Trenton

[Sharkbait]

???????Just saw the story.  Seems a little extreme.

[PickSix]

Maybe ol' boy left for a reason. Understand Alabama pay is higher, but this has been brewing for awhile. Wonder if Wiles knew what he was getting into.

[Joshua Wilson]

All I am going to say is here is the link to the story. I hate breaking stories like these, but since the decision came down yesterday and I caught wind of Trenton being placed in 4A, journalistic instincts went to asking questions to the FHSAA and I got everything they could send to me since I had inquired about it.

 

[Sharkbait]

I guess this has to do with the player text to the kid from Williston.  Honestly that seemed pretty harmless to me just kids talking had it been a coach then it would be different.  I don't think moving up to 4A will hurt them that much until deep in the playoffs.

[Joshua Wilson]

Unfortunately, the FHSAA bylaws consider a student-athlete on the roster for a team in the course of the academic year to be a representative of the school's athletics interest. People want them to follow their policies and bylaws, yet when something happens, people think it is too harsh. I hate to say it can't bake your cake and eat it too.

[Sharkbait]

I guess coaches need to stress to their players to be sure not to text, tweet or email. lol   I was just looking at 4A I think Trenton may be a real threat in the North.  I think 1A south is a tougher draw. It is definitely better than being put in 3A.

[Joshua Wilson]

I guess coaches need to stress to their players to be sure not to text, tweet or email. lol   I was just looking at 4A I think Trenton may be a real threat in the North.  I think 1A south is a tougher draw. It is definitely better than being put in 3A.

 

What should be done is teach them the fundamentals of social media and make sure they understand this stuff in Column A is okay, while Column B is what could get you in trouble. I think this also brings a good point that the FHSAA ought to develop a course to be introduced to the schools the policies for athletes they need to understand that they have to take starting the moment they become involve in a sport. It is something that could be done online since FHSAA does have the tools to do that. Something I am likely to bring up to them. I already floated another idea and in the process of putting things together for that to send to them as well. 

[Sharkbait]

As the father of a teenager responsible use of social media is something I have stressed to my son for several years.  There are so many things that can get a kid into trouble when it goes on social media. My issue with this case is I just don't think a school should be held responsible for the actions of a student away from school. There is a way to use this to sabotage other schools if someone was so inclined.

[DisabledAccount]

I agree shark

[Captain Morgan]

This is pretty ridiculous to be honest. Google the Tampa Catholic case when they recruited the #1 recruit in the nation Nate Craig Meyers last year. They didn't get anything done to them basically. The Fhsaa is not consistent or transparent at all. Pretty disappointing that these people are supposed to look out for the well being of kids. When in reality that's the last thing they have on mind.

http://www.tampabay.com/hometeam/blog/fhsaa-finds-insufficient-recruiting-evidence-against-tampa-catholic/22366/

[PickSix]

C'mon captain, you know rules don't apply to private schools! ðŸ˜

[Captain Morgan]

Lol, that's right picksix!! What was I thinking.

[Joshua Wilson]

This is pretty ridiculous to be honest. Google the Tampa Catholic case when they recruited the #1 recruit in the nation Nate Craig Meyers last year. They didn't get anything done to them basically. The Fhsaa is not consistent or transparent at all. Pretty disappointing that these people are supposed to look out for the well being of kids. When in reality that's the last thing they have on mind.

http://www.tampabay.com/hometeam/blog/fhsaa-finds-insufficient-recruiting-evidence-against-tampa-catholic/22366/

 

Captain...remember this occurred when the FHSAA needed clear and convincing evidence under state law and their own policies. However, since the changes that were made in Tallahassee last year, things have changed. Now the FHSAA no longer needs clear and convincing evidence. All it needs a preponderance of the evidence. So if the FHSAA even so much as suspects recruiting is taking place when presented evidence, they can make swifter moves and not take 13 months to investigate something that may not give them the result they were looking for. So yes while Tallahassee has changed things how kids can move around and all of that, they did give the FHSAA some backbone to work with and from what I have seen, don't be surprised if there is more actions to come from the FHSAA against other schools. Already keeping track a situation out of South Florida a coach brought to my attention and 8 different coaches have reported it to them. 

[blackmagic]

I hear Belleview go have another 20+ coming in.... Wonder if they are gonna see whats going on there..

[DisabledAccount]

I hear Belleview go have another 20+ coming in.... Wonder if they are gonna see whats going on there..

 

20+ transfers back to back years??

 

not the be the person to start drama but sounds fishy

[Tigerfan1]

Same thing went on at OTC when that coach was there, along with Wentworth and Beasley if i am not mistaken, if i am misinformed please set me straight.          

