LHSAA PENATALIZES KATRINA/RITA STUDENTS

[toepoker]

First, let me add any schools that find themselves in the same situation due to Rita or Katrina that have been dealt a blow long after the hurricane disrupted the normal lives our students were living. It is my understanding that the LHSAA recently ruled that the schools Mt. Carmel, Dominican, and Ursaline are not allowed to practice with their soccer or basketball coaches due to the schools not being open. Several all boys schools opened up transitional schools at various sites but not one all girls transitional school was made available to students. Other than the above-mentioned LHSAA ruling does not affect these boys school, this disparity in evenhandedness is a topic for another forum.
Dominican, Ursaline, and Mount Carmel schools have plans to open their doors in January at the start of the second semester. Other than insurance and I’m sure those details could be worked through why would the LHSAA not want to make sure that these students have every opportunity to strive for normalcy in their lives? Most of the students attend afternoon/evening school at Rummel Transitional School. Since the teams would not finish their respective seasons at the transitional school, the players have chosen not to participate but would rather start practice and follow the rules set forth for the rest of the state. Unlike the ruling set forth by the NCAA for colleges the affected high schools would not be allowed to play other high schools. It seems that this ruling could have been a little bit more lenient considering the circumstances and allow a few scrimmages but adapting to the situation seems to be the way of life these days.
However not allowing the teams to practice with their coaches in anticipation to the start of the season before December twelfth for basketball and January third for soccer seems a bit restrictive. These students have lost so much it begs me to wonder how are these rulings in the best interest of our youth and thus the best decisions for our state athletic programs. Other than holding these student athletes back from developing, I do not understand the rulings. If I am missing something please help me find a way to describe to my daughter why the injustice she is feeling is not the correct emotion!

[tigerdawg]

i don't think lhsaa is trying to punish these players. they have stated that the players could participate with the school they are attending while they are there. when their school opens again, the players are allowed to go back to their original school and be eligible to play. there will be no consequences for that. it has always been a rule that you couldn't "train" with your high school coach when the school is not open, ie the summer time. at least the girls have the option to play at the school they are attending. lhsaa could be sticklers to the district rules and say the players are ineligible when they return. i wouldn't take this ruling to heart, i would take advantage of the situation, and maybe get some training from another coach. make new friends with a new team.

[AICWildcat]

Yesterday, Redemptorist played Bishop Blenk and I personally spoke to a dad of an Ursaline player who had a daughter playing on the Blenk team. He seemed quite pleased with the situation. I mentioned the "penalization" of the players because I read it here in this forum. He explained to me, just as tigerdawg did, that the girls are allowed to play where they are currently enrolled. He saw no penalty in his view.

I can't speak for all the parents and kids, but this seems to me like a very fair decision.

I hope it works out in the end for all involved. It was my first trip to New Orleans since the storm, we played in Terrytown, and the conditions there are still shocking. It's amazing they can get a team on the field under those conditions. Kudos to the NO area teams!

[toepoker]

I understand that a student can play a partial season with the transitional school and then finish the season with their traditional school as being a nice accommodation for an unusual situation and I applaud LHSAA for a wise decision. What I do not understand is the failure to understand the students! Many students are playing at transitional schools in many different sports and the ruling allowing this occurrence fits them perfectly. I am not talking about an unfair advantage that a team may gain by practicing with their coach (during the summer) outside of the dates set forth by LHSAA. What I am talking about are young student athletes whose teenage world has been disrupted significantly! They are excited to see some light of normalcy returning with the opening of their schools. Being able to practice with their own team is just a little assurance that the light is real. These unopened schools are not seeking an advantage over any other team just a chance to prepare for the season that most teams are presently playing.
It is my understanding that the Athletic Directors were given permission to practice (but would not be able to play games) by possibly a deputy director of LHSAA. Then it is also my understanding that a meeting was held with LHSAA and then a representative of the transitional school delivered the message to the student athletes that they would not be allowed to practice with their traditional school coach. Mean while between the two interpretations or communication of the rules, the soccer and basketball teams are already practicing and they may not be allowed to tryout for the transitional teams - I’m unsure of these details.
My concerns are that a ruling for adults is not being made for the correct reasons but I will not speculate why a change in the ruling occurred. If my facts are not correct, I wish to apologize in advance to all parties concerned. I am not in the habit of taking up my children’s fights but I feel this situation is above her ability to seek remediation. As adults, we see things differently but allowing the wishes of these students that have experienced such disruptions and not second-guessing them seems to me to be the nurturing decision an adult should make under these circumstances. I understand why LHSAA is a stickler for rules and as a governing body they should be but “the book called Katrina has many ugly chapters and some chapters can be edited or left unwritten” (author of quote unknown). Sorry about the length of this reply: written communications is so easily misunderstood I tried to be specific. I’m hoping for support from the soccer family in changing the ruling but if not good luck this season and see you on the sidelines in January.

