20 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

I am going to agree that choice of education is not part of the discussion here.

We can all think/say that but none of us know that or more importantly none of us can prove that. 

Additionally, sports are a part of education and I am not sure how any of us can precisely delineate the two.  

From the NFHS:

“Athletics are integral to the American education system because they have educational value,” said Dr. David Hoch, a former longtime high school coach and athletic director and current member of the High School Today Publications Committee, in a previous HST article. “By participating in athletics, young people have the opportunity to learn, grow and develop just as they do in the classroom – and the principle is essential to our approach.”

https://www.nfhs.org/articles/the-why-of-high-school-athletics-and-activities-programs/

3 and 5 and add  the play clock in all endzones.

5 hours ago, theguru said:

We can all think/say that but none of us know that or more importantly none of us can prove that. 

Additionally, sports are a part of education and I am not sure how any of us can precisely delineate the two.  

From the NFHS:

“Athletics are integral to the American education system because they have educational value,” said Dr. David Hoch, a former longtime high school coach and athletic director and current member of the High School Today Publications Committee, in a previous HST article. “By participating in athletics, young people have the opportunity to learn, grow and develop just as they do in the classroom – and the principle is essential to our approach.”

https://www.nfhs.org/articles/the-why-of-high-school-athletics-and-activities-programs/

That's a fair and valid point - sports are a part of personal growth and "education". Let's just no confuse transferring for "education" with transferring for academics. It is extremely rare that someone transfers in the middle of high school for academics and the transfer rules have no impact for those few that do transfer for academics.

6 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

 

I am going to agree that choice of education is not part of the discussion here. If it was about choice of education, then you wouldn't care if you had to sit a year to play a sport. 

I think the current rules are about right. You can't transfer on a whim because you got benched. Transferring requires serious thought and self reflection. If you want to transfer, you can do it. It is easy enough to find a way to make it happen.

I don't believe most kids are transferring because they got benched or aren't getting enough playing time. Kids who transfer tend to be elite players who transfer to go to a better program. People only complain about the elite programs getting the really good kids from average programs. 

9 hours ago, New Colonel said:

I agree, to an extent.  I also think it has to do with having kids that reside in your district.  That is the point of a school district afterall.

 

In Beechwood's case, maybe I am missing someone but I can only think of two players who transferred to Beechwood with varsity program experience in the last 8 years. I am not including Cole Howard as he was at Beechwood for his freshman and sophomore years then returned for his senior year. Queen transferring in for this fall makes it 3 players. 

On 5/7/2025 at 6:51 PM, 55RedDog said:

Get rid of NIL for high school athletes.  Do away with RPI (or at least the way it is calculated).

Why get rid of NIL for high school athletes? In football, I don't think or am aware of anything crazy going on with high school football players. Basketball is a different story but that's been going on forever, but I still can't necessarily say that it's been an issue with KY high school basketball.

21 hours ago, Footballfan5 said:

Get rid of spring football.  

Four classes.

No helmets until July 15th.

Weights and conditioning only in June.

Three week dead period.

Allow 2-a-days because there is no spring football or June time to install.

 

Why get rid of spring football???

1 hour ago, Honey Badger said:

Why get rid of spring football???

Why in the hell did the football coaches agree to give up 7 on 7 in early 2000s and give June to basketball? That was one of the not so great moves in KFCA history. 
 

If we don’t have spring ball at Owensboro we will have a low turn out. Spring ball keeps kids involved and active. 
 

Let’s get rid of travel sports…. 

Travel sports are the worst. Just a big money grab. 

42 minutes ago, TimeWillTell said:

Why in the hell did the football coaches agree to give up 7 on 7 in early 2000s and give June to basketball? That was one of the not so great moves in KFCA history. 
 

If we don’t have spring ball at Owensboro we will have a low turn out. Spring ball keeps kids involved and active. 
 

Let’s get rid of travel sports…. 

I'm not a fan of spring ball becuase it encourages kids to play only one sport. Not a bad thing for large schools, but a problem for smaller schools whose teams need to share athletes. Football (and basketball to a degree) have grown their footprint and time commitment and are now year round endeavors. Spring ball, June practice,and practice starting in July, and football monopolizes almost the entire year for the athletes. And I know Spring ball, and June practice aren't mandatory, but we all know how voluntary those really are in some places. 

4 hours ago, Breds82 said:

Travel sports are the worst. Just a big money grab. 

 

5 hours ago, TimeWillTell said:

Let’s get rid of travel sports…. 

To certain extent I agree but there are a few select teams in baseball and basketball that have to travel because they dominated the whole tri state area for quite a while. There are a few select athletes that are actually talented enough to where they need to play against the best in the country. In youth football over the past 10 years I have seen 3 teams in different age groups from Ohio that had to play a travel schedule because they also just didn't have any competition in the tri state area. Prime example is the team TySin Weaver played for called Cincinnati Bearcats Elite. But even with that said that still means 99% of travel sports is a money grab or a bunch of parent coaches with huge ego's. I've also seen in "AAU-a joke" basketball where teams can't compete in this area and run off to other areas to play weaker competition. There is a ton of great local sports right here in our own backyard I don't see the need to travel every weekend.