[blystr2002]

While it does seem ridiculous to punish a school if a student texts one of his buddies or something along those lines because he wants him to come and play with him there definitely needs to be a clear hard line to stop the more blatant stuff out there and sometimes more innocent situations will just get caught in that net.  I mean I saw a QB from a school put on twitter before last season that if any  OL or DL  were interested in transferring to DM him. It is hard to prove, but you don't think that message came from coaches?.

[PickSix]

A certain team in Ocala had a "wish list" from local 7on7 teams to get them to one school. The coach from that school sent it to coaches and players (screen shot that many coaches in Ocala have). Instead of facing repercussions they "dismissed" the coach to avoid penalties from the state. So if Trenton kicks the kid off (not saying they should), would that be justified as enough punishment? Once again seems like even with evidence some schools get a hall pass while others are made examples.

[Proseteye]

Same thing went on at OTC when that coach was there, along with Wentworth and Beasley if i am not mistaken, if i am misinformed please set me straight.          

First thing, OTC is a private school and can accept or reject any student from anywhere in the world as long as the student can pay the tuition and meet the school's requirements. Any OTC student can encourage anyone to attend the school as they do not have the authority to ultimately decide who goes to the school or who doesn't. In 15 years of being in existence OTC has never been found to be in violation of any FHSAA ruling. A private school can recruit students through advertising since they depend on tuition to keep their doors open, unlike public schools. They just can't recruit students specifically for their sports teams only. Even if hypothetically OTC did outwardly recruit for their sports teams the public schools actually recruit more and, in fact, have probably taken away more players from OTC than OTC has taken away players from the public schools. 

 

Are you saying that Coaches Wentworth and Beasley were outwardly recruiting players for the football team? Unless you can prove that to the FHSAA I wouldn't be even hinting that something like that was going on.  

[Sharkbait]

First thing, OTC is a private school and can accept or reject any student from anywhere in the world as long as the student can pay the tuition and meet the school's requirements. Any OTC student can encourage anyone to attend the school as they do not have the authority to ultimately decide who goes to the school or who doesn't. In 15 years of being in existence OTC has never been found to be in violation of any FHSAA ruling. A private school can recruit students through advertising since they depend on tuition to keep their doors open, unlike public schools. They just can't recruit students specifically for their sports teams only. Even if hypothetically OTC did outwardly recruit for their sports teams the public schools actually recruit more and, in fact, have probably taken away more players from OTC than OTC has taken away players from the public schools. 

 

Are you saying that Coaches Wentworth and Beasley were outwardly recruiting players for the football team? Unless you can prove that to the FHSAA I wouldn't be even hinting that something like that was going on.  

But private schools do recruit solely for athletic reasons.  There are plenty of ball players at private schools that can't afford to attend the schools and amazingly they get to go,  but their sibling who is not as good an athlete just can't quite meet the requirements.  I personally don't have a problem with it if the kid can get a better education through their god-given abilities but let's not pretend for a second that private schools aren't actively recruiting athletes from the public schools. You state that an OTC student can encourage a player to attend there because they don't ultimately have the authority to determine who can attend there but I guess the Trenton kid must have have that authority.  I'm not trying to be confrontational but public and private schools always have and always will be treated differently.  

[Zoe Boy]

But I'm saying why would that kid show the coaches that text.. It's a student texting another student to try to come to their school to play with him... if I read it right that's what basically happened right?

[Sharkbait]

But I'm saying why would that kid show the coaches that text.. It's a student texting another student to try to come to their school to play with him... if I read it right that's what basically happened right?

It would be real easy to set another school up.  I'm not saying this is what happened but a coach could have a kid text a player at another school saying "Hey me and Bubba are thinking about coming to school at high school X, what do you think our chances are for playing time are?"  the player he texted responds "We lost some key guy if you and Bubba are coming you will both probably start we need you guys it will be great"   Then the player that initiated the conversation can screen shot the text reply and give it to his coach who then gives it to FHSAA  and "BAM" the target school is punished all because of a teenager replying to a text.  This is all hypothetical but that is a simple setup.

[gatorman-uf]

Sharkbait,

 

Wouldn't the example you just gave go in favor of the "recruiting" school, as they did not initiate the contact in any means. From what we are seeing from the text messages in this case, it looks like a Trenton player initiated the recruiting. 

[Sharkbait]

When I read the screenshot from the Trenton case I assumed that the players had talked previously. I don't know what the facts are in the Trenton case it just bothers me that a school can be punished for actions of a student. In my scenario I'm just showing that you could set a school up if you were so inclined.  

[Joshua Wilson]

Same thing went on at OTC when that coach was there, along with Wentworth and Beasley if i am not mistaken, if i am misinformed please set me straight.          

 

WHOA! That is just wrong. Please do not accuse a coach of doing something when they have not been committed of any wrongdoing. Just wrong.