[tordad]

the other students that are not being talked about or considered are the students that do not get to play for their own school to make room for those displaced students. If the displaced students were allowed to practice together for their former schools it would allow the regular students the chance to continue playing for their own school.

the chance to play for your school good or bad is an honor and something the students can talk about for many years to come.

[Barron]

Got to agree with you, Tordad. Regular players should not be replaced by displaced players who will soon return to their former schools.

[rocksccrstar]

OK I am approaching this from a teacher's point of view and not a coach's.......

Now I do not have any "displaced" students on my team, however I do teach "displaced" students, and all these kids are looking for is normalcy. And as far as they are concerned, at least the ones that attend my school, they are Redemptorist students and just want the opportunity to participate in activities like other students. SO to say that it is not "right" for these players to replace "real" players, to me, is silly. They are children and they are not playing for the World Cup, girl's high school soccer is not going to save the world, it is a sport and a game, and if they are eligible then they should be able to compete for a spot like any other girl on the team. I would not deny a "displaced" student the opportunity to act in any of my theatre productions because they might take the place of a "real" student and I think that athletics should be the same as any other EXTRACURRICULAR activity, the athlete that is the best for the position and shows, through hard work, dedication, and attitude, that she is the one that should play, then she should play no matter where she began her school year.

Just my humble opinion.

[Barron]

I know we will never agree, wlfrocksccrstar, but to me, it is a choice between the lesser of the two evils, and I still say the lesser of the two evils is to NOT allow temporary players to replace loyal, dedicated players who have made the team what it is, and will make it what it will be in the future. Providing as much service as possible to displaced students should not require us to do a grave disservice to our regular students. And many of these players will not play soccer beyond high school so it IS the world cup TO THEM.

[rocksccrstar]

I guess it depends on the school.... I know the Redemptorist boys are benefitting from the "displaced" players and those players are benefitting from soccer...there is a kid from St. Augustine (who had their first team last year) and he is getting practice, learning skills, and playing and when he goes home he can bring what he has learned back to a fledgling progam and it can only help, and there is kid from Brother Martin who would never have been able to play at his school but he is able to play at his new school, not a starter, but he gets the experience of being a viable member of a team. This kid is not returning to his school and has decided based on his experience that he will finish out his last two years at RHS.

Maybe I am soft and think that what is the best interest of the children, ALL CHILDREN, is most important. And I think that any kid that commits themself to the rigourous practice and game schedule is dedicated. Like I said it depends on the school.....

And as far as playing after high school there are plenty of opportunities for intramural play and club play at the college level, and as a member of BRSA's adult leagues I would welcome any of these kids who want to continue playing after they graduate. But I agree to disagree and this is just one of those issues that will be debated for years to come.

[cometfan]

There are many different points of view on this subject. We have several players on our team that are displaced from Dominican, and Mt Carmel. Two of these girls start. The Captains and most of the regular players are fine with them being a part of the team. The problem is with the parents of some of the regular girls. They feel that these girls are taking playing time away from their daughters. They also feel that the other girls had every opportunity to go to our school (they live in our area) but chose to go to the NO area schools for whatever reason and now shouldn't be picked before the regular girls.
Although with increased competition for playing time the regular girls are trying harder to take their spot back which benefits all of them. I know the coach is trying to play a lot of different players in anticipation of the other girls going back to their schools when they open. It’s a difficult situation no matter how you look at it and you’re not going to please everyone.

