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Texas high school coaches call for UIL rule changes amid staggering number of transfers


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UIL wouldn’t even need to get involved if the head coaches and AD’s would do the right thing.  DEC’s are a waste of time because rarely does anyone want to contest a transfer because they may be back at the same table asking for one to be approved.  
 

The real issue in my opinion is how effects the kids that have poured their heart and soul into a program only to see themselves be cast aside because a of transfer.  Especially when everyone knows, including the coaches, that the transfer moved for athletic purposes.  I just don’t get the trading character for wins but most coaches justify it in their minds.  

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1 hour ago, CrankyOldMan said:

UIL wouldn’t even need to get involved if the head coaches and AD’s would do the right thing.  DEC’s are a waste of time because rarely does anyone want to contest a transfer because they may be back at the same table asking for one to be approved.  
 

The real issue in my opinion is how effects the kids that have poured their heart and soul into a program only to see themselves be cast aside because a of transfer.  Especially when everyone knows, including the coaches, that the transfer moved for athletic purposes.  I just don’t get the trading character for wins but most coaches justify it in their minds.  

Probably because MOST coaches are hired and FIRED based on those wins and loses. When your job and livelihood are on the line, accepting a transfer athlete that will help you win is pretty easy.

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I'm not sure that many coaches are "recruiting". It could just be that the success of the program is creating the transfers. The metroplexes seem to be where most of these "transfers" are occurring. 

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1 hour ago, KirtFalcon said:

I think setting out one year should be the rule ... period ....

This would be a terrible solution. Each year, lots of families relocate for legitimate reasons (employment, family situations, etc.). The kid shouldn’t have to sit out a year because of this. The DEC needs to do their job. They have the ability to approve or deny varsity eligibility. 

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1 hour ago, CrankyOldMan said:

UIL wouldn’t even need to get involved if the head coaches and AD’s would do the right thing.  DEC’s are a waste of time because rarely does anyone want to contest a transfer because they may be back at the same table asking for one to be approved.  
 

The real issue in my opinion is how effects the kids that have poured their heart and soul into a program only to see themselves be cast aside because a of transfer.  Especially when everyone knows, including the coaches, that the transfer moved for athletic purposes.  I just don’t get the trading character for wins but most coaches justify it in their minds.  

There are outside forces that pressure coaches as well. 

I know of a circumstance that literally happened last year where members of the Black Panther Party showed up at a coaches house over a transfer.

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2 hours ago, BEASTeastTX said:

You’ve gotta come down harder on programs that are obviously doing some wild stuff….. it’s gotten bad bad in the Houston area more than most. 

The truth is I don’t think anyone is too interested in fixing the issue.    Might as well make every district an open district to level the playing field.  
 

The same teams winning big every year defies the law of randomness.  Why are those teams 30-40 kids always better then everyone else’s?  Because its not random.  The teams that are winning year in year out have better players because they have figured out how to get better players.  No one community is always going to have the best talent that is 100% homegrown.  

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3 hours ago, Ronster23 said:

I'm not sure that many coaches are "recruiting". It could just be that the success of the program is creating the transfers. The metroplexes seem to be where most of these "transfers" are occurring. 

Kids transferring to be a part of a more successful sports program is the very definition of moving for athletic purposes which is supposed to be illegal.  
 

Heck even moving to a place because they better athletic facilities would be moving for athletic purposes.  The cheating is in plain site.  These schools building these opulent facilities are building them as much for the players they don't have as much as for the players they do have.  Its an arms race for sure.  Just ask them they will tell you as much. 

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1 hour ago, CrankyOldMan said:

Kids transferring to be a part of a more successful sports program is the very definition of moving for athletic purposes which is supposed to be illegal.  
 

Heck even moving to a place because they better athletic facilities would be moving for athletic purposes.  The cheating is in plain site.  These schools building these opulent facilities are building them as much for the players they don't have as much as for the players they do have.  Its an arms race for sure.  Just ask them they will tell you as much. 

