This article was the headline in LHL today:

 

New proposal would put KHSAA in charge of middle school athletics | High School Sports | Kentucky.com

 

Themes and excerpts from the article by Valerie Honeycut Spears:

 

 

 

Not a copy of HS rules:

 

Because middle school athletes have needs that are different from high school athletes, the yet-to-be-named committee members "can't just Xerox the high school rules," Tackett said.

 

 

 

Holding back will have consequences:

 

One provision in the regulation addresses parents who ask that students be retained instead of being promoted to the next grade for athletic reasons.

"There's no denying that it happens. Everybody thinks their kid is the next scholarship player at Kentucky," Tackett said.

 

Beginning with the 2014-15 school year, students would not be able to compete in middle school during a year in which they are repeating a grade for any reason, under the regulation. Students could compete in later middle school years, Tackett said.

 

A similar rule has been in place for high school students for years, Tackett said.

 

 

 

 

Limiting number of games

 

The regulation also calls for local school districts to set limits on student participation and constraints on pre-season practices and how many games are played in a season. Middle school students wouldn't be able to play more games than high school students are allowed to play.

 

Tackett said the legislature's middle school task force heard testimony that two middle school basketball teams had played 50 games, when high schools may play only 30 during the regular season.

 

 

Playing up limited to 7th and 8th graders

 

Under the new regulation, only students in seventh grade and above would be able to play on high school teams as of the 2014-15 school year. Students in sixth grade and below who are playing for a high school at that time would be allowed to continue.

 

 

Ms. Spears had covered this issue for a couple of years now. Her email in the article.

 

Don't like it. If a parent wants to hold their kid back for sports who is Julian Tackett to stop them?

Don't like it. If a parent wants to hold their kid back for sports who is Julian Tackett to stop them?

My reading was you can still hold them back they just miss a season of play in middle school. No one is holding a kid back for middle school glory after all, they are being held back for HS. In most sports there non school teams available they can play for while sitting a year in middle school.

 

I have no love for Tackett or the KHSAA for that matter, IMO most of what they do and/or rule on seems ham fisted and borders on corruption.

June 17, 2013

Middle school sports may fall under regulations

 

Associated Press

LEXINGTON — Kentucky lawmakers are reviewing a proposal that would place middle school athletics under the purview of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, with the regulations going into effect for the 2014-15 school year.

 

If approved, the measure would mark the first time middle schools fell under statewide oversight.

 

The state board of education has already signed on to the idea. KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett told the Lexington Herald-Leader (New proposal would put KHSAA in charge of middle school athletics | High School Sports | Kentucky.com ) the lack of statewide oversight over middle school athletics has led to problems that include some schools playing more games during a season than is considered safe and parents holding students back a year simply for athletic reasons.

Link

Good idea, or bad idea?

Great Idea.

 

My main issues with middle school sports are the following.

 

1. To many Hold backs. (this will have kids held back before middle school)

2. To many games are being played. (basketball is the worse)

3. No limits on seasons. (kids never get a chance to be a kid)

Good idea, or bad idea?

 

Is going from a middle school in one district to a high school in another district going to be considered a transfer??????

Is going from a middle school in one district to a high school in another district going to be considered a transfer??????

 

Yes in 2016, thats when the 7th grade and up residence rule takes affect.

I think as long as they're not regulating transfers, I've got no problem with it. I just don't want to see kids finding themselves making commitments to schools when they're 11 years old. Middle school athletics need to take a back-seat to middle school learning...even moreso than high school athletics do, in my honest opinion.

Yes in 2016, thats when the 7th grade and up residence rule takes affect.

 

Not familiar with that. Can you give me some details?

Is going from a middle school in one district to a high school in another district going to be considered a transfer??????

 

I don't believe they are going to get into managing what kids play where. Sounds to me like they are doing this primarily to get a handle on safe practices in all middle school sports- ie: background checks on coaches, limiting the number of games, regulating practice times maybe, then the hold back rule. Still won't stop parents from holding them back for athletic reasons PRIOR to middle school but a good idea nonetheless.

Great Idea.

 

My main issues with middle school sports are the following.

 

1. To many Hold backs. (this will have kids held back before middle school)

2. To many games are being played. (basketball is the worse)

3. No limits on seasons. (kids never get a chance to be a kid)

I agree there needs to be some order brought to Middle School athletics.

I would add a #4. Rampant cheating by a few middle schools using ineligible and even out of middle school players.

Yes in 2016, thats when the 7th grade and up residence rule takes affect.

 

Can you explain what this is? I don't see how on earth they could enforce a transfer rule for kids going from middle school to high school. They can't even do it for kids going from High School to High School. Not to mention you have tons of middle schools who feed multiple high schools.

Correct me if wrong as I'm not originally from NKy, but wasn't there something proposed many years ago in NKy that suggested if if you were planning on attending a parochial high school instead of the public school in your district, that you had to declare that HS going in to your 8th grade year (ie: last year of middle school)- but if you did not and decided to transfer to a parochial school after your Freshman year, you had to sit out of athletics the following year? I heard that fell on its face because it legally couldn't be enforced.

Don't like the bureaucrats getting involved in everything they can. Hasn't been so bad without them. There is already a middle school body, KYMSFA who does a very good job with the schools that are in it. Let all the teams join them.

Yes in 2016, thats when the 7th grade and up residence rule takes affect.

 

Not read nothing on transfers in MS