The sports world in all areas, Professional, College, and High School has seen dramatic change the last few years. Pro Athletes are making more money than ever. Colleges can now pay players, and NIL has not yet taken hold of High School athletes. However, the ease of transfer from one school to another has dramatically affected many schools.
This morning, My County Link did a video with Matt Macy of Arcanum, who is on the SW board of OHSAA. This was a very informative video, and I learned a good bit about how OHSAA works and thinks. I also learned that this is a difficult job that really cannot please everyone. After the video, we talked a little bit and Matt and I did agree on a lot of things that should be done. Not everything, but a lot of things.
Two areas we agreed on were how transfers have affected the game and the need for officials. I would like to let you know how I would fix both problems. They are not earth-shattering, but would need some strength and leadership shown by OHSAA. The transfer problem, in my opinion, is getting out of hand, and I don’t understand the thinking of some parents and athletes. If your parents transfer out of town because of work, I have no issue with that. However, if you transfer just because you don’t like the coach, or your parents don’t, and you want to go to a more victorious school, I think you should stay at the school you are at.
The athlete who moves must sit out the second half of the season if they move, so you are not going to play half of the games you would if you stayed. Does that sound like a good deal? I know I wouldn’t like sitting out for that long! Not only do you lose half your season, but your transfer affects the other school too. It could put that school into another bracket by increasing the number of participants for that school. Secondly, just because you don’t like the coach is no reason to transfer.
I think a lot of this comes from the parents. Parents are a problem when they try to live through their kids. I know they want the best for them, but sometimes allowing them to go through some adversity is a great teacher. At the same time, the schools need to do a much better job of supporting and hiring coaches. Greenville goes through too many, and you have to wonder why?
If it is a money problem, pay more, and if it is a quality problem, let them go! Seems simple, but school boards don’t really get involved with sports unless their student is playing. Easier said than done, I realize, but we need to take a deep look into this problem here. A friend and I just figured out that Greenville has lost ten that we know of through transfers to another school. One was a job change for the parents, and the others were just transfers.
Greenville has a problem somewhere, and it needs all of our attention. Good programs have kids transfer in, just look at our softball team! I hear that the rumor with Greenville is that some of our athletes feel they are not learning much from the coaches. That is a decision I cannot make, but it is worth looking into by the Administration and the Athletic Director. There is a solution to the transfer problem, and it will just take some real soul searching to find out why!
Secondly is the official problem. I do know that a lot of it has to do with parents. Officials are volunteers, and they don’t need hassled during and after games. Officials need to take more control of games, and Athletic Directors need to enforce some rules on behavior. I think OHSAA has some rules on this, but they are lax in enforcing them. Put them on paper, send them to each school, and ENFORCE THEM! OHSAA needs to show some real guts on this, quit being afraid of how it looks, and do it! Period!
Nobody likes to see a parent escorted from a game, but sometimes it is necessary. Sometimes you have to kill a fly with a sledgehammer. Not for the fly, but for those fly’s that are watching! I also would like to see schools set up an officiating class as part of physical education. Those that play sports and don’t play might be interested in becoming officials, and I would put an extra emphasis on our young women. This does not seem like a big stretch to me, but I am sure the schools could figure out something to make this work.
High school sports are at a crossroads now. We need our schools to keep students, and we need them to support and encourage young people to play and officiate. If we want our athletic teams to grow, and teach students some valuable lessons in life, then we need to act now, hire good people, help out officials, and do it now before we have a full blown disaster on our hands. It might take all of us to help our schools……and I am willing! How about you?
That’s how I see It … from the sidelines!
