Thought this was really well reported on an interesting and complex topic by Alex Putterman and Shawn McFarland of the Hartford Courant. It really laid out the pros and cons and some of the motivations that drive kids and their families to make the tough decision to transfer schools
https://www.courant.com/sports/hc-s...0190510-dwp3n2iu5vhpta534duxg57kni-story.html
But man there is some outdated hand-wringing language in the quotes from public HS coaches and this column by Mike Anthony: https://www.courant.com/sports/high...0190517-qtlmxszlxveozevxvzlxvc2rlu-story.html
“I’ve known many kids that have gone on to prep schools, put a whole lot of money into it, and wound up in the exact same place they were before,” said [Berlin's head coach]
... how do you know that kids ended up in the same exact place? You can't possibly make that claim.
“Does prep school offer some opportunity to some kids? I’m sure it does. But I just really believe it’s a false notion that somehow going to a prep school is going to increase your likelihood of participating in sports at a higher level.”
Yeah dude, you have a pretty clear incentive to believe that and share it widely, congrats. The results would show that CT's top top players are benefitting quite a bit from it.
These coaches are looking out for themselves, which is fine, but to appeal to some sort of "What's the deal with these days," or "football is so impure now!" as if kids are so selfish for accepting: tens of thousands in scholarship $$ to a well-respected academic institution, the opportunity to take the sport more seriously, have more academic support and potentially also broaden their horizons...
Mike Anthony says repeatedly that "it... just... makes... him ... squirm" but it should make him just as squirmy the way coaches talk about the losing the player they're having their property taken away. It's the same as people complaining about the grad transfer. What exactly does a kid owe you because you coached him for 3 years? It makes me squirm how there's little focus on the possible negative outcomes of transferring (not fitting in, culture shock, not raising athletic profile) but instead a deep dive on the opinions of people who have a very clear incentive to believe a certain way about this.
Public school coaches are not victims because, collectively, they lose a handful of players every year. If they care so much about being with the kids, developing them, mind body soul, cliche, cliche, etc. etc. then they still have 97-99% of their roster to work with.
They care about winning. They care about the banners they put up and the titles next to their name. But, there are some who don't put much effort into helping kids with the college process. They either don't see it as part of their job, see it as a distraction from winning on Fridays, or don't know how to make those kinds of relationships.
A college scholarship is the goal. If you want to complain about the system that has kids thinking about going pro, you may want to comment on the elevated position society places on sports, and the disproportionate funding, attention, and academic leniency that institutions give to athletics...
“At what point do we allow kids to be kids and enjoy sport and enjoy the purity of the game,” [The CIAA Executive Director] said, “without having to worry about: Do I play for this school or that school? Do I play for four years or five years?”
Again, this is a good ol' days appeal that means nothing. The purity of the game?? Are you sure you want to have said that? How pure was high school football in the 70s and 80s? Football isn't impure because it's at a private school... "AAU culture," which is a borderline dog whistle, is just people trying hard to make it in sports. Anthony's column is filled with this level of pearl-clutching...
They should be worrying about "Who they're going to ask to the damn prom," Hartford Public football coach Harry Bellucci said. ... There are proms at private schools
"Does anyone value staying put anymore?" Anthony wrote. "How about the experiences in education and community that come with going K-12 without starting over?"
"Then these players, some of them, get to college only to ultimately realize they don’t fit and enter the transfer portal,"
OH NO NOT THE DREADED TRANSFER PORTAL - DAMN KIDS THESE DAYS AND THEIR DESIRE TO [checks notes] DO WHAT THEY THINK IS BEST FOR THEIR PERSONAL INTERESTS
The column ends:
There’s something to be said for staying home, for spending four formative years in one place, in one school system, with no disruptions athletically, educationally or socially.
The fact that public school football is raided, that a sense of community is no longer valued, that this feels like part of revamping an entire high-school-to-college process that has worked for decades … just … makes … me … squirm.
Yes, certainly continuity in life is great, especially during those very important years, and there are lots of reasons why a prep transfer can or cannot work for others. But at the end of the day, the thing that makes you squirm is the power dynamic moving just a little bit away from coaches in the favor of players. These 15 and 16 year-olds have a limited window to meet their full athletic potential - whether you like it or not there are going to be talks of playing in the Big Ten or ACC and going pro, the same way academic achievers talk about going to Yale then law school, isn't that a focus on "going pro" ... isn't that good? Does anyone complain about the "epidemic" of smart kids heading to private schools?
What's wrong with pursuing sports as a career? Even without playing professionally, there are student-athletes who end up working in or around sports and coaching and many companies that have nothing to do with sports are attracted to hiring college athletes for their motivation, coachability, and competitive spirit. Most high school coaches have this mindset over telling kids "I'll make you a pro" ... and even though a disproportionate amount of kids think they'll play in the NFL, they know the value of the college degree.
I'm not going to touch the racial component, but that dynamic is very much there...
