The following is a portion of an email I sent to members of the KHSAA Board of Control and Commissioner Julian Tackett:

 

"According to Bylaw 9-2, student athletes who play basketball are not allowed to attend any sort of camps or play games after their first day of school.

 

I believe this rule hurts basketball players in our state and hinders their opportunities to earn athletic scholarships through attending college elite camps on campus as well as other basketball camps which are heavily scouted.

 

In the past year alone, this bylaw has hurt student athletes by not allowing them to attend the John Lucas Elite camp in Louisville last August. This is a national camp attended by the best players from all around the country but Kentucky was not well represented at the event because of Bylaw 9.

 

I personally coach young men who will miss out on potential scholarship opportunities in August because they cannot attend the college elite camps that they have been invited to.

 

So my question would be, what is the reasoning behind the current rule of not being able to attend after the student athlete's first day of school?"

 

I also proposed that the state follow a standard date of September 1st for a cut off date for camps.

 

The answers I got from board of control members ranged from "I don't know. I'll bring it up at the next meeting." to "Kids transfer more if they go to camps."

 

I'm interested to hear comments on this from the BGP folks. Fire away.

I'm in agreement with you Q. I think it puts KY players at a significant disadvantage in comparison to other states who allow their players to participate. Why not use October 15th? Why would a player essentially have to refrain from competitive play in their sport simply because school started? I can think of no good reasoning behind it.

What stops them? That's an insane rule, i'm sure if someone threatens them with a lawsuit it would be "brought up".

High School Basketball is the Cash Cow for KHSAA, people may not realize it but imagine if D'Angelo Russell played his HS basketball in KY, theoretically he alone would of brought in Money for District, Region and Sweet 16. Think of a player like Braxton Beverly, gates will suffer this year with him transferring out of state.

What stops them? That's an insane rule, i'm sure if someone threatens them with a lawsuit it would be "brought up".

.

 

What stops them is that they could be suspended for participating in one of them.

My child should be able to attend any camp he wants. This isn't the NCAA, they can't control a player. KHSAA acts like they are giving a kid enough recognition and opportunity, when kids are really getting it on the AAU/Camp circuit. Lawsuit would be sort of like when people sue for a potential Loss of Earnings, except your earnings are a college scholarship.

What stops them? That's an insane rule, i'm sure if someone threatens them with a lawsuit it would be "brought up".

High School Basketball is the Cash Cow for KHSAA, people may not realize it but imagine if D'Angelo Russell played his HS basketball in KY, theoretically he alone would of brought in Money for District, Region and Sweet 16. Think of a player like Braxton Beverly, gates will suffer this year with him transferring out of state.

 

If a player is caught participating in a camp after the first day of school, reported and found to be in violation of the rule, then they are subject to suspension from KHSAA games.

Basketball and football are the only 2 sports that this rule applies to. If a volleyball player wants to go play at an elite camp or anything like that, they can go any time they want before the season begins.

Has anyone every broke this rule? Punished? Just imagine the backlash...wouldn't be good publicity at all for the KHSAA. Think about how the whole poorly worded shaking hands thing. Football I can see since it's somewhat in season, Basketball on the other hand doesn't start for another couple months.

Has anyone every broke this rule? Punished? .

 

Yes and yes

This is a rule that could use some tweaking. I'm like the October 15th date. When practice starts then you can't go to anymore camps. I hate to hear of any kids missing out on an opportunity that can help their future.

The kids should come first. There's no excuse and no logical reasoning for such a rule.

I really don't like KHSAA trying to wield so much control on what MY child does on his own time. I really don't like the idea of saying after the first day of school because it penalizes student athletes who attend schools with earlier start dates. (Rural kids, mountain kids, kids who attend schools with "year round" schedules) My son couldn't attend a camp last year while other KY kids who hadn't started school yet and out of state kids had the opportunity. Felt like discrimination and I wondered if I had taken him out of school and home schooled him for a few days and then reenrolled him after the camp if I would have gotten away with it. This one really needs to go or at least have a uniform date. October 15 makes more sense. Might send my own strongly worded e-mail.

