Open Enrollment Solved!

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 12:39 pm

I remember that years ago we were all woried in the same respect about privates, then juniors for boys, now that OE has become more common it's the latest hot topic issue. I equate the juniors for boys concern to the potential for AAA/TBreds like teams (& more COULD be created - these are our girls equivalent of boys juniors) to get more and more of the best HS players unless the B&A GEL gets going this year. I think with a B&A GEL we would see more kids stay at home schools if athletics was the only major concern. They would get the full HS experience at their home school with their friends, etc. if the education was sufficient to justify this, play out a weaker hockey season maybe, but then get the full benifit of the B&A Elite bookending the season.

hattrick91 · Post by **hattrick91** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 6:21 pm

It is not unusual for student needs to change throughout high school- what works for a freshman in terms of athletics, academics and athletics and academics may not work for a junior or a senior- these are volatile years for a teenager. Penalizing a student for changing schools for a myriad of reasons does not make sense. The family needs to decide what is right for that students development not a group of athletic directors and coaches that would rather not deal with open enrollment because it makes their job more difficult as an adult. It is all about kids and not adults and it is very simple, the coaches play the BEST player, no matter what the adults demand- to do anything but that is wrong. Soccer is easy because club soccer allows players to keep developing in their sport as they progress through high school. Hockey is one of the only sports that locks a player into a youth program associated with a high school district through their development. This is a 1950's attitude- let players go wherever they see fit to develop academically and athletically. It is a global world not a world based on some antiquated 1950's non-competitve model. Parents get over it- your player may not be competitive enough to earn a varsity spot.

BostonCHockey · Post by **BostonCHockey** » Tue Apr 04, 2006 7:59 pm

Hatrick91 I like your attitude, it's direct, to the point, and really is the closest to the truth. It's a big competative world out there are these same parents that are trying to protect their children now going to do the same when they are passed over in a job promotion by someone better?

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 8:21 am

The more I think about this, the more I realize that the topic of this thread/post will never be accomplished. That is the sarcastic or "modest proposal" sort of view to all of this I suppose... There is no perfect "solution!" I think that this is all a philosophical argument, and many differ on this (the philosophy) for different reasons. I am going to stick with my last point - that what we have now may not be so bad. Rules that are made tougher could cause some fallout far worse than what we have now. It may be different for sports other than G Hockey, but I look at this from the G Hockey perspective. G Hockey is still very fragile in the sense that if the few truly elite top players leave to AAA or TB/SSM like teams, the rest will soon follow (this isn't currently the case contrary to what TB & SSM would like us to believe - but some top players are there now). This exodus could be triggered by a tougher MSHSL transfer rule if upheld. Similarly, if such a rule was challenged, and all rules thrown out, then we'd see unrestricted mass transfers I believe. This may be a case of not realizing how good we have it until it's gone... Edited by: <A HREF=http://p100.ezboard.com/bmnhs.showUserP ... ckeyfan</A> at: 4/6/06 8:23 am

SEhockeyDAD · Post by **SEhockeyDAD** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 9:00 am

You're probably right, ghs. I've come to the realization that the reason I dislike OE is because its like pro sports without the salary cap. That situation creates loaded teams like the Yankees who we all tend to dislike. I dislike it that they're always on top because the Yankees success (and money) snowballs and feeds itself without end. Just like the Yankees, a teams like Eden Prairie, SSP, Holy Angels, etc., that are perennial favorites will continue to attract other top players who go along with the credo, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." Its unlikely that the situation will change, and there will always be good teams, not-so-good teams and loaded teams. So be it. Just like in baseball, we'll support our home team and watch for someone to knock off the Yankees. It still doesn't do anything for the home-grown 3rd liner who's knocked off varsity by the import. I guess she can transfer, but thats not the reason OE was implemented either.

