance of resources between districts of differing sizes.
“I think it’s good that we can work with athletes outside of the season, especially when you look at small towns where you might not have a lot of qualified trainers or coaches,” Willard said. “When you look at things like that, I think this is a good change.”
However, Willard also said this will apply new pressure to coaches.
“The expectation that is going to get put on coaches and how they handle it is what I think is going to have a major impact moving forward,” Willard said. “If coaches look at it as ‘my season is year round’, it is going to have a detrimental impact on student athletes.”
Three-season athlete and EHS senior, Greg Maiberger, said that the impact of the rule moving forward will depend on how widely and evenly it is applied to sports.
“If there’s a lot of coaches that are able to spend extra amounts of time coaching their athletes, then I think it could be fair and well-liked,” Maiberger said. “But in reality, there’s probably a lot of coaches who can’t do that.”
Following an email request for an interview regarding the changes, VPA member and Essex High School Assistant Principal Jeff Goodrich declined to comment.