2 hours ago, Honey Badger said:

 

To certain extent I agree but there are a few select teams in baseball and basketball that have to travel because they dominated the whole tri state area for quite a while. There are a few select athletes that are actually talented enough to where they need to play against the best in the country. In youth football over the past 10 years I have seen 3 teams in different age groups from Ohio that had to play a travel schedule because they also just didn't have any competition in the tri state area. Prime example is the team TySin Weaver played for called Cincinnati Bearcats Elite. But even with that said that still means 99% of travel sports is a money grab or a bunch of parent coaches with huge ego's. I've also seen in "AAU-a joke" basketball where teams can't compete in this area and run off to other areas to play weaker competition. There is a ton of great local sports right here in our own backyard I don't see the need to travel every weekend.

It's not quite fair to label all travel sports as a money grab. Teams can travel as much as or as little as they want (or makes sense). My oldest son played on a very competitive baseball team, that was one of the top teams in the Cincinnati area. We would take one longer trip every summer, and a few trips (2-3) outside of the local area, but within 100 miles. It wasn't ridiculously expensive, and didn't take up our whole summer. This prepared him and his teammates very well for high school ball, and they ended up winning two regional titles and advancing to the final 4 his senior year. I don't think that would have happened without us seeking out better competition. My youngest son did travel extensively, but that was because he was a wrestler and there simply wasn't that much to do around here. 

Are some summer travel leagues a money grab? Sure. But that's where you, as a parent, need to step in and manage the workload and cost. These money-grab situations exist because tons of people are willing to put up the money to play in them. Travel ball has allowed many, many kids to improve and develop their skills to a very high level.

1 minute ago, rjs4470 said:

It's not quite fair to label all travel sports as a money grab. Teams can travel as much as or as little as they want (or makes sense). My oldest son played on a very competitive baseball team, that was one of the top teams in the Cincinnati area. We would take one longer trip every summer, and a few trips (2-3) outside of the local area, but within 100 miles. It wasn't ridiculously expensive, and didn't take up our whole summer. This prepared him and his teammates very well for high school ball, and they ended up winning two regional titles and advancing to the final 4 his senior year. I don't think that would have happened without us seeking out better competition. My youngest son did travel extensively, but that was because he was a wrestler and there simply wasn't that much to do around here. 

Are some summer travel leagues a money grab? Sure. But that's where you, as a parent, need to step in and manage the workload and cost. These money-grab situations exist because tons of people are willing to put up the money to play in them. Travel ball has allowed many, many kids to improve and develop their skills to a very high level.

What if your high school football program is good and the coach gets his players recruited by colleges at every level? I just don’t think it’s fair to say “we’ll travel ball has benefits and helps kids grow and develop.”

What if our high school (Owensboro) develops kids? 

12 minutes ago, TimeWillTell said:

What if your high school football program is good and the coach gets his players recruited by colleges at every level? I just don’t think it’s fair to say “we’ll travel ball has benefits and helps kids grow and develop.”

What if our high school (Owensboro) develops kids? 

First, I don't think (and I could be wrong) that a lot of kids are not playing high school football to play travel football instead. When I think of travel ball, Baseball, Basketball (AAU), and soccer come to mind. Also, travel ball at the pre-high school age helps lay the groundwork for a successful high school career. Playing sports at a high level at younger ages sets high school coaches and players up for success. Getting rid of that important development opportunity isn't going to help anyone. Second, if you have a good high school program that gets kids recruited, it is only going to help you hold on to that talent, so they do play for you once they get to high school. If you look by and large successful high school programs, especially in the case of football, typically have really strong youth programs that feed them. I don't believe kids, for the most part, are leaving really good high school programs to play elsewhere, unless they are really elite and able to play for the IMGs of the world.

20 hours ago, rjs4470 said:

I'm not a fan of spring ball becuase it encourages kids to play only one sport. Not a bad thing for large schools, but a problem for smaller schools whose teams need to share athletes. Football (and basketball to a degree) have grown their footprint and time commitment and are now year round endeavors. Spring ball, June practice,and practice starting in July, and football monopolizes almost the entire year for the athletes. And I know Spring ball, and June practice aren't mandatory, but we all know how voluntary those really are in some places. 

I don't believe this to necessarily be the case. Spring football at least for me has always been about getting a good look at your program and possibly trying things out that normally you wouldn't do or just give them a look at a new system especially if you're a new coach at that school. Also gives you a good chance to with kids you sometimes don't get to work with. It's also a time where some kids in the building can come out to just try football. I've had a lot of kids come out who haven't played before and come out and get that taste of contact and either love it or hate it; instead of working and waiting all of July and then deciding if it's for them or not. Most football coaches I know will work with their schedule if a multiple sport athletes can't make spring football if they are a baseball or track kid. Even more so if the kid is a contributor to their football team.