IGiveBlood · Post by **IGiveBlood** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:14 am

Everyone needs to realize the impact that OE has on the youth programs within the communities that the OE player leaves and comes into. Over the course of time you will see fewer players starting if the parents feel that their player will never have an opportunity to play for their high school because of OE players. It is so difficult getting players to start that this is just one more obstacle that the youth programs have to contend with when trying to attract the beginning player.

nutz4puck · Post by **nutz4puck** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:51 am

I give, So what you are telling me is that if you went to a U8/Mite girl or parent in community X (a place that is "attracting" a lot of OEs) and asked them if they were going to quit because of all of the OE's coming to their communitiy's HS they'd say "yes"? Because we all know that when you are 6+ years from playing HS hockey that nothing changes and your mind is so set at playing for the varsity that you are doing the math, looking around the locker room, considering OEs, realizing you will have no spot on varsity so you quit at 6/7 years old. I agree that OE is an issue but its not going to keep kids from playing the sport as a youth. The vicious pyramid exists either way (less spots as you move up) so no "entitlement" this time. Maybe its good we get rid of those types of players/families anyway because with attitudes and beliefs like that, there's no way they'd be mentally tough enough to help us be successful anyway.

keepitreal · Post by **keepitreal** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:58 am

Exactly SEdad, I like your analogy about the Yankees. We should all recognize the achievement when the girls hockey equivalent of the Twins wins the World Series... There's a lot of envy out there for certain programs and OE throws gasoline on the fire. There's many who point to a host of reason why a program is successful including their large numbers, their affluence, their ice time, etc. and now OE opens the door to leaching talent from other places. This creates a larger gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots". In girls HS hockey, let's face it, the numbers aren't such that the bar is all that high. It's not like boys hockey where there are many, many players who really aren't that far from the elite level. I believe that only recently (past 5 years) are the girls getting the advanced training and a ton of off-season opportunities that not only creates a large pool of talent, but also creates the mentality among vast numbers of parents and players that they are elite level when in truth the bar relatively low. They invest a lot of time, money and emotion into the sport and may believe they have exceptional players, when in reality they are good players in a sport with smaller numbers--but opportunities that rival what the boys have. In addition, today the average 8-9th grader can choose to play U14, Bantam, or HS-- advantages that other sports (and genders) simply don't have. Partially because of gender equity issues, there are HS opportunities for a vastly smaller pool of participants. There are now "AAA"/"elite" teams all over the place, there are tournaments springing up everywhere, and there are "elite" training programs banking serious money on the hopes and dreams of vast numbers of extraordinary and non-extraordinary athletes. Couldn't you get a false sense of value under these conditions? Couldn't your patience be very short with your hometown program and HS coaches and the allure of OE to make your kid's hockey situation better, or even "in your control" very tough to resist? These are a few things running through the minds of today's parents, though few will admit to it. It's a perfect storm of emotion, ego, politics, extraordinary freedoms and opportunities in a sport that is only now beginning to mature.

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:26 pm

I agree with much that has been said, but I think that we are underestimating the potential impact of an exodus of the top players... This may be more volatile than we want to let ourselves believe. The truth is that the price of hockey is what keeps the average to poor kid out of this elitist sport. If we could make the introductory levels free, we'd have the numbers that other sports do that aren't so expensive, but retaining those kids as the fees ramp up is what's hard. I agree that there is an OE impact on youth, but I think it's more of a shock wave scenario than anything. I think that a kid OE @ the top knocks kids down at each level below. Never have I heard a beginner say that they aren't playing due to OE, but I have heard "drama" cited as reason to get out of the sport. OE (kind of) = "drama" I guess. I think that we all have so much invested and our affluence and egos can make us hard to deal with with all the sense of entitlement, etc. that "true" (invested) hockey people feel. Couple that with the participation based entitlement that non "invested" hockey people feel and you have a recipe for disaster! Maybe we should all look in the mirror...

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:00 pm

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincitie ... 963022.htm

Posted on Tue, Jul. 04, 2006
Free agency over?
The Minnesota State High School League has formed an ad hoc committee to study open enrollment because coaches, athletics directors and parents are complaining more often about abuses of the rule.
BY RICK SHEFCHIK
Pioneer Press
Shopping for a good basketball or hockey program for your son or daughter? Better act soon.

It is entirely possible — if not probable — that, by this time next year, the Minnesota State High School League will have responded to a growing chorus of complaints from coaches, athletics directors and parents about open-enrollment abuses by tightening its transfer rules for athletes. That chorus helped make the issue of open enrollment the 2005-06 Pioneer Press high school story of the year.