 

1 hour ago, CrankyOldMan said:

Kids transferring to be a part of a more successful sports program is the very definition of moving for athletic purposes which is supposed to be illegal.  
 

Heck even moving to a place because they better athletic facilities would be moving for athletic purposes.  The cheating is in plain site.  These schools building these opulent facilities are building them as much for the players they don't have as much as for the players they do have.  Its an arms race for sure.  Just ask them they will tell you as much. 

Agree!  The towns to the North Dallas have a big draw to families looking for affordable housing at the middle class level. They are also looking for quality schools. Mellisa, Anna, would be an example of such schools.  Their stadiums are nice and they will draw a lot of families who have kids that are athletes.  

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The fastest thing you can do is verify the residence of the player transferring. The vast majority of parents are not going to sale their house so that a kid can play at a certain school for 2 or 3 years. Providing addresses of relatives are moving in with coaches/friends is a dead giveaway. Back when I was in high school you had to provide a couple of utility bills to confirm your place of residence. I'm betting this would stop 75% of the illegal transfers. A kid who lives in a apartment or has wealthy parents is going to be harder to track but you have to start somewhere. It's going to be even more of a free for all once NIL hits the state of Texas. It's not a matter of if but rather when.

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9 minutes ago, Grainraiser said:

The fastest thing you can do is verify the residence of the player transferring. The vast majority of parents are not going to sale their house so that a kid can play at a certain school for 2 or 3 years. Providing addresses of relatives are moving in with coaches/friends is a dead giveaway. Back when I was in high school you had to provide a couple of utility bills to confirm your place of residence. I'm betting this would stop 75% of the illegal transfers. A kid who lives in an apartment or has wealthy parents is going to be harder to track but you have to start somewhere. It's going to be even more of a free for all once NIL hits the state of Texas. It's not a matter of if but rather when.

As stated earlier, the DEC would have to be interested in enforcing these rules, and apparently, the level of concern over the issue is inversely proportional to the enrollment of the schools in the district. 

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I've been directly involved with the process of changing schools. The main objective was not for sports, but if you have a kid that is an athlete the sports program is a factor. If anyone says different they aren't being honest. 

I can also say with certainty that direct recruiting does happen. All the programs that have top tier teams year in and year out are guilty. Good coaching and tradition is a factor, but when a public school is top 5 for most of a decade there is something going on other than natural selection.

It's mostly two main things happening. Kids move in with family members, or one of their parents get a job in the school district. In some cases coaches with athletic kids move around to find the best fit. 

Once these programs are up and running and become perennial contenders the direct recruiting decreases. The families go to them instead. They find ways to get there, and I don't blame them at all! Example: There may be a D1 receiver trapped at a school that throws 5 passes per season. Why not try to go somewhere else? Or, political structure. Small town politics ruins many sports careers. Some places are really bad! 

Small school ball is pretty much done with as for how we knew if for 50 years or so. The better athletes are transferring to bigger programs, or in some cases the smaller schools that are in good shape with coaching and facilities. 

School resources are a big factor as well. Just take a drive around East Texas (especially southeast) and start going from school to school (2a, 3a) and you will see that half of them or more are old and dilapidated with facilities that are in dire need of upgrades. 

For these unfortunate schools it's harder than ever to get good coaching, because the good ones seek out programs with turf fields and newer facilities. Just a turf field alone makes a coaches job at least half as hard as one with a grass field.(s) 

I've been involved for the better part of 50 years with youth/HS sports and I've watched everything very closely. Things are changing. Some of it may not be for the best but BIG change is coming. In 10 years things will change more than they did over the previous 50. 

Small town sports will have the biggest number of casualties. 

Private schools are also EXPLODING in sports. This is hurting the smaller schools as well.

These are my opinions but they are well researched. I'm not interested in an argument, and I actually hope I'm wrong on a lot of them. 

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