My proposal to solve this problem in high school sports would be to allow transfers to play immediately if they are in school on day one of a new school year, but to not allow them to play in the post season the first year when they transfer. This would allow the athletes to participate but would decrease the desire to transfer solely for athletic success, as the post season is where acquisition of talent is so desired.

 

Now, in the spirit of fairness and equality for all, it wouldn't be right to single out those who participate in sports. Let's extend that to academics as well. If a kid transfers for academic reasons - you know to better themselves academically - let's not let them take the state/national testing at the end of the school year because that'll unfairly skew that school's results. Same for the ACT. No way that school should get to count that 32 ACT in their averages. Same goes for that drum major or cheerleader who transferred. They shouldn't be competing in any tournaments at year end. No way.

There is also something in place to keep kids from transferring for athletic purposes called Bylaw 6. Rules are put in place for specific reasons. Even professional sports attempt to keep teams more equal in talent levels so as to keep interest in their sport. The acquisition of LeBron, D-Wade, and Bosh to the Miami Heat demonstrates what can be done with talent coming together. That is what AAU basketball is for - accumulation of talent. What I see in amateur sports from high school down to little league baseball is that to be the best coaches, schools, and communities are willing to cheat so they can feel good about how talented and awesome their team is even if their team consists of no local players that start on their team. Anthony Davis didn't play for a loaded high school team. His teams had losing records. He did play AAU basketball to improve his skills and competitive abilities. Why do players feel like they are failures unless they can dominate because they are on a team with other great athletes?

 

Bylaw 6 never hardly stands up in court because the court system sees it as an infringement on someone's right to choose where they go to school whether it is for sports or not. Kids get one chance to be kids and shouldn’t be restricted by a rule that prevents them from going to a school that they feel they can win a possible championship. So, good luck on supporting Bylaw 6 if that’s you want to believe is right, but I 100% support parents that choose to sue the KHSAA over this so called rule.

 

Also, please don’t use professional athletes or teams as your support because it is night and day between that and high school sports and you know it.

Is it fair for teams to work hard for success and to have other schools be good because transfers magicly appear for their success? What does that teach the hard working loyal students? Do we want to teach them that people who break rules succeed and that hard work and loyalty are for suckers?

 

The problem with the above is it seems to assume that all transfers are "breaking rules."

 

Are you OK with allowing a kid to play immediately if his family moves into the school district?

The problem that needs addressing is the amount of loop holes in all the transfer rules. Let me first say, that I believe any kid in high school should have the right to transfer if he/she wants to, just like in college. Some situations just don't work out for everyone involved. The problem is now AAU has its hands in high school basketball and these kids are filtering around where their AAU coach sees fit. So, lies are given on several different ends and some lies are better covered up than others which leads to the inconsistent rulings by KHSAA. Some high school programs definitely use this to their advantage, and probably even cross "recruiting" lines. Add in the fact that private institutions don't have to go by the same rules as public schools (offering tuition and other assistance/benefits), and what you have is the mess that is going on right now.

When I am on my deathbed and someone asks me if I have any regrets, I'll reply: "You know, I really wish we could have had a few more BGP threads where folks argued about transfers. Oh, and more KISS reunion tours."

Bylaw 6 never hardly stands up in court because the court system sees it as an infringement on someone's right to choose where they go to school whether it is for sports or not. Kids get one chance to be kids and shouldn’t be restricted by a rule that prevents them from going to a school that they feel they can win a possible championship. So, good luck on supporting Bylaw 6 if that’s you want to believe is right, but I 100% support parents that choose to sue the KHSAA over this so called rule.

 

Also, please don’t use professional athletes or teams as your support because it is night and day between that and high school sports and you know it.

 

1) Bylaw 6 DOES NOT and HAS NOT ever stopped ANY kids from going to ANY school they want. Never. Point Blank.

 

Someone living in Hardin County can stay in home district of Central Hardin, ask Hardin County Schools to switch to John Hardin or North Hardin (if overcrowding is not a factor; bus will NOT provide transportation; money stays in district since sister schools) or even pay tuition to Elizabethtown (in county), Bethlehem (not in county) or X/T/Mercy/Assumption/DeSales/KCD (not in county).

 

Several high school kids from Hardin County go to Gatton at WKU and don't play sports.

 

2) Bylaw 6 does NOT stop a kid from playing sports ... because they still retain eligibility at the school they were just at. If a kid attends School A and plays sports at School A and then tries to enroll at School B without moving into School B's district ... the kid is still ELIGIBLE to play sports at School A (school just left). Fun fact.

 

3) By joining the KHSAA, schools (public and private, rural and metro, big and small, rich and poor) agree to said bylaws (some of which the schools themselves have written and voted on). As an extension, athletes and coaches are subject to same bylaws.

