lexcard

Lacrosse is coming on very strong.

As the parent of an 8th grader who 'played up' in a HS club sport I understand and agree with this updated rule. When you run with the big dogs you have to abide by the big dog rules. I can see why there would be resentment and perception of recruiting if an MS student can prove themselves early but then switch schools penalty free. Since this rule is aimed at students who voluntarily chose to participate at the HS level it makes sense. When you 'go to the next level' early you should be wary of the issues and potential consequences. The old proposal of 'feeder patterns' that forced ALL students to decide their entire school path in the 5th grade was, and still is, completely absurd. All the views of this thread are valid and I have found myself on all sides of this issue when it comes to whether MSers should be allowed to play up. I think they should be able to play up given that they do not knock a true HSer off the team. i.e. if there are spots open after all the regular HS tryouts and the roster is as filled as possible with HS students. Then and only then should MS students be allowed to play at the HS level for a team. This would keep with the intent of the rule - to allow smaller schools to participate.

To address the above statements here is a refresher with some FACTS, not 3rd or 4th hand stories: http://www.lexingtoncatholic.com/media/releases/KHSAA/OPED.doc

Great points Zoolander. Let me throw out another scenerio. A local kid 'switches' 'feeder' school systems between MS and HS (a common, common occurance). He is denied ALL SPORTS ACTIVITIES his freshman year. Perplexed parents appeal to KHSAA. KHSAA says he did not go a 'approved' feeder school and rejects appeal. Then out of town kid moves in, is a freshman. Assuming he is denied ALL SPORTS ACTIVITIES his perplexed parents appeal. KHSAA says, oh this not what we intended this wonderful rule for, you are allowed to play. Now the problem. Is the rule that your HAVE TO attend the feeder schools or not. If not, and kids who have moved residents and are allowed to play while other are not is going to create a serious, serious problem because what they are doing is saying 'we are blantently penalizing you for attending this very specific school or very specific set of schools prior to you enrolling in HS. Your attendence at that specific school prior to you enrolling in HS and coming under the jusidiction of the KHSAA has DQed you from participation.' Assuming the penalized kid is going from religous to public this would be a blatant case of discrimination.

http://www.archlou.org/therecord/aroundarchdiocese/-1999913601/-1998962121.htm More on the subject. From these additional comments I stand by my stance that Prop 20 was a smoke screen to cover the trojan horse that is now at the gates. The 'lock-in' of the atheletic pipelines is what what the ADs and coaches wanted all along.

LHL article: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sports/high_school/14035663.htm Also, has KHSAA formally announced (and posted on the public web) this decision and the associated details?

More baseless, unproven, irresponsible accusations to justify a method to lock in the pool of potential atheletes for a school at the expense of our youth. The message from public schools is clear - we want our pipeline locked in. Who gets shafted in the process of doing that is simply collateral damage. A kid denied ANY sports participation for a year in school is a high probability for drug abuse, behavior issues. But hey who cares? Not the coaches and ADs - they have their pipeline defined and more bodies can replace those lost in the shuffle.

Adding classes is not dumbing down or diluting. It may be necessary if the bottom of the class can not compete with the top of the class. That is not to say that every game in a class is nearly even but more that a 82-3 blowout every year between two teams in the same class is not likely. An effect of wide class groups is the 'poor get poorer' syndrome. If a school does not compete over a period of time it will likely not get all the kids it could if they were at least competative or shooting for a chance at the playoffs most years. Kids who may be a positive factor may decide not to play that sport at all. Or if they are set on playing the sport they and their parents may look at other options (i.e. private school). A 'cellar-dweller' school sports program is just not healthy for kids, coaches or boosters and if creating more classes helps that situation then its a valid option. Another option that could be used to help the matter is to use more than just school size to classify schools. Roster size and number of upper classmen are other factors that definitely have an on-the-field bearing and maybe should have bearing on a schools football class designation as well.

Apologies to CovCath if that is the school you are refering to.

My bet is that this is one of the main reasons for the harsh views that have driven Prop 20 and supposed compromises. But you have highlight other parts of the article to get the complete picture. So even the opposing coaches admit that its hard work and skill that are required to generate success. Then that success will create ongoing interest in the school. I think the 40-county statement radius is very overstated. And while LC is the only Catholic HS in the entire eastern part of the state the fact that a number of players (and probably overall student body) come from adjacent counties and Franklin county is not at all new or unusual. I know of numerous families that drive from Franklin and Madison for school and other activities daily or at least 3 -4 times a week. Its not a big deal, as those of us who live this region know. All the adjacent counties are well connected to the Lexington 'hub' and Franklin, though not directly adjacent to Fayette county, is well connected through I-64 and Madison is well connected through I-75. Going from these counties to Lexington is as easy or easier than going from Eastern Jefferson County to magnet schools on Dixie Highway. And while it may sound like a school like LC can attract kids all the way to the Ohio, West Virginia and Tennessee borders the practicle matter is that it does not work that way. There are no dorms for students to stay in. The students are not boarded in the coaches house during the season. The real logistics keep the actual drawing region limited to the 'Bluegrass region'. As parents that have played on true all-star teams or elite travel teams that cover a large geographic area can attest - every hour your in the car is an hour the child is not on the (pick one - court, field, ice, track) or doing homework or just being a kid. So the allure of 'multi-county' all-star team (real or not) sounds neat at first, but the parents and students who do this type of daily travel are giving up something and making definite sacrifices to do it. There is a downside to this whole idea and the futher away you are from the school the harder it is. This is why the 'distance limitation' is not really too much of an issue in reality. If Mark Story rewrites this article in a couple of years from now and there are kids from Pikeville and Somerset and Bowling Green playing for LC I would be more alarmed. But kids going to LC from Franklin and Madison is not really news. Mr. Story just wanted to stir the pot.

Absolute agreement. Mr. Sears has trumped up supposed, unproven, unsubstanciated issues and turned them for his own purposes. The fact that he is so willing to hurt the youth of our state is troubling. 'Banning', 'sitting out', 'forcing' are words and actions that don't seem to bother Mr. Wilson and his followers. They really don't care if if applies to public or private schools. But to those of us that have been responsible for youth sports and enhancing opportunity for all of Kentucky's youth to engage and play in sports this whole approach is purely alien and repulsive. Mr. Wilson and his followers are not advocates for Kentucky's youth.

Why wouldn't they if they are out of school. I am sure they would feel used and abused by this powerful school that they were beholding to for 4 years and want to get the word out. Of couse why won't Bigfoot come out of the forest and say here I am.

You don't need to be recruited to live in one county and go to school in another. If this is why people throw the 'recruitment' issue around you a very mistaken. For many families 20-30 mile daily drives are nothing. Oldham and Bullet counties have long been part of the metro Louisville area. Jessamine, Woodford and other surrounding counties are part of the Lexington/Fayette metro area. A lot of kids that live in surrounding counties of Fayette go to school in the established private schools and sports had absolutely nothing to do with that fact.

I saw bigfoot last night also. As I have posted previously - if recuiting is so rampant and bad then produce a single former student and/or their parents that will go on the record and say they were paid or their tuition was paid for just so they could play sports at a private school. Until that day, this is just another bigfoot sighting that is being trumped up to rationalize "a level the playing field".

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sports/13939277.htm