You’ll notice a pattern in my columns for Little Village. They’re giving old-man-yells-at-cloud vibes. Yes. Yes, they are. Hopefully, almost 35 years covering sports leads to a little wisdom finding its way in as well.
That brings us to today’s rant — What are we doing to high school sports, people? And by we, I mean parents and schools making curious decisions for young people.
Don’t get it twisted. Great people are involved in these endeavors. Their priority is doing what’s best for kids. Unfortunately, that common sense is becoming less common.
I was reminded of that this summer while writing high school sports previews. Students transferring for sports purposes continued to increase. Parents of potential college athletes have begun creating a prep portal, if you will, attempting to improve their children’s recruiting stock.
It’s a troubling trend, one that’s unnecessary. Good athletes are everywhere. Colleges invest a lot of time in combing the country for them. If you’re good, you will be seen.
Plus, there’s no guarantee change will be better, no matter how it looks on the surface. These kids often are leaving school systems and communities in which they grew up, families gambling that the new place will be a good fit academically, socially and athletically.
Transferring for sports purposes can be the right move if one or two other elements are involved. Leaving a lesser public school education for a private one dates back to the 1970s. Some of the nation’s historically dominant high school sports programs are from parochial schools in populated areas.
That’s happening in Iowa. Student-athletes are transferring from the city to suburbs in the central part of the state. Des Moines Public Schools are facing challenges likely to increase with the state’s voucher program. If kids can benefit academically by transferring, whatever happens athletically becomes a bonus.
Those cases and families moving are not part of the troubling trend. Again, it’s parents switching their kids’ schools for sports. It’s schools being OK with it, and sometimes, encouraging it. It’s unsavory, at times.
Families and schools exploit loopholes in the rules, finding ways around the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union and the Iowa High School Athletic Association requirement that student-athletes wait 90 school days after transferring to participate on the varsity level. Some folks will rent or buy a place in the new district for immediate eligibility.
Involved folks in our communities are talking about it. They care that it’s not a positive life lesson for their youth. The question is will everybody do the right thing and stop it.
