High School Recruiting

[longball5]

yep, another good point....

[CRLionDawg]

So it sounds to me like every situation is a bit different.

The bottom line the PIAA owes it to the players and their family to have the freedom to choose what they perceive to be the best scenario for themselves. Accepting the risk and reaping the reward if it works out.

To bar the door shut under the guise of fairness is in itself unfair.

Should there be a different Classification system inplay to modify the positioning of privates in the PIAA. Perhaps. The bottom line here is there is still a reason that kids want to go to certain schools. If you are a District that has a large number wanting to leave and not many wanting to come in, well, take a look at why that is and make some adjustments to your program.

[ham55]

Yes, after 20 pages of discussion YOU and YOU alone reserve the right to create the bottom line and since everybody agree's with you in the first place, it's the ONLY fair way to go about things...

[CRLionDawg]

Whats your point Ham? I understand there arent a lot if any who agree with me. I am just trying to challenge the old way of thinking about this issue. I can honestly say getting out of the state and seeing other ways of dealing with where you end up going to school has been an eye opener.

[El-Moldo]

I think that most of us who disagree with you have more than adequately given our reasons for the view opposite of your's.

[ham55]

Old way, it's still current. It WORKS here, believe it or not. Keep your "best for the kids" talk in Michigan, because, 80% of the people around here are satisfied with what PA's got...

[fleaflicker]

You can intrepret what I said any way you want, but how well would have Crookshank done at Blacklick Valley, especially without a good supporting cast. That stuff is very important. He helped his future in athletics by going to BC, and may have helped himself get an athletic scholarship. So what about Blacklick? Isn't a school's whole purpose to educate young people so that they can be all that they can be in their lives? And shouldn't we be supporting of that decision if an athlete transfers so that he gets a better chance to improve his life? College costs a lot of money, wouldn't it help if you were going on an athletic scholarship?

And getting back to the supporting cast, how well do you think Big Ben Roethlisberger would have done had he started this past year at San Francisco (no good WRs, no good RB, and a joke for an offensive line)? But because he went to a team with good WRs, a committed running attack, and a good offensive line, that really boosted his numbers. Crookshank may have been too busy getting smacked around at Blacklick Valley to be able to put up good numbers. Yeah, so what, he's helping his school? Isn't the school's whole point to help YOUR future? and if the school is helping your future, that helps ensure their future.

[ham55]

They did help ensure his future, from K-8, then he ditched them, good call...

[fleaflicker]

How much choice did he have from K-8? And how well do you think he would have done as Blacklick's QB? He might be lucky to avoid getting a concussion if he started 3 years there.

Besides, here's another what if? Suppose the school you go to doesn't have the sport of your choice? I think I heard about a Hyndman student a few years back that wanted to run cross country at Bedford, but Bedford wouldn't let him. They are the same district, but different high schools, and allowing him to run would have boosted Bedford to AAA since they'd end up taking on all of Hyndman's students for sports. I was reading about that, and I thought it was pretty dumb the way it worked. I thought he should have been able to run at Bedford, with just one more kid on their team, if that's what he wanted to do.

Bishop McCort, as well as several other LHAC schools have hockey teams. Say a student from Windber or Blacklick Valley want's to play hockey, and to do that, he wants to transfer to McCort? I say, let him. Neither of them has a hockey team, and neither is going to have the funds to anytime soon. Of course, that is transferring for athletic reasons, which is a big no-no (according to the rules in place), but these rules don't benefit the student athletes that are playing for these schools. Shouldn't that be the main focus of any high school athletic organization?

[CRLionDawg]

You are right Flea. It should be a team effort between the school, the student, and the parents to do the right thing for each individual student.

If an individual is blessed with a certain gift and the local school cant meet that individuals needs then it should be an open door for him/her to seek out an environment that does.

Ham, this isnt a PA vs. MI thing. The topic of this thread deals with freedom of choice.