If you want to talk more broadly about the pressure placed on kids these days, or actually dive into the factors that lead to a kid not fitting in when they transfer, there's some meaty material there. But in this case, the public school coaches are trying to protect their ass because they're mad that it's harder for them to win and be dictators of their program and the Courant gave them a platform to do so without also speaking to enough people on all sides of the issue.
https://www.courant.com/sports/hc-s...0190510-dwp3n2iu5vhpta534duxg57kni-story.html
But man there is some outdated hand-wringing language in the quotes from public HS coaches and this column by Mike Anthony: https://www.courant.com/sports/high...0190517-qtlmxszlxveozevxvzlxvc2rlu-story.html
“I’ve known many kids that have gone on to prep schools, put a whole lot of money into it, and wound up in the exact same place they were before,” said [Berlin's head coach]
... how do you know that kids ended up in the same exact place? You can't possibly make that claim.
“Does prep school offer some opportunity to some kids? I’m sure it does. But I just really believe it’s a false notion that somehow going to a prep school is going to increase your likelihood of participating in sports at a higher level.”
Yeah dude, you have a pretty clear incentive to believe that and share it widely, congrats. The results would show that CT's top top players are benefitting quite a bit from it.
These coaches are looking out for themselves, which is fine, but to appeal to some sort of "What's the deal with these days," or "football is so impure now!" as if kids are so selfish for accepting: tens of thousands in scholarship $$ to a well-respected academic institution, the opportunity to take the sport more seriously, have more academic support and potentially also broaden their horizons...
Mike Anthony says repeatedly that "it... just... makes... him ... squirm" but it should make him just as squirmy the way coaches talk about the losing the player they're having their property taken away. It's the same as people complaining about the grad transfer. What exactly does a kid owe you because you coached him for 3 years? It makes me squirm how there's little focus on the possible negative outcomes of transferring (not fitting in, culture shock, not raising athletic profile) but instead a deep dive on the opinions of people who have a very clear incentive to believe a certain way about this.
Public school coaches are not victims because, collectively, they lose a handful of players every year. If they care so much about being with the kids, developing them, mind body soul, cliche, cliche, etc. etc. then they still have 97-99% of their roster to work with.
They care about winning. They care about the banners they put up and the titles next to their name. But, there are some who don't put much effort into helping kids with the college process. They either don't see it as part of their job, see it as a distraction from winning on Fridays, or don't know how to make those kinds of relationships.
A college scholarship is the goal. If you want to complain about the system that has kids thinking about going pro, you may want to comment on the elevated position society places on sports, and the disproportionate funding, attention, and academic leniency that institutions give to athletics...
“At what point do we allow kids to be kids and enjoy sport and enjoy the purity of the game,” [The CIAA Executive Director] said, “without having to worry about: Do I play for this school or that school? Do I play for four years or five years?”
Again, this is a good ol' days appeal that means nothing. The purity of the game?? Are you sure you want to have said that? How pure was high school football in the 70s and 80s? Football isn't impure because it's at a private school... "AAU culture," which is a borderline dog whistle, is just people trying hard to make it in sports. Anthony's column is filled with this level of pearl-clutching...
They should be worrying about "Who they're going to ask to the damn prom," Hartford Public football coach Harry Bellucci said. ... There are proms at private schools
"Does anyone value staying put anymore?" Anthony wrote. "How about the experiences in education and community that come with going K-12 without starting over?"
"Then these players, some of them, get to college only to ultimately realize they don’t fit and enter the transfer portal,"
OH NO NOT THE DREADED TRANSFER PORTAL - DAMN KIDS THESE DAYS AND THEIR DESIRE TO [checks notes] DO WHAT THEY THINK IS BEST FOR THEIR PERSONAL INTERESTS
The column ends:
There’s something to be said for staying home, for spending four formative years in one place, in one school system, with no disruptions athletically, educationally or socially.
The fact that public school football is raided, that a sense of community is no longer valued, that this feels like part of revamping an entire high-school-to-college process that has worked for decades … just … makes … me … squirm.
Yes, certainly continuity in life is great, especially during those very important years, and there are lots of reasons why a prep transfer can or cannot work for others. But at the end of the day, the thing that makes you squirm is the power dynamic moving just a little bit away from coaches in the favor of players. These 15 and 16 year-olds have a limited window to meet their full athletic potential - whether you like it or not there are going to be talks of playing in the Big Ten or ACC and going pro, the same way academic achievers talk about going to Yale then law school, isn't that a focus on "going pro" ... isn't that good? Does anyone complain about the "epidemic" of smart kids heading to private schools?
What's wrong with pursuing sports as a career? Even without playing professionally, there are student-athletes who end up working in or around sports and coaching and many companies that have nothing to do with sports are attracted to hiring college athletes for their motivation, coachability, and competitive spirit. Most high school coaches have this mindset over telling kids "I'll make you a pro" ... and even though a disproportionate amount of kids think they'll play in the NFL, they know the value of the college degree.
I'm not going to touch the racial component, but that dynamic is very much there...
If you want to talk more broadly about the pressure placed on kids these days, or actually dive into the factors that lead to a kid not fitting in when they transfer, there's some meaty material there. But in this case, the public school coaches are trying to protect their ass because they're mad that it's harder for them to win and be dictators of their program and the Courant gave them a platform to do so without also speaking to enough people on all sides of the issue.
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