HERE WE GO AGAIN...Tallahassee meddling with HS Sports and the FHSAA

[Joshua Wilson]

HERE WE GO AGAIN... our annual meddling of high school athletics is here by our good ole legislature who DOES NOT know jack nothing how high school athletics operate and so on...

 

Have a look at the link: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/footballpreps/florida-lawmakers-seek-choice-in-high-school-athletics/2261512

 

I will keep an eye on this, but don't expect me to start writing a story on this. I will get too emotional and too political with it and I might look bad. 

 

I just think it is a big joke what Tallahassee wants to do and you all wonder why you all call the FHSAA a joke at times (which is not). Tallahassee keeps doing this kind of crap or trying to at least. The stuff that has been done in Tallahassee has tied their hands and if you all can't see that then I am not sure what I can possibly say.

 

All I know is enough, is enough with this meddling. It has got to stop. Florida has bigger things to worry about (like making our road better for one thing). They need to mind their own business and stop it before it is too late.

[BrowardHandicapper]

HERE WE GO AGAIN... our annual meddling of high school athletics is here by our good ole legislature who DOES NOT know jack nothing how high school athletics operate and so on...

 

Have a look at the link: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/footballpreps/florida-lawmakers-seek-choice-in-high-school-athletics/2261512

 

I will keep an eye on this, but don't expect me to start writing a story on this. I will get too emotional and too political with it and I might look bad. 

 

I just think it is a big joke what Tallahassee wants to do and you all wonder why you all call the FHSAA a joke at times (which is not). Tallahassee keeps doing this kind of crap or trying to at least. The stuff that has been done in Tallahassee has tied their hands and if you all can't see that then I am not sure what I can possibly say.

 

All I know is enough, is enough with this meddling. It has got to stop. Florida has bigger things to worry about (like making our road better for one thing). They need to mind their own business and stop it before it is too late.

I'm going to have to digest this as well before I rant...

[“PANTHER NATION(CODE BLUE)]

i mean what i get from this is that they want to make the playing field as fair as possible and if THATS ALL IT IS i'm on board with it to many athelets are teaming up to make super teams instead of working for success. just look at FT.LAUDERDALE the only high school down here who has had any type of consistent success is ST THOMAS THEN AMERICAN HERITAGE both private schools both recruite HEAVY.!!!! flanagan FLANAGAN JUST WASNT SOME CINDERELLA DARLING WHO WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP this year they had PLENTY TRANSFERS and im sure some recruites as well. in MY OPINION WHEREVER Your district say you should go is where you should go. unless your safety is a concern. But not because this school is a 5 win team and you want to go where basically you have a free ride.

 

What happend to the men from the 90's who relished on building up there home school and didnt wantthe easy way out.

[Tigerfan1]

It's always went on, it's that now social media has made everyone more aware of it. 

[STARaiders2014]

i mean what i get from this is that they want to make the playing field as fair as possible and if THATS ALL IT IS i'm on board with it to many athelets are teaming up to make super teams instead of working for success. just look at FT.LAUDERDALE the only high school down here who has had any type of consistent success is ST THOMAS THEN AMERICAN HERITAGE both private schools both recruite HEAVY.!!!! flanagan FLANAGAN JUST WASNT SOME CINDERELLA DARLING WHO WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP this year they had PLENTY TRANSFERS and im sure some recruites as well. in MY OPINION WHEREVER Your district say you should go is where you should go. unless your safety is a concern. But not because this school is a 5 win team and you want to go where basically you have a free ride.

 

What happend to the men from the 90's who relished on building up there home school and didnt wantthe easy way out.

Recruiting has always been going on, public and private it is just now more evident with social media like tigerfan1 said. You cannot tell me Miami Central and BTW do not recruit. Even if the coaches aren't recruiting the program recruits itself because kids want to go there and find a way to get there from other schools. I don't think the state needs to get involved in HS sports, leave that to the FHSAA because they know what they're doing and the government does not when it comes to HSFB. 

