Kenny Henderson out as LHSAA Director

[Scott Crawford]

theadvocate.com/sports/preps/10605554-123/search-for-new-lhsaa-executive

sportsnola.com/lhsaa-parts-ways-executive-director-kenny-henderson/

The LHSAA Executive Committee and its Executive Director, Kenny Henderson, have mutually agreed that it is in the best interest of the association and Mr. Henderson to sever their relationship, effective October 24, 2014.

The Executive Committee wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Henderson for his dedicated service over the last seven years, the improvements made during his term as Executive Director, and his efforts in meeting the many challenges which have been faced by the LHSAA during that period.

The Executive Committee will immediately begin the process of searching for a new Executive Director. A committee has been formed to initiate that process, which will be chaired by Mr. Todd Guice, Past-President of LHSAA and Principal of Ouachita Parish High School.

[methuselah]

Here's hoping that whoever they find has some knowledge of the soccer landscape in the state or at least some willingness to give it a little attention.  And hopefully there won't be any more of the all white uniform type fiascos. 

[time2retire]

The uniform fiasco didn't come from Henderson...it came from NFHS (national). LHSAA, as a member, chose to accept it.

[methuselah]

Oct 24, 2014 11:45:16 GMT -6 time2retire said:

The uniform fiasco didn't come from Henderson...it came from NFHS (national). LHSAA, as a member, chose to accept it.

This is true but as I remember there was lots of effort trying to get the LHSAA not to buy into that scheme.  Heck, seems like there was pretty close to unanimous opposition to it from everyone who  voiced an opinion with a substantive viewpoint.

But for whatever reason, the LHSAA seemed like they just turned a deaf ear and caused a lot of programs to spend precious resources to replace perfectly good unis.  

All I'm saying is I hope whoever the new leader is is more attuned to things like that.

[newosoccerfan]

Oct 24, 2014 11:28:26 GMT -6 methuselah said:

Here's hoping that whoever they find has some knowledge of the soccer landscape in the state or at least some willingness to give it a little attention.  And hopefully there won't be any more of the all white uniform type fiascos. 

They haven't appointed an interim Executive Director.  What does that tell you?  It tells me there may not be an LHSAA much longer (so why appoint an interim?), and I am on record saying why.  (Hope I am wrong, but I am not counting on it.)

NewO

[coachray40]

www.lhsaa.org/news/press-releases/lhsaa-names-interim-executive-director

Looks like the LHSAA named an interim director. Sorry to spoil your sky is falling party NewO, but I dont believe the LHSAA is going anywhere. The longer we have the member schools participating in the public private split, the more likely it will just be accepted and continued. While I certainly dont think LHSAA is a perfect organization, I dont think that its ultimately in any schools best interest to pull out. I have a feeling that the split is here to stay, and will eventually engulf most of the other sports in the LHSAA system.

[newosoccerfan]

Coach,

I am happy the LHSAA named an Interim Executive Director, and I hope the LHSAA stay together.

My point is if the split will, as you say, "eventually engulf most of the other sports in the LHSAA system", the private schools WILL form their own organization. (That is the system in many states in the USA.) Not only is there no reason for the private schools to stay, when they can govern themselves, but the atmosphere at the Principal's football split vote was poisonous. What minority would stay in that situation when they could form their own association with the school they play in the playoffs?

People are in a fantasy land if they think an all sports split won't lead to separate organizations, and I keep writing about it in hopes the all sports split can be averted. My preferred choice is one high school sports organization, which will only be achieved without further sports splits. Which is why I keep sounding the alarm here.

Maybe I can steal Reality Check's name for these posts.

NewO

[methuselah]

I have absolutely no inside information of any kind and base the following off of just what I've heard on different talk radio shows and read on message boards:

If I had to guess I'd say that the momentum towards an all sports split has died off significantly. At least for now. On the other hand I don't think they will back away from the football split.

The way I see it, the football split thing has been building for years (decades really). And it really comes down to no more than a handful (I personally always thought it was really 1 team but some people felt 2, some more than that) of teams that really put stranglehold on whatever class/division they were in year after year after year. And it seems like they tried a ton of stuff short of splitting to bring some balance to the matter - allowing teams to move up, making teams play down to their natural classification, etc. But nothing with any teeth that addressed concerns over achieving a level playing field. Finally, in the past few years there has seemed to be almost an arms race where other private schools and charter schools have tried to ramp up to compete with this handful of teams. But of course traditional public schools couldn't really join that arms race. And so far I don't think the other private/select schools have really be able to close the gap.

So I really don't see the traditional public schools backing down from the football split without some sort of basic progress on trying to at least address between a traditional public school and a private/select school.

Now maybe if something like vouchers or open enrollment ever became a reality ...

[happyjack]

Lhsaa forbids member schools from playing non member schools, so while the private/public separation may be here for the long run, cross play in non-district games is a strong incentive for all staying members.

Now, if they were to institute districts solely based on private/public, that may be another story