 

4) Bylaw 6 has held up in court several times. Good luck finding court cases where bylaw 6 was the ONLY factor the judge/jury ruled that way. Many times, there are far more factors at play when these cases go to court as opposed to "just" bylaw 6.

 

Without Bylaw 6, you're turning LOU/LEX/NKY into the Wild West. It would be hard to stop recruiting/transfers.

 

You lose school spirit and support because businesses/alums don't recognize the teams anymore.

 

Even the media can/will turn on you because they'll see you as winning with hired guns/mercenaries and recruiting your way to success instead of coaching/building.

 

 

IMO, getting rid of Bylaw 6 is opening a HUGE can of worms that's not worth touching in the long run.

Having to sit out a year for switching schools is a punishment.

 

I see some people have trouble with comprehending that the post season ban does not include the regular season. Most of the kids that transfer for athletic reasons also play AAU ball. Don't kid yourself into thinking that these kids are transferring for other reasons than athletics. If that is true sitting out the post season shouldn't be a problem.

Now, in the spirit of fairness and equality for all, it wouldn't be right to single out those who participate in sports. Let's extend that to academics as well. If a kid transfers for academic reasons - you know to better themselves academically - let's not let them take the state/national testing at the end of the school year because that'll unfairly skew that school's results. Same for the ACT. No way that school should get to count that 32 ACT in their averages. Same goes for that drum major or cheerleader who transferred. They shouldn't be competing in any tournaments at year end. No way.

 

The difference there is that academics don't just take the gifted student - all are welcome. All take the test.

What about ones that transfer for other reasons?

 

There can never be a blanket rule on transfers

 

We have one for who can be president of the United States don't we? We have rules for who can vote. We have laws against things we consider crimes. When parents move they know (or should if they are interested in their kid) that eligibility will be in question because rules are in place to keep athletics secondary and education primary. Rules are there to prevent recruitment and persuasion of a child to transfer to another school for the athletic success of a coach and school. It is obvious how many of these transfers are made for those reasons. Once again a post season ban would not include the regular season. The post season is the main reasons that illegitimate transfers are made.

We have one for who can be president of the United States don't we? We have rules for who can vote. We have laws against things we consider crimes. When parents move they know (or should if they are interested in their kid) that eligibility will be in question because rules are in place to keep athletics secondary and education primary. Rules are there to prevent recruitment and persuasion of a child to transfer to another school for the athletic success of a coach and school. It is obvious how many of these transfers are made for those reasons. Once again a post season ban would not include the regular season. The post season is the main reasons that illegitimate transfers are made.

 

So a parent gets a new job in a different area and has to move. Little Johnny you can play but not in the postseason.

I see some people have trouble with comprehending that the post season ban does not include the regular season. Most of the kids that transfer for athletic reasons also play AAU ball. Don't kid yourself into thinking that these kids are transferring for other reasons than athletics. If that is true sitting out the post season shouldn't be a problem.

 

 

:lol2:

 

I made a general statement that you apparently took as me responding to your post season ban idea. If I was speaking about your idea I would have quoted you. As you can see in post #10 I didn't quote anyone. That would make the comprehension part fall back on you. :thumb:

 

Don't kid yourself into thinking that these kids transfer for athletic reasons only. If it can be proven, and it has been proven before, little Johnny has to sit out a year or go back to the school he came from.:thumb:

The difference there is that academics don't just take the gifted student - all are welcome. All take the test.

 

All kids that transfer to new schools aren't always gifted athletes either.

We have one for who can be president of the United States don't we? We have rules for who can vote. We have laws against things we consider crimes. When parents move they know (or should if they are interested in their kid) that eligibility will be in question because rules are in place to keep athletics secondary and education primary. Rules are there to prevent recruitment and persuasion of a child to transfer to another school for the athletic success of a coach and school. It is obvious how many of these transfers are made for those reasons. Once again a post season ban would not include the regular season. The post season is the main reasons that illegitimate transfers are made.

 

 

That's pure speculation on your part. You have no clue why kids transfer. None at all. Do some schools benefit from a transfer? Absolutely. There are also plenty of schools with a minimal shot of post season success who have received transfers this season.

The AD or Designated Rep can usually say to themselves once they gather the needed information whether the student-athlete will be eligible or ineligible just by the facts that they are provided. It is all about what you can prove in the paperwork. Documentation is the key in all of these cases no matter how high or low profile the kid is that walks thru your door. Whether you say that Bylaw 6 is a joke or not is your own opinion, but if you have all of your ducks in a row & are up front about everything in your documentation it is a pretty easy process.