[coachray40]

I have been reading this thread and I think that some of the points brought up by all parties are valid ones. I would like to clarify a few items, and offer a few opinions.

First some misunderstood facts--there is no restriction on HS teams training together either with or without their coach during the summertime. You can practice and play as much as you want in the summer. The only restriction that LHSAA offers is on spring training, and fall game training (fitness is OK) prior to the official start of practice. CECP coaches have even fewer restrictions on them, as they may train their entire team in a recreational or club setting throughout the year. This is nothing new. As for the transitional schools issue, these schools are set up under the premise of an established school just using another schools facilities--thats all. In the case of many of these schools (specifically Brother Martin), the students are going to school at non traditional times in order to make use of the "donated" facilities. Brother Martin attends from 3:00-9:00 pm in the evening. These kids are effectively going to their original school, just doing it in another place. I dint see where they are getting any advantage, in fact they are at a disadvantage because they have to train and play at awkward times, and have reduced opportunities to play. Still in all, these families have gone the extra mile to stay true to their school, and I cant believe that they are getting any advantage.

Now some opinions- Lets look at this situation from a more abstract point of view (open your minds and dont hammer me just yet)--when any player became displaced, they had the perfect right to choose whatever school statewide they wanted to attend, as long as they could meet the basic residence requirements--meaning that if you have a 3rd cousin who lives in any school district(or even a real good friend), you could "establish residence" and go to school there without any question as to the validity of your residence. So, if player A was a great basketball player, they could go to whatever basketball powerhouse program for this year, and further themselves using the displaced athletes rule to their benefit. Of course nobody would do such a thing right? WRONG--there have been innumerable complaints statewide of recruiting going on by schools trying to scoop up talented displaced athletes in all sports. Kids could effectively pick what school they wanted to go to for athletics and go there, with no ramifications. After the fact, if these displaced players want to stay at these schools, they can continue to do so, even if they move back to their original place of residence that was affected by the storm. This is why LHSAA made the ruling in the style that they did, which put every athlete and school on level footing. There is no leniency, because that leniency has already been allowed.

With regard to players getting to play and practice with their original schools to "get ready for the reopening of their schools"--I dont think any non-operating school should sponsor an operating sports team. There has been considerable supposition, speculation, and misinformation on the actual opening of individual schools ( Lake Charles had three different restart dates prior to an actual restart of schools). Suppose these schools "intended to restart" by a certain time, but then couldn't until because of one reason or another--or possibly not ever reopen. Effectively, an unscrupulous athletic program could work outside of the same restrictions all other schools to play while not actually having a school in session. I'm sure none of this would ever happen either--I mean, after all thats why we have these rules

I'm sure I'm being a bit facetious, but after many years of being involved as an administrator, I can assure you that there are those who will try to find a way around any ruling in any situation. I think LHSAA's ruling was right, fair, and gives every displaced player a chance to participate. I would also opine that playing high school sports is a privilege, not a right. LHSAA has given every displaced athete a fair chance at that privilege, and even allowed them to do it in more than one place. We should all be more grateful that our children are getting a chance to continue their EDUCATION, and move forward into the future.

As for displaced players, displacing regular players, I have to say that is an individual decision for the schools individual programs, and should be dealt with that way. Some schools will benefit from extra players, some will hurt. Of course, this is no different than a player who would move into a respective district from another locale in America--should that player be shunned because he isn't "regular"? And even moreso if he was better than any other player a team had in a sport. I'm glad that we didn't have to make a hard decision about removing a regular player from a spot for a displaced player, but in our program, I would have put the 11 best players on the field, regardless of where they came from. "Regular" players should always be working in and out of season to be one of those best 11, regardless of circumstances,and be willing to continue to try and improve despite who moves into the area or becomes displaced.

For the record, we have 1 displaced player, he plays on our JV, and we are glad to have him. I guess it only really matters to some people when the displaced players are good.

[Barron]

No different than a player moving into a district from another location in America? There is no similarity at all. You are talking about someone who has made a legitimate, permanent move to a new location, and we are talking about temporary passerbys who are here today and will be gone tomorrow.

