Recruiting players

There's a big difference between recruiting and transferring. If a player goes to his parents and says "I want to transfer to ________ so I can -take AP courses, play with my friend, play for coach so and so, play where I can start, etc." that's one thing. It may not be right, especially if it's purely to play sports, but at least it's a player/family decision.

Recruiting is when a coach calls a player or parent and says "Hey, why don't you come play for me..." that is way wrong and should never happen.

 

It depends on the situation

When a kid actually moves into another school district. When a parent actually moves his family because his son wants to play at another program. This happens and I dont have a problem with it how could you? Who wants a kid on their team that does not want to be there? And who can fault someone that actually moves because of jobs or family situations that arise.

Now lets turn it around a little bit. You have a son that loves baseball. He invests a ton of time and effort in the sport. He lives in a school district where the team hardly has enough players to field a team. The coaching is pathetic. The other players could careless , dont work , just show up and get 10 run ruled every game. He is miserable at the school because he loves baseball and wants to have a great HS baseball experience. He has friends that play in programs that are competitive have great coaching and a great baseball experience. What would you do if your son was in one of these situations. And believe me they exist. Maybe not in your area but I can name them but I wont. Do you blame the parents that move their son because they want him to have a positive experience? What if they do it within the rules? Do you have a problem with that?

There is always more than one side to every story and sometimes we dont know both sides when we make judgements about other people.

Of course I think we all agree that a HS coach should not seek out players from other school districts and recruit them to his school. But there are times when a player is justified in seeking out a better situation. Just do it by the rules. Some parents get upset when a kid transfers in because they are worried about their sons playing time. They have no problem with it if the kids a stud and he helps them win unless the kid they are playing in front of is there son. And then there are the people who transfer because "The coach doesnt like me" and they find out the other coach doesnt "like them either". Every situation is different and has to stand on its own merits. Do it legally and do it for the right reasons. It should be rare and not rampant.

 

Eligibility Rule for Residence Requirements

Here's the state high school rule on residence requirements. Based on this, if someone is leasing an address and the family does not reside there on a permanent basis, that person would not be eligible.

4. RESIDENCE: A student is eligible to participate at the school to which he or she is assigned by the local board of education, within the administrative unit of residence.
“Residence” as used for athletic eligibility purposes is defi ned as the equivalent of the term ”domicile“ as applied by the courts of North Carolina. Under no circumstances can a student have more than one residence for eligibility purposes. It is the obligation of the school to know the residence
status of each athlete and to require compliance with these requirements.
Except as otherwise provided, the residence of any student shall be deemed to be that of his or her parents or the sole surviving parent.
In the event the parents are separated or divorced, the residence of the student shall be that of the parent to whom custody has been awarded by a court of competent jurisdiction. If no custody order has been entered, the residence shall be deemed to be that of the parent who had actual custody
immediately upon the separation.
Any change in residence must be bona fide. Determination of what constitutes a bona fide change of residence depends upon the facts of each case. In order for a change of residence to be considered bona fi de at least the following facts must exist: (1) The original residence must be abandoned as a residence; that is sold, rented or disposed of as a residence, and must not be used as residence by any member of the family; (2) The entire family must make the change and take with them the household goods and furniture appropriate to the circumstances; (3) The change must be made with the intent that it is permanent.
Transfers within the same administrative unit may be governed by local Board of Education policy. A student transferred from one administrative unit to another by mutual agreement is immediately eligible for athletic participation in the receiving unit.

 

I have no problem with transferring as long as it is done within the rules... that is a family decision. The rules.... because different school systems have different rules about open enrollment, etc... it is unlikely we will ever be able to do anything about that... We do know however that too many times it is not done within the rules too. coaches sometimes contact players either personally or through intermedairies... that's wrong, period...

 

You are the man!

What he said!!! Come to our school we need a 2b. I can get you a scholly look what I did for _________! We can win a state title if we get you and _______! Your never going to get the exposure you deserve playing for Coach __________! He never puts kid in college. Look at what I have done over the years. On and on we all have heard this and more. Coaches like this are clowns in my opinion. If your such a great coach why do you need to recruit other peoples players? If your such a great coach why can you not develop your own players?

We all know who these guys are. Sooner or later it all falls in on them. It always does. And how many times have you seen their teams crumble from within because of chemistry issues? And that is not to mention the issues they have to deal with as far as parents. Build your own program and develop your own players. If your such a great coach and have a such a great program why do you feel the need to recruit other programs players?

I stand by my first post. But Coach Evans post made me think about what I have seen over the years.

 

Some very good points have been made. But why does it happen? How can a school break their own rules? How can a school system allow it? It should not be that hard to ensure that a student only has one address. Parents know, teammates know and school officials have to know. Nobody wants to turn anyone in, especially players because of the repercussions it could have on them. If transfers occur legally and for the right reasons, so be it. But in many cases its because the kid wants to play for a certain team and the coach must want him. This was a big story in football when players played for a team outside of their zone. Solutions?

 

They dont have time to police it, they really dont want to police it, look the other way.... how many more reasons do we need?

I agree with alot of what Coach27 said, I see his point from the parent's perspective, but I have seen it and we all know it is happening all over the state.

 

It all comes down to playing by the same rules. Look at it this way in Forsyth County they have build two new (high) schools and added on to the rest of the high schools. They are looking to build another near Walkertown. Now we all know these schools. We all know the powerhouses. Look at the starters for the last few years, who were transfers on the roosters. Now Look where they can from and would have been playing for if they stayed. If a family moves because of a job, that's one thing. If they move to get their kid to a qoute "better situation" as a freshman or sophmore. Again, that's one thing. But if a player moves from a competive school to play at a powerhouse and takes a starter position. That's in another. Can it what you want. It looks to me to be one thing. "THE PLAYER WAS RECRUITED", by someone. No finger pointing....... Make all schools the same as far as education. Then, if a person is going to transfer. It would be fairly easy to see why???

 

That's the real concern...and I understand that. But I don't begrudge the player nor the family that makes this decision.

And as I said earlier, this is not a real concern about baseball in Charlotte. Other sports...yep; basketball is outrageous.

 

I transfered my senior year because of both a better team and a better education. Would you rather play on a team that can play some but never get seen as an individual or go to a powerhouse team where your chance of winning is better and getting seen is better?

Like I said, I transfered because of both situations and never once did the coach from the school I transferred to ever tell me things to influence my decision. He told me I would have to earn my spot and that nothing would be given to me. Yes this stuff may happen, but not every program is a dirty program just because a player transfers into that program.