The PIAA is considering making all transfers ineligible for 180 days. Personally, I feel that this is too severe. IMO It hurts the kids. What do you think in this regard ?
New proposed PIAA transfer rule
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Would it apply equally to all grades? I have a hard time thinking there should be any penalty at all for anyone transferring at the end of grade 9. And there would still have to be reasonable criteria and grounds for appeal later. I know many are suspicious of academic grounds, but in some cases they're very real. It would also be interesting to see where they would put the starting date for the 180 days. If it's the end of the academic year, then it would hardly affect basketball players at all.
I am not on top of the specifics other than this is being proposed. I would think that there will be some push back . There is a feeling, apparently, that this is a big problem thruout the state and the various districts handle transfers differently (which is an issue in itself). It's an attempt to stop or at least reduce the amount of transfers and standardize how the transfers are handled. I think the 180 days are school days and ineligibility starts with the transfer date. Personally, I can understand standardization but in my mind 180 days of ineligibility hurts the kid. Again there is a push by some to make this happen.
If a kid and his family doesn't want to be someplace, then why should they be punished in wanting something better? Why do adults consume themselves with this issue? Seriously, people need some perspective and in many cases a hobby to keep themselves busy.
Tulla,
Tend to agree with you, may take it even as far as pre-junior year provided "legitimate" reasons, understanding that word in itself re-opens up Pandora's box, that which probably initiated this proposal. Exceptions at any grade would still include school closure, family transplant (not the aunt/uncle/elder post office maneuvers!) or type of truly unforeseen circumstance that would be sympathetic to any mother/father. Seems as though all the PCL teams excluding one tend to obey that edict. Also side with Huck's comments above but I believe the Senior year mercenary transfer stuff over-boiled this pot, to that I'm sympathetic to the Pub followers.
Just have a sense that this continuum of chatter/debate/proposals will eventually move Pennsylvania into a Public/Non-Public format, i.e. New Jersey. With the move to 6 classifications and if that occurs next, we won't be far away.
btw.... If a student/family decided to transfer pre-academic year ( ~August), then winter sports including basketball would be affected, no?
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yesman, Regarding basketball, I was thinking of transfers happening in early to mid June. I might well be wrong.
If PA goes to the Jersey system, it wouldn't address the complaints some have about TEP in football and about other PPL teams in basketball. And I'm wondering if the people with complaints also want it to apply to baseball, lacrosse, track, etc. As for football, my suspicion is that this is mostly related to SJP. When they won the PIAA in 2014, there were loud howls about the out-of-state players they had. I read that they had players from four states, which of course wasn't true. LaSalle isn't nearly as often targeted--maybe because in the six years when they have won the PCL championship and gone into the state playoffs, they've lost to a public school five times. If the Prep wins the PCL this year and then loses to, say, North Penn in the state semifinal--something that is very possible--I suspect some of the complaining will abate.
Guys: Is it possible the PIAA wants to take this path to elude law suits? They've rejected transfers in the past and gone to court and lost. There's no way to prove parents/student are transferring for education purposes. I do agree, hardships, etc could cause a problem.
I will send my children to the school where they will prosper the most, be that for sports, education or safety and I could care less how the PIAA or anyone feels about this. Of course there are negatives for some schools and districts but your family always comes first.
Where I think the pushback comes (however silent) is some districts not wanting open borders for any and all coming to "their" school.
Where I think the pushback comes (however silent) is some districts not wanting open borders for any and all coming to "their" school.
There are many states that have more restrictive transfer rules than Pennsylvania, and not only do they work , they hold up in court. So long as the rule is clear and defined. If you cobbled all of them together , a workable rule would look something like this :
Senior transfer sits out 30 days
Junior 60
Sophomore 90
Frosh 120
It's scaled down so the upper class still must sit out , but not lose a full season. The suspension starts from the day practices start at the sport in question. And the sport in question is whatever sport you played at the original school. The reason for this is twofold. For example , if you are a basketball player at school,one and transfer to school two in your
Senior year , You sit out 30 days from November 15 , not September 1. And it prevents a kid who was only a basketball player at school one from singing up for football at school two just to serve his suspension in that sport. The only grey area I e seen in theses rules are how to treat transfers that are legitimate multi sport athletes. Do they sit out one sport or multi sports.
Senior transfer sits out 30 days
Junior 60
Sophomore 90
Frosh 120
It's scaled down so the upper class still must sit out , but not lose a full season. The suspension starts from the day practices start at the sport in question. And the sport in question is whatever sport you played at the original school. The reason for this is twofold. For example , if you are a basketball player at school,one and transfer to school two in your
Senior year , You sit out 30 days from November 15 , not September 1. And it prevents a kid who was only a basketball player at school one from singing up for football at school two just to serve his suspension in that sport. The only grey area I e seen in theses rules are how to treat transfers that are legitimate multi sport athletes. Do they sit out one sport or multi sports.
Speed, If I'm reading this right, a kid who transfers between grades 8 and 9 has to sit out four months from the start of the practice period of the sport he played in 8th grade. This makes little sense in general and absolutely no sense for kids going to any PCL or PPL high school since, in the case of the PCL, there is no school district to transfer into or out of and, in the case of the PPL, the District offers a variety of options for students entering high school.
The transfer rules only pertain to high school. So it would have no affect on 8th graders. However if a 9th grader enrols at O'Hara and two weeks later he transfers to Ridley he has to sit out 120, essentially the season.
This is not what's on the table in PA now. But it's a combination of how some of the other states handle transfers. My point is that if you have a rule that's clear , defined and fair , there's noe hearing , no court rulings and arbitrary enforcement based on which district or league you are in
Transfers should sit, unless transplant, relocation. To much of this going on. 1% of kids get d1 scholarship. Transfers have trickle down effect on many people. Mr. Burr, say your son was a starter as a junior on good team. Right before or during early school year, someone transfers, plays your son's position, takes his spot. Your kid relegated to mop up duty, time cut significantly. Coach, says best players play. You've been in system for years, kid there, did his part, lifted. Was there for spring and summer practice, now his senior year is gone. Bullshit, I say. You only have a few legit reasons to transfer, otherwise stay put, work hard for your school, community. Go to summer camps and get your d2 scholar. Stop with the 2 transfers to different schools in 3 years looking for something better. Stop with relative lives there, mother is in school district, oh I own rental property there. Garbage, say hoops bs
I share your distaste for senior transfers that seem intended to give a kid more exposure and/or to make a team stronger in a perceived weak area, but I would have a hard time supporting a hard rule about this and other practices since one can think of a number of exceptional circumstances that would make for lots of complicated appeals--and that would have the potential to punish a kid and a family who shouldn't be punished. If a coach makes a practice of bringing in senior transfers that "bump" players who've been in the program for three years I suspect it'll eventually undermine him and the program. School administrators--most of them, anyway--don't want their schools to be known as places that look for mercenaries, and they don't like giving diplomas every year to kids who spent all of one year at the school and who probably never became part of the school as a whole.