[“PANTHER NATION(CODE BLUE)]

Recruiting has always been going on, public and private it is just now more evident with social media like tigerfan1 said. You cannot tell me Miami Central and BTW do not recruit. Even if the coaches aren't recruiting the program recruits itself because kids want to go there and find a way to get there from other schools. I don't think the state needs to get involved in HS sports, leave that to the FHSAA because they know what they're doing and the government does not when it comes to HSFB.

 

I FEEL YOU but thats in dade so its still the samr thing i was saying about FT LAUDERDALE only diffrence is that witch dade its public schools and with ft lauderdale its prive...why do you think the FT LAUDERDALE AREA go sooo long without a championship its because all of the 5 star D1 players are going to st thomas heritage and now flanagan....and thats sad. someone needs to do something to stop it.....i bet IF TRANSFERS HAD TO WAIT A YEAR BEFORE THEY CAN PLAY ANY SPORTS i bet you see far less transfers.

 

And hey if you dont want to do anything about it those schools that HEAVILY recruit and get transfers they should all be in a district by there self and play other schools who do the same and let everyone else play in the regular districts and make it fair.

[Tigerfan1]

I FEEL YOU but thats in dade so its still the samr thing i was saying about FT LAUDERDALE only diffrence is that witch dade its public schools and with ft lauderdale its prive...why do you think the FT LAUDERDALE AREA go sooo long without a championship its because all of the 5 star D1 players are going to st thomas heritage and now flanagan....and thats sad. someone needs to do something to stop it.....i bet IF TRANSFERS HAD TO WAIT A YEAR BEFORE THEY CAN PLAY ANY SPORTS i bet you see far less transfers.

 

And hey if you dont want to do anything about it those schools that HEAVILY recruit and get transfers they should all be in a district by there self and play other schools who do the same and let everyone else play in the regular districts and make it fair.

At the same time it's not fair to the kids and their family's that move because of jobs. To listen to what some of you say that all transfers should have to sit out a year and that's just not fair to everyone. If my son was a rising Sr and we moved to another school district  because i got a raise and could afford a better neighborhood i would be pissed if i was told my son could not play sports because we changed our living locations. Each case should be looked at separately.  

[BrowardHandicapper]

i mean what i get from this is that they want to make the playing field as fair as possible and if THATS ALL IT IS i'm on board with it to many athelets are teaming up to make super teams instead of working for success. just look at FT.LAUDERDALE the only high school down here who has had any type of consistent success is ST THOMAS THEN AMERICAN HERITAGE both private schools both recruite HEAVY.!!!! flanagan FLANAGAN JUST WASNT SOME CINDERELLA DARLING WHO WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP this year they had PLENTY TRANSFERS and im sure some recruites as well. in MY OPINION WHEREVER Your district say you should go is where you should go. unless your safety is a concern. But not because this school is a 5 win team and you want to go where basically you have a free ride.

 

What happend to the men from the 90's who relished on building up there home school and didnt wantthe easy way out.

Well that is interesting because STA and AHP's rosters are littered with players specifically from Miramar/Flanagan's school zone and the Pembroke Pines Optimist Youth Football League (which is arguably among the best in the US). Most kids in Pines and Miramar area are zoned/eligible to attend 3 or 4 different schools. Perhaps some might say the problem is zoning.  As far as Flanagan "recruiting".  Again, hard to call it recruiting....Ahh...yes the great Flanagan Public School Education is a easy sell ;-) compared to STA and AHP.      Is it still recruiting when the athletes live and are zoned for that area?  Is it still recruiting when you are trying to KEEP kids home, or trying to BRING THEM HOME?  Devin Bush Sr. Brought/Coached most of those kids (including the transfers that returned Home) up through the Pembroke Pines Youth Football League.  The guy wins.  Naturally the athletes follow him.

 

Flanagan is not a good example as Cinderella.  Cinderella teams are generally defined as teams that appear out of nowhere.  Flanagan has come up over the last 4 years..... Hard to call a team a Cinderella that has been a Playoff team the last couple years and almost/was an injured player away from States last year.  

