With the announcement of four football players transferring to Grayson High School next year, it quickly set the team up as the favorite for the upcoming season in the 7A class.
But the larger conversation involves what is allowed regarding transfers and if they should allow all these kids to form together on one team at the high school level. Many fans have cited an unfair advantage toward a team that can attract transfers a year before, but in terms of transfer rules, the GHSA is one of the stricter in this part of the country.
The GHSA has a set of 13 stipulations under which a student may compete in athletics in another school. If a student doesn’t fit one of these rules, they’re ruled ineligible.
Florida and Alabama already allow transfer of schools as long as you enroll before the school year. This is an opportunity that allows students to compete at the level they want and with the coaching they want.
Georgia, meanwhile, has a list of requirements for transfer eligibility, as they try to remove the athletes from that choice and eliminate the coaches from potentially taking advantage of situations for transfers. The goal is to create a level of fairness and order within the league. But is that what is best for the players or the organization in the long run?
Many kids have begun transferring to schools like USA Academy, and as prep schools become more and more involved in athletics, it allows for more opportunities for students to move on to other schools to help them fulfill their desires of reaching the collegiate level.
So what is more important: the opportunity for fairness or the opportunity to give these kids the coaching and education they desire? If a kid has the talent to reach the collegiate level, should he or she be able to seek out the best coaching possible?
Written by: Kyle Grondin