The league's executive board voted last month to form an ad hoc committee of parents, coaches and administrators to study the issue. They will begin meeting in August, according to MSHSL executive director David Stead, and will present a recommendation to the MSHSL by December.

Minnesota would be following Wisconsin's lead on the transfer issue.

By a 269-76 vote in April, Wisconsin's high school governing body instituted stricter transfer regulations, starting with the 2007-08 school year. Any student who has finished his or her sophomore year will have to sit out one calendar year of athletic competition and practice if he or she transfers to another high school, unless the transfer is necessary because of a change in residence or other extenuating circumstances.

The MSHSL committee will consider similar measures. Currently, there is no loss of eligibility in Minnesota the first time an athlete changes schools through junior year, providing it is done at the start of the school year.

That has led to athletes operating as free agents, according to Ted Blaesing, superintendent of White Bear Lake schools — and coaches going into lower-school locker rooms trying to sell their programs, in the words of Tartan athletics director Lee Alger.

"It's almost getting to the point where you have to have a compliance officer, like they do in the NCAA, to know who's going where," Alger said. "You almost have to protect the people within your boundaries to make sure they go to your school. I think the committee that's been assigned by the high school league is going to attempt to clean that up."

HOW IT WORKS

Open enrollment was introduced by then-Gov. Rudy Perpich and implemented in 1987 under the theory that students seeking a better education would be able to leave one school for another, regardless of residence.

"Is it being used for academic purposes? No," said Blaesing, also president of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. "When you ask (students) why they open enrolled, day care is the leading reason. Then it becomes place of employment. Way down the line, you get the academic piece and occasionally athletics."

AunDreah Aune, who will be a junior captain of the Minneapolis Roosevelt girls basketball team next season, said she transferred from Minneapolis South after her freshman year for academic and athletic reasons.

"At South, I had to work hard and still didn't come out with grades I knew I could achieve," Aune said. "I didn't play (as much as) I know I could have played. I felt I could have played a lot more varsity than I did. I'm not mad at my coach, but I'm happy with myself now."

Aune has lived in the Roosevelt district all her life, chose to attend South and later regretted it. She said it wasn't easy transferring back to Roosevelt, but she's glad she did and says the option should remain open to athletes without losing a year of eligibility.

Freddy Coleman, the two-sport St. Paul Johnson star who graduated this spring, also contends open enrollment is beneficial for high school athletes.

"I think it's a great thing," said Coleman, who lives in the Harding district but transferred to Johnson after playing football and basketball for Harding as a sophomore. "All these kids play together in the summertime, and I think it's a really good thing they have the opportunity to play together at a competition level."

Aune said she got to know most of her Roosevelt teammates during the summer playing AAU basketball, so they were familiar with each other when the high school season started. She hears a lot of rumors about players changing schools to be with their friends.

"If I'm at the mall, I see a lot of people I know, and they're always saying, 'Do you know such and such is going here?' " Aune said.

The athletes might be in favor of it, but Stead says the feedback he receives from the public runs 90 percent against using open enrollment for athletic purposes.

"I'm getting calls saying there needs to be a change in the rule," he said. "We were hearing from schools, letters from the public, e-mails and telephone calls. People say, 'Yeah, I agree, we need to put an end to this thing.' There will be those who say it should be OK to transfer, but they are in the vast minority. It's not the intent of the rule to get to a better athletic program."

There are four ways a student can transfer without losing athletic eligibility:

• If the student is entering freshman year for the first time;

• If the student's parents move from one school district attendance area to another;

• If the student is taken out of the home for child-protection purposes by the courts;

• If the student transfers on the first day of a school year.

"If you are fully eligible at the end of your freshman, sophomore or junior year at any other school, you are eligible when you begin the next year at a new school," Stead said.

Students transferring under any other circumstances must miss 50 percent of the varsity competition of any sport for one calendar year.

Stead says the committee has no predetermined agenda looking into transfer changes. Committee members first will talk about what open enrollment is and what it is intended to do, in the context of specific cases they know and their personal experiences.

Then the committee will make a recommendation to the league's legislative body.

"They are scheduled to meet in May (2007), but they can meet at any time," Stead said. "We could call a special meeting of the assembly in January or February. If approved by the school representatives, it would be in place by the following year."

