State Athletic Association and Transfers: Ever dealt with something like this?

[shockcoach]

This happened to a friend's daughter last year. They moved out of the school district mid-year and were right on the ling (two blocks away) from the existing district. They filed for a variance and received it. The next year the daughter wanted to go to the school district in which they lived. All was well and she, too, made the varsity team as a sophomore. HOLD THE PHONE! The AD now said their daughter was ineligible for ball. They protested and went to a hearing and won their case. By then, the reindeer games by the school and coaches got the best of her and she decided opt out.

 

[softball_chic_12]

in my state (PA), JV is anyone in high school that wasn't good enough for varisty. we had 2 juniors on there, a bunch of sophmores and freshman. V is the best or better girls of everyone who tried out (not many girls try out at my school). This year there was a few seniors, tons of juniors, and 1 freshman (that's me!). so of course there's drama. And when i was in 8th grade they wanted me to play for JV but PIAA wouldn't allow it.

 

[bobbyb]

Well.. an update…The state will not discuss it….imagine that….they interfere with your life and will not discuss it unless you go about it their way. The AD did talk to me and answered some questions for me. I was suspicious that someone from the other school or someone from the new school might of stirred the pot on this thing. After speaking to the AD and his reaffirming that the #9 rule IS the catch all rule and he has no indication that anything else is involved….i am at peace with that for now.

The question is ……should she have fallen into exemption #9 and why not. We are appealing based on the unique circumstance of teacher/child situation…. and the nature of the transfer being a family situation rather than a athletic situation…and the fact that the exemptions are not specific enough to cover our unique circumstance.

I asked about a couple different scenarios and Amy….if we had of been separated and she (mother) lived in one district and I in the other…and the child changed…we would have had to have a waiver for sports ….so we can only assume they would of put it under the same exemption #9 …and been in the same boat. Only if we had physically moved for some reason other than sport …to another district would this not be an issue.

So after writing a book to clarify the situation and state my grievances with the initial ruling…and the teacher wife correcting all my writing many times (she doesn’t seem to appreciate all my periods or my hillbilly talk or my explaining to them the way things should be) ….we have filed for an appeal.

I see some others have had to deal with this too. I have a real problem with government having catch all ways…that make you have to prove yourself or be punished so they can attempt to stop something. Geeeze…I will stop there and stay off that soap box…slugger might want to ban me!

I do believe there is good and bad in regards to my dd…..which ever way it goes. The big deal to me is that she “earned it” and should get the opportunity to play with varsity because she earned it….and OMG!!....not to mention the all important Letter Jacket she should get… which seems to have more meaning than I ever knew!

Will update when we know something else.

 

[Amy in AZ.]

Is your HS season starting now?

Is it worth it to you, to hire an attorney and sue?

My DD's HS called the jacket, a letterman's jacket. Everyone worn them no matter your age, etc. Even the band (for example) wore the same jacket as the football guys. It cost several hundred dollars. If you don't have to buy that, consider yourself lucky.

If you have tried everything that you can, for your DD, you might as well grin and bare it. Make lemonade out of lemons, so to speak. Tell your daughter to be the best jv athlete ever and show her true colors with her enthusiasm.

 

[SoftSocDad]

We are currently going through this.
We are forced to stay at a school my DD hates because she will be ineligible for softball during this year as a junior.
If we take the transfer she can play JV but not Varsity.
Our tax dollars at work.

Although I've only dealt with this at the college level, the rules should be virtually the same for high-schoolers. If a child wants to transfer to a school with a better science program, he/she can transfer without losing a year of science instruction.

 

[PAcoach]

in my state (PA), JV is anyone in high school that wasn't good enough for varisty. we had 2 juniors on there, a bunch of sophmores and freshman. V is the best or better girls of everyone who tried out (not many girls try out at my school). This year there was a few seniors, tons of juniors, and 1 freshman (that's me!). so of course there's drama. And when i was in 8th grade they wanted me to play for JV but PIAA wouldn't allow it.

Not totally true. I'm pretty sure a senior can't play on the JV softball team in PA. . But i'm not positive.

 

[Ivy's Dad]

At the risk of being unpopular, I'll offer a different perspective. Two things that I think will hurt your appeal is that your wife did not leave the school your DD was attending, and your DD transferred in the middle of the school year. If your wife had actually found a new job and left, a much stronger argument could be made as to why your DD is no longer attending that school. There was no change in circumstances, however, so expecting your DD to remain at her previous school and play softball for them is not an unreasonable expectation of the state. Transferring mid-year also raises red flags. I'm assumming that the softball tryouts were held in the summer before school starts, and having your DD attend the school the last half of the previous year would allow her to acclimate to the school prior to the tryouts. From the state's perspective, I can definitely see why it would look like a transfer for athletic reasons.

On the up side, your DD is only a sophomore. If she plays JV this year, she'll still have two years to play on the varsity team. Definitely not perfect, but I don't see significant harm in having her play JV for a year.

 

[wild man]

You are kind of lucky in one respect I think. We cant have SB tryouts right now In fact we cant work with more than Two players at a time until Feb 20 or so.

 

[SoftSocDad]

From the state's perspective, I can definitely see why it would look like a transfer for athletic reasons.

And even if the transfer was for athletic reasons, so what?

When a kid transfers to get a more comprehensive education in science, it puts the school he's leaving at the same 'disadvantage' , right? "Why can't Whothoughtya Prep HS keep its best science students?"

I understand you're merely presenting the state board's case, but don't be afraid to say that it not only lacks merit, but is also stupid.

 

[livingontheroad]

The question is ……should she have fallen into exemption #9 and why not. We are appealing based on the unique circumstance of teacher/child situation…. and the nature of the transfer being a family situation rather than a athletic situation…and the fact that the exemptions are not specific enough to cover our unique circumstance.

EVERYONE thinks their situation is unique and they should get an exception. That line of thinking wont get you very far.