The NFHS is pleased to welcome two new members to the 2018 Softball Rules Committee: Jerry Snodgrass and Melissa Hobson. Scott Owen is beginning his four-year term on the committee after filling in as the Section 6 vacancy last year. The NFHS rules writing committees consist of experts in the given sport or activity and each are nominated by their state association. The committee chair works with the NFHS liaison to prepare the annual meeting agenda, chairs the meeting, and guides the committee through the rules proposal deliberation process. Committee members represent one of the eight sections as divided by the NFHS By-laws. Each member obtains feedback from their section regarding submitted rules proposals. A member of the NFHS Coaches Association and the NFHS Officials Association also serve on the committee and represent their constituent group. Each committee member serves a four-year term.

Jerry Snodgrass, Section 2
A 31-year veteran in education prior to joining the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), Snodgrass was hired as an OHSAA assistant commissioner in August 2008. He serves the member schools as the administrator for the sports of boys and girls soccer, boys and girls basketball and baseball, added softball in 2016. He also serves a major role as the OHSAA’s main liaison with athletic administrators across the state. Snodgrass has served in various leadership capacities, elected to serve on the OHSAA’s Northwest District Athletic Board while also serving as its president prior to his employment at the OHSAA. He was elected to a two-year term on the OHSAA Board of Directors between 2005-07, serving as the Board’s president in 2006-07. He also has been a trustee with the OHSAA Foundation, is a member of the OHSAA’s Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity Committee, and currently serves on the University of Findlay’s Sport and Hospitality Management Advisory Board and the Wilson Football Hall of Fame.  Snodgrass’ four-year term on the NFHS Softball Rules Committee ends in 2021.

Scott Owen, Section 6
Owen is finishing his sixth year with the New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) and has been the softball administrator each of those years. Prior to joining the NMAA, Owen spent 10 years coaching wrestling at the collegiate level with Northern Illinois University, The United States Naval Academy and Bloomsburg University. In addition to softball, Owen oversees eligibility, sanctioning, sports medicine, and wrestling. Owen will serve a four-year term ending in 2021.

Melissa Hobson, NFHS Coaches Association Representative
Hobson started her high school coaching career at Goldwater High School in Phoenix, then was given the opportunity to open the softball program at Sandra Day O’Connor High School in Phoenix. She has remained the head coach there for the past 16 years. Her teams at Sandra Day O’Connor have made an appearance in the Arizona state playoffs for 14 years in a row, capped by a state championship in 2015.  Hobson is a member of the Arizona Softball Coaches Association, NFHS Coaches Association, and the NFCA Coaches Association. She also has been selected to be the AIA section/region representative in charge of organizing the balloting for honors/awards for all teams in her section/region. Hobson’s four-year term on the NFHS Softball Rules Committee ends in 2021.