[toepoker]

In the days immediately following Katrina, we had no idea if my daughter’s school would ever open. When I questioned my daughter about playing for her Baton Rouge school team she stated that it would be unfair for a senior or a junior whose playing time could be affected by her making the team. Her statement was that Hurricane Katrina had destroyed her school and not these other players and she did not feel like that would be the proper thing to do. Who knows if as time went by and she made more friends, a coach had talked with her, or if the loss of soccer in her life may have changed her mind. The idea of empathy for her peers is one memory I will always keep.
I would be remiss in not acknowledging the sacrifices that the administration, parents and students of Archbishop Rummel have made to allow a transitional school to take place on their premises. They start school an hour earlier each day, which affects sleepy teenagers, administration, the staff and parents as well.
Just some more information on the situation and a little speculation on what may have occurred concerning Archbishop Rummel transitional School (ARTS). The ART school does not have regular students; it will close its doors in January, and is not affiliated with any one single school but has only displaced students. While housed at Rummel it has a separate administration and teaching staff. My daughter has enjoyed and is appreciative of having a chance to attend ARTS but is confused about some recent decisions.
My understandings come from a teenager and may not be very accurate, as in, all cases there are two sides to each story, and I know only one side. The girls do not wish to play soccer at (ARTS) for only one reason and that is they would not be competing in a complete season. In preparation for a makeshift district season and state playoffs the Athletic Directors from two schools were given permission to practice by and assistant director of LHSAA. A coach could be present but the schools would not be allowed to play games. Under these unusual circumstances, this ruling seemed just. I’m sure as stated in previous comments that some may find a way to abuse this ruling the next time a hurricane devastates our state. So I guess these girls have to pay for the few that may break the rules. Nevertheless, in face value I do not see how these schools would be seeking an advantage over teams that are playing games. All they want to do is practice!. If the schools never opened, they would not be able to play any games.
After more than a week of practicing with their home school team the ARTS administration informed the student athletes that their coaches did not know the rules and that they could not practice. To my knowledge, the ART school never consulted the athletic directors or coaches of either school before talking with their players. If this is true its poor manners at the very least. Was the ruling changed because the authorities enjoyed the publicity that was generated by previous teams competing for the ART School and approached LHSAA and asked for a different ruling? I’m not sure this happened but it is what a lot of student athletes and parents are speculating with circumstances suggesting such.
You may say that these girls should have played for both teams (no regular players to displace at the ART school). I just hope your child is treated with more compassion if the situation warrants. As to practicing with no games for a school that is closed - I’m sorry but I just don’t follow your logic when other teams are playing games. Yes, I understand that those schools have open doors but in the Post Katrina/Rita environment practicing without playing games falls under no advantage no foul in my book. It barely makes sense to say, what if some school used this ruling to cheat but I will concede that reason. In my opinion, an adequate explanation in this forum has not appeared as to convince me that there was a need to prevent these teams from just practicing. These players understand better than everyone else why they cannot presently play games. Their school was nearly destroyed by a hurricane. In the big picture, this is not very important but striving for normalcy are the proper expectations for all of us affected by either hurricane.

[Barron]

Toepoker, your daughter seems more mature than many adults involved in soccer.

[PumasFC]

I find it curious that I have yet to see a comment from a player on this matter, it is ALL Adults chiming in. Once again this is not what it should be about. with the exception of one parent who is repeating his daughter's words, and I applaud her for them, it looks like parental unrest is at the bottom of this discussion.
I'm a little confused after reading this entire thread, those that know me , know that it doesn't take much. LHSAA's final ruling is that players from a closed school are not allowed to train together until their school reopens? Working out with another team would still give them the touches on the ball to keep the rust off their game. It may not help them know their team-mates when schools reopen in Jan. but neither will a majority of teams in the district, it would seem. By the time the playoffs roll around, they should once again be aquainted with one another, and if they have played a month's less of game should be less banged up then some teams will be at that point in the season.
The players that wish to play are training with someone, regardless if it is "Their School", because that is their passion. Let these teens enjoy their high School years .
Parents stay out of it, tell your daughter she needs to work harder if she wants her first team spot back, or sit quietly until the player that beat her out goes back to that 'OTHER SCHOOL' .