If asked to testify before the committee, Roosevelt girls basketball coach Willie Braziel said he would support stricter transfer rules, even though his team improved from 2-16 two seasons ago to 18-10 this past season with the help of seven transfers.

"I didn't create it, but I benefited," Braziel said. "I would say you get a freebie as a freshman only. You can go out for the team. Other than that, you automatically sit half the year. Any transfers after that, you sit 12 months. If you want to transfer junior year, you don't transfer. For long term and short term, there has to be some changes."

Braziel said all of his transfer students, like Aune, would have been at Roosevelt, even if there weren't open enrollment, because they lived in Roosevelt's district. He said their eventual move to the school was more about dissatisfaction with their previous schools than any desire to join a powerhouse at Roosevelt.

Braziel also is coach and district chairman for Minnesota AAU basketball, an offseason program that attracts top players — all-stars who sometimes persuade each other to switch high schools so they can play together all year long. Still, Braziel would like to see each student commit to one program.

"If your child is not playing, or upset for playing for coach X, they're going to come home with that," he said. "Usually, the resolution is a confrontation with the coach, or 'We're out of here.'

"I think we live in the ESPN era, where we only see very successful people. Not all the kids will be that successful. You've got to learn you won't always get your way, or you may not play. There are people better than you. In the business world, you may not be as successful. You send a message: Once you commit to a program, that's your program."

TIME FOR A CHANGE

Concerns about open-enrollment abuses long have been a reality, Wayzata athletics director Jaime Sherwood said. Although the Minnesota Department of Education does not ask why students transfer, at least 10,000 students in grades 9-12 have used open enrollment to change schools in each of the past three years.

"Kids are choosing schools for athletics," Sherwood said. "The sky is falling."

Sherwood said he finally senses a gathering concern on the part of parents, administrators, the high school league and the media.

"It's the right time to investigate," he said.

He cautioned, however, that smaller or declining school districts would not necessarily support a change in transfer rules.

"Many school districts look at it as a way to fill their buildings in times of declining enrollment," Sherwood said. "They are able to bring neighboring students in because of course offerings or extracurriculars. You have to make sure they're a part of it."

Blaesing is in contact with superintendents and school boards throughout the state, and he doesn't anticipate much opposition to a rule that would restrict athletic transfers.

"Unfortunately, students often make their decisions based on where they think they'll get greater (athletic) exposure," Blaesing said. "High school athletics do not exist for that purpose. We're not here to advance kids on to college or professional sports. I would applaud the state high school league, coaches and athletic directors for attempting to rein in some of the transferring between schools, simply for athletic purposes."

Rick Shefchik can be reached at rshefchik@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5577.

Thunderbird77 · Post by **Thunderbird77** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:45 pm

How ironic for Jamie Sherwood to think that "The sky is falling." with regard to Open Enrollment. Was the sky falling when Christina Lee, an Open Enrollee from Orono came to Wayzata as a junior and led his girl's hockey team to a 3rd place state finish?

The talent of this open enrollee was an encouragement to younger girls in the Wayzata association to play hockey. Wayzata welcomed her with open arms, as they should have. She is a great player and an inspiration to all who watched her play throughout her high school career.

Without Open Enrollment, perhaps Christina would have transferred to a private school such as Benilde or Holy Angels....What is the difference? Open Enrollment just evens the playing field, so to speak...

It is a challenge to any athletic director who has top athletes in their district leaving to try to understand the reason behind their decision and then determine appropriate action.

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 7:23 pm

I believe that with the likely tougher OE rules coming, that a Before & After Girls Elite League (B&AGEL) - somewhat like the boys elite league - would be benificial to keeping our best talent in the MSHSL.

Without such an option, and with further restriction on OE athletics wise, one or more of a few things could happen that would be bad for the MSHSL Girls Hockey as we know it.

1) More kids leave for existing T-breds or SSM/non-mshsl prep-school options in & out of the state.

2) More T-breds like teams start to pop up until all the best MSHSL talent is not playing in the MSHSL anymore.

3) MSHSL teams - mainly private - start to leave the MSHSL for the MWEHL to become SSM like teams.

