The high school academic year is rapidly coming to a close. Is this the time to think about switching your high school student athlete to a different high school for the fall semester?
Student athletes who are switching to a new high school is mainly to gain more exposure from college programs and to be a part of a winning team. Where I live in Cleveland, Ohio, the city has open enrollment so basically wherever you live in the city you can go to any high school that you want for that year.
In Cleveland, the powerhouse football program is Glenville High School. They have a track record of sending their football athletes to major college programs.
Many of the talented athletes in the city of Cleveland all tried to transfer to Glenville because of their successful track record of winning and gaining the attention of major college football programs. In the city or town where you live, there may be that one powerhouse athletic program that everyone wants to attend.
In some state associations there are rules that say if you transfer to a different high school, that you are ineligible athletically for one season.
When I was in high school, there were people in my family who felt that because I had talent as a basketball player that I should transfer to a different high school. I attended Bayside High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia and at the time they were not known for athletics. The thought was if I went to a different high school, it would improve my chances athletically and I would attract the attention of college programs.
I would have had to move to a different city within the area but I would’ve been leaving all the friends that I grew up with and, most importantly, I would’ve been leaving my school. I did not transfer because Bayside was the school where all my friends and my teammates were.
Nowadays, parents of high school student athletes are often faced with this decision; should they allow their talented student athlete to transfer to a high school program that has a strong track record of athletic success?
About 12 to 15 years ago there were these brothers who play basketball in the greater Cleveland area. These young men were extremely talented but they ended up playing for three different high school in four years. It was all to improve their chances with college coaches. These young men along with their father felt that if they went to a more competitive high school basketball program, then their athletic talents would rise up above everyone else. When it was all said and done, both of the brothers ended up playing basketball on scholarship but it was at a mid-major level. Was it really worth transferring to 2 or 3 times during a high school athletic career in the long run for those two brothers?
High school athletics has changed. The pressure for student athletes for exposure to college programs is so important that many of these athletes with their parent’s consent would transfer to a different high school if they truly believed it would help them get a scholarship. I just think what does this say about the athlete the minute that things don’t go as planned? They were willing to jump to a different team leaving all their teammates behind for what they believed would have been a better opportunity.
I never left my high school because it would have been selfish to my teammates and classmates who all supported me and had my back during my high school athletic career.
It is an extremely hard decision if you believe transferring will improve your chances of a full athletic scholarship.
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