 

Three of the Four Flanagan "transfers" were always actually raised/zoned for Flanagan in the first place anyway.  An example would be AHP to Flanagan transfer WR.  He grew up in the Flanagan zone, was talented and had other options - he decided to attend AHP.  That brings me to the question:

 

Should athletes say that live and are zoned for one school (say public) and attend another- say a private school like AHP - be allowed the following year to return to their Home/zoned school and be eligible to play?  

 

Dillard had a transfer to STA last year and he is obviously zoned for Dillard.  If that athlete wishes to return to Dillard this year, should he be eligible to play (since he is zoned there)?

 

 

As far as the "men from the 90's who relished on building up " the zoning rules and laws are different now.  It is not the athletes , it is the system.  I hate to go political here but the facts are socialist and liberals created a system in South Florida which promoted and was thought to balance education, diversity  and opportunity.  In some ways it did and for some students it did not.  Unfortunately, it also created loopholes as well.  Opportunity is great but it came with a price.   However, this is what school board wanted - this is what they got on their hands now.  

 

Keep in mind we view this as die-hard HS Football fans, we have to remember that opportunity and education ultimately are reasons for this.  If I have to watch crappy HS Football where it is generally the same teams for the rest of my life BUT I can be guaranteed that our youth in the big picture will be more educated and have a brighter future because it ..Sorry but I just might have to accept it.  It is the bigger picture.

 

You would have to put a bill in place that essentially sort of discriminates against athletes but maybe not the artsy or music student (who also transfer for better opportunities).....Doubt it would happen.

 

I don't have the solution but here are basics on how the school board determines and diversifies  boundaries in Broward:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Considerations for Establishing School Boundaries

 

The following considerations are taken into account during boundary scenario development: Consideration Description Class Size Impact

(Required)

Will the requested change place any school involved in jeopardy of not meeting the Florida class size statute now or in the next five years?

Level of Service Impact

(Required) Are the schools involved projected to meet the tri-party agreement (Broward County, municipalities, School Board) school concurrency Level of Service? Enrollment Impact

Will the requested change under enroll a school or cause it to exceed its gross capacity?

Diversity Impact Will the proposed boundary change impact any demographic population significantly (+/- 5%)? Feeder Pattern Impact

Does the requested change split or further divide the number of students feeding from one school to another?

School Proximity Impact

Will the requested change require students to travel further to get to school?

Neighborhood Integrity Impact Will the requested change assign students living in a neighborhood to different schools? Natural Barrier Impact Will the requested change require students to cross natural barriers such as major roads or waterways?

Enrollment and projected enrollment figures are based on the Benchmark Day of Enrollment which is annually scheduled for the first Monday following the Labor Day holiday.

Required considerations are those dictated by state law or Inter-Local Agreement. 

All other considerations will be reviewed by the School Board for their impacts on communities and District facility usage per School Board Policy 5000.

The Broward County School District is a countywide school system by state law.

Attendance zones (school boundaries) are not determined by city limits.

[Hwy17]

I agree that legislature getting involved is going to do more harm than good, no matter how well the intention.  

 

I have some issues with FHSAA, namely that it has become a bureaucracy that is more concerned with making money to pay high salaries than serving the members who created it.   The FHSAA likes to point out that is has been named and recognized in Florida Statute as the governing board for high school athletics, ignoring the historical fact that it was created voluntarily by a small group of public schools.  That said, public school districts are local government, just as a city or a county and therefore are granted home-rule powers by the state constitution.  Among those powers are to enter into agreements and contracts with whomever they want.  So by using their home rule powers, the public school districts could do away with FHSAA if they wanted.  

 

Now back to topic:  Here's how I would handle the transfers:  Require transfers to be enrolled at the school a minimum 6 months prior to the start of the sport the student wishes to compete in.  In addition, for football, limit the number of players a school can have on its roster by classification.  Class 4A and under limit to 45,  Class 5a/6a limit to 60.  Class 7a/8a limit to 70.  