Edited July 2, 201511 yr by Yo Mama
adding sentence

Respectfully disagree with the posts thus far, though I admit I have gone back and forth on the issue at times, and certainly understand everyone's point. My reasoning in a quick-fire method:

 

1. Kids already can already play basketball 10 (maybe 11) months out of the year. If they can play, they've certainly had the opportunity to prove it as is.

 

2. It's the start of the school year, end of the AAU season, and just prior to the start of the high school season. If there needs to be a down-time for basketball athletes this appears the right time.

 

3. None of the events Ky. are missing are NCAA certified "live" period events.

 

4. Colleges have multiple camps every summer, if they want to bring a kid to "camp" there are opportunities other than in the fall.

 

5. I disagree with the KHSAA plenty, but not always. This seems like a good rule, looking out for the kid a little bit.

 

6. High school is not a four-year audition for a basketball scholarship. More to high school and growing up than going from one "elite," "next biggest thing ever," "there's going to be a ton of scouts at this camp," to the next. Sometimes we have to have rules to protect kids and families from themselves.

 

I could go on, but I'll circle back to #1 .

 

The following is a portion of an email I sent to members of the KHSAA Board of Control and Commissioner Julian Tackett:

 

"According to Bylaw 9-2, student athletes who play basketball are not allowed to attend any sort of camps or play games after their first day of school.

 

I believe this rule hurts basketball players in our state and hinders their opportunities to earn athletic scholarships through attending college elite camps on campus as well as other basketball camps which are heavily scouted.

 

In the past year alone, this bylaw has hurt student athletes by not allowing them to attend the John Lucas Elite camp in Louisville last August. This is a national camp attended by the best players from all around the country but Kentucky was not well represented at the event because of Bylaw 9.

 

I personally coach young men who will miss out on potential scholarship opportunities in August because they cannot attend the college elite camps that they have been invited to.

 

So my question would be, what is the reasoning behind the current rule of not being able to attend after the student athlete's first day of school?"

 

I also proposed that the state follow a standard date of September 1st for a cut off date for camps.

 

The answers I got from board of control members ranged from "I don't know. I'll bring it up at the next meeting." to "Kids transfer more if they go to camps."

 

I'm interested to hear comments on this from the BGP folks. Fire away.

 

On the quoted, agree with some, disagree with some. But, the Sept. 1 date makes good sense from a uniformity standpoint.

6. High school is not a four-year audition for a basketball scholarship. from Sandman.

You are correct and this sums it up. High school should be a 4 year opportunity at education. What students do in their free time belongs to them. This is especially if it affords them a chance at bettering their chances at earning a scholarship. I am not going to disagree that a player may need a break from time to time, but I see no reason why the KHSAA should dictate when that is.

Respectfully disagree with the posts thus far, though I admit I have gone back and forth on the issue at times, and certainly understand everyone's point. My reasoning in a quick-fire method:

 

1. Kids already can already play basketball 10 (maybe 11) months out of the year. If they can play, they've certainly had the opportunity to prove it as is.

 

2. It's the start of the school year, end of the AAU season, and just prior to the start of the high school season. If there needs to be a down-time for basketball athletes this appears the right time.

 

3. None of the events Ky. are missing are NCAA certified "live" period events.

 

4. Colleges have multiple camps every summer, if they want to bring a kid to "camp" there are opportunities other than in the fall.

 

5. I disagree with the KHSAA plenty, but not always. This seems like a good rule, looking out for the kid a little bit.

 

6. High school is not a four-year audition for a basketball scholarship. More to high school and growing up than going from one "elite," "next biggest thing ever," "there's going to be a ton of scouts at this camp," to the next. Sometimes we have to have rules to protect kids and families from themselves.

 

I could go on, but I'll circle back to #1 .

 

 

 

On the quoted, agree with some, disagree with some. But, the Sept. 1 date makes good sense from a uniformity standpoint.

 

It is not my intention to have kids going to camp every weekend or anything like that. Just be able to attend a camp if afforded the opportunity.

 

Since the rule on open gyms changed about 5 years ago, kids are playing basically year round anyway. They play in open gym 3-5 times a week. I ended up losing my starting PG for a certified tournament in April because he rolled an ankle in open gym at his high school.

 

A mentor of mine who has been coaching longer than I have been alive said the rule is in place to try and make more kids play football in the fall. Said the football coaches will never allow it to be changed.