My understanding is that there are still discussions ongoing re: B&AGEL.

ghshockeyfan · Post by **ghshockeyfan** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 12:12 pm

http://www.startribune.com/526/story/591957.html

State High School League: Open enrollment under a microscope
A committee under the aegis of the Minnesota State High School League will begin studying the controversial issue.
John Millea, Star Tribune
Last update: August 02, 2006 – 11:38 PM

Prep Sports
State High School League: Open enrollment under a microscope

The first steps toward changing Minnesota's open-enrollment regulations -- and the landscape for high school sports in the state -- could come today when a committee of parents, coaches and administrators meets for the first time to discuss the issue.

The Minnesota State High School League put together the committee of around 40 people because of what MSHSL executive director Dave Stead called "a concern that was expressed by members of the media, by parents who have called in, and by school people."

At the urging of then-Gov. Rudy Perpich, open enrollment was enacted by the Legislature in 1988 as a way for students interested in math, science, languages, fine arts, athletics, etc., to get the best possible education. It allows students to attend any public school they choose, no matter where they live.

Under current MSHSL athletic bylaws, student-athletes are allowed to change schools once with no penalty. If they transfer a second time, they must sit out half a varsity season before becoming eligible. The committee may recommend that the bylaws be tightened further, possibly eliminating transfers for athletic reasons.

The Minnesota Department of Education does not track why students transfer, but at least 10,000 students in grades 9-12 have used open enrollment to change schools in each of the past three years.

The MSHSL board of directors voted in June to form the committee that will meet today at MSHSL headquarters in Brooklyn Center. The committee also is scheduled to meet in September and November and offer its recommendations to the league's board in time for its December meeting.

If changes are made, they could be in place as early as the 2007-08 school year.

A similar effort was made in Wisconsin earlier this year when the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association changed its open-enrollment policy. Beginning with the 2007-08 school year, Wisconsin athletes who have completed their sophomore year will be ineligible for one calendar year if they transfer to another school. There are exceptions if the student's family moves, as is the case in Minnesota.

Stead said there are no specific goals for the committee.

"We will hand out newspaper articles, columns, editorials to get a flavor of it," he said. "We'll go around the room and say, 'Tell us that kind of experiences you have.'

"We will talk about the purpose of open enrollment, go through the open-enrollment statute, have people talk about what the issues are as they know them and make some recommendations about what they believe would be reasonable as far as kids and eligibility are concerned. I will carry that out to the area meetings that I conduct in the fall around the state to get input, and bring it back to the board of directors for a decision in December."

clueless · Post by **clueless** » Mon Aug 07, 2006 7:55 pm

As the moniker says I don't have a clue, but I do have an opinion.

If I'm an elite HS girls hockey player at any HS in Minnesota, I would not be thinking clearly, if I thought there was some tremendous opportunity some where other than the Minnesota girls high school hockey league.

Reasons to support this thought.

#1 We have better coaches today than at any previous time in our short history and they are getting better everyday. Just look the coaches at Simley, Coon Rapids, Stillwater, Sibley and Bemidji.

#2 The Midwest Elite League is not the opportunity it once was. Shattuck realized that the weakness in their schedule was the MWEL. They have effectively dropped out of the league as of last month.

#3 The thoroughbreds have issues. They cost $26,000 less than Shattuck and they still haven't won a playoff series against them in 6 years. I don't know if they've kept within 2 goals in any of their last 5 playoff games.

#4 Shattuck..Tuition $33,000, Hockey Fee $3,000, Athletic Scholarships Zero. Is this really an option???

#5 The girls teams coming up through Roseville, White Bear Lake, Stillwater, Edina, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Lakeville and Inver Grove Heights are stacked.

These programs will be providing wonderful competition and even some transfers to help make all the girls teams stronger than ever.

I do believe that Minnesota girls high school hockey is as healthy as it has ever been. The level of play is at its highest level ever and my expectation is for the base to keep improving significantly while the top teams continue to develope only not as fast as the base. I also think it has helped to have BSM and AHA move up to AA. Maybe Blake and Hibbing should do the same.

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Free agency over? Tue, Jul. 04, 2006 Pioneer Press

Elite League

Open enrollment under a microscope

Will the elite really leave the HS League in mass exodus???