 

The idea I'm using here comes from (1) NCAA which limits the number of scholarships a program can have by division, and (2) a school starts getting a bunch of transfers all of a sudden, somebody is going to get cut.  Better enroll soon and hope you are as good as you think.   

 

My own personal observation:  This year Jesuit (5a) and Bishop Moore (5a) both had 80+ players on their roster yet I can't find a public 5a team with that many players, in fact most seem to have about 50 or so.  I also remember how in 2006 Lakeland won the state title and was getting last minute transfers right up to the start of the season.  In 2011, Armwood had the same thing and I think we all remember the drama surrounding that.  

[STARaiders2014]

I am all for 1 year sit out if you transfer from a public to a private school. Here in NC if you transfer from a public to a parochial(catholic school cause privates similar American Heritage in NC have their own league) you have to sit out a full 365 days before you can play sports. 

I'm all for that, but the state legislature needs to keep their nose out of HSFB I think last year they wanted to give IMG Academy $2 million dollars!!! Ridiculous!! 

[STARaiders2014]

Everyone gets last minute transfers, so if there should be a 365 rule for public to private, make it for all schools. It'd stop the changing of players from team to team that's for sure and keep more kids home like DHS wants, although some you just cant stop they'll go anyways. 

[BrowardHandicapper]

Everyone gets last minute transfers, so if there should be a 365 rule for public to private, make it for all schools. It'd stop the changing of players from team to team that's for sure and keep more kids home like DHS wants, although some you just cant stop they'll go anyways. 

So what about the situations where kids move ?  Many of these kids parents sign leases for 1 year and move, sometimes to another city.  Should the 365 rule apply to that?  A lot of people rent in South Florida. A lot.

[DisabledAccount]

columbia in the 90s would be a example of those "90s teams winning for hometown" we were the SMALLEST team in the 6A in 1997, it was supposed to be IMPOSSIBLE for us to compete with the "big boys" we go 14-1 and came 3 points from beating the nations number 1 team, and really we had a touchdown taken from the officals so we should have won that game, so yeah, and on the topic of the FHSAA, idk if its their fault or not but they should be removed, we didnt need them in the old days, we dont need them now, if theirs a issue that every school is complaining bout, then they can intervene, but we dont need them looking for issues, they like the ncaa, they worry about picky nonsense because they bored of their "real" job

[Hwy17]

columbia in the 90s would be a example of those "90s teams winning for hometown" we were the SMALLEST team in the 6A in 1997, it was supposed to be IMPOSSIBLE for us to compete with the "big boys" we go 14-1 and came 3 points from beating the nations number 1 team, and really we had a touchdown taken from the officals so we should have won that game, so yeah, and on the topic of the FHSAA, idk if its their fault or not but they should be removed, we didnt need them in the old days, we dont need them now, if theirs a issue that every school is complaining bout, then they can intervene, but we dont need them looking for issues, they like the ncaa, they worry about picky nonsense because they bored of their "real" job

 

Small town football was killed by the FHSAA.  Before the Mid-2000's it was small towns that were the dominate teams in Florida:  Live Oak Suwanee, Union County/Lake Butler, Frostproof, Avon Park, Bartow, Starke, Jefferson County, Eustis, Pahokee, Belle Glade, ....all now a thing of the past.  

[DisabledAccount]

suwanee is still decent, but havent really been at that level, and probley wont now that they losing their coach, trenton and madision are good small schools, but outside of them most those schools would lose against the bigger schools, and really columbia is still a small town school, we the only school in lake city, but that "small town" idea might start to disappear soon, but we have been incredably good fortuned to be able to stay as good for as long as we have

[STARaiders2014]

So what about the situations where kids move ?  Many of these kids parents sign leases for 1 year and move, sometimes to another city.  Should the 365 rule apply to that?  A lot of people rent in South Florida. A lot.

That's where one of those rules becomes iffy because if you pick up and physically move there isn't much you can do. I don't know though, that's a great question that if such a rule were considered the FHSAA would need to have guidelines on that.