The High School Transfer Portal: The reason behind players changing schools

[SiderBlood]

Now that I have kids of my own, as much as I understand loyalty to a community, I'd want my boys to get the best coaching in the best program they could. They live with that experience the rest of their lives, and that lasts longer than a few cheers from hometown fans who forget your name after the season is done.

If you start from the beginning that's one thing to me. But to up and change is another. I do think football teaches incredible life lessons. But the root of the games is what teaches those lessons. A few extra wins in the long run doesn't. 99.9 percent of the student athletes won't go to a division 1 school and start. Idc who the coach is. Going to a certain school doesn't make your kid talented.

You can have whatever opinion you want. I don't know why you would bother having one about choices parents make for their children. Personally, I would not ask you or wonder afterwards what you thought.

Well normally I would agree with your statement. But this is a discussion forum, so when you post your opinion, it is open for others to express theirs.

[XandOs]

Do you not see the hypocrisy in this though? You want to teach them to be competitors and go getters? So you join another team that's already talented, so you can coat tail and bathe in that glory? What does that teach?

I love the feel of home small town football. The sense of pride and community is important to me.

How about the lessons that life isn't always gonna be easy. Things might get difficult with your hometown team. But I would rather my kids learn not to be selfish. Not to bail on your friends and team mates because you think you are above them. Problems? Stay and fix them. Not tuck tail and run.

If you are so talented, you will make a difference on your team and get noticed. If you don't, then maybe you aren't as good as you think. Or the parents think. So don't give me that crap that said other school will get you recognition. Shoot the one kid that is going to a Big 10 school to play running back, doesn't even get that many carries at his school now.

These transfers show exactly how soft society as a whole has become. Everyone wants to take the easy way out. Everyone wants to blame everyone else. No personal accountability for anything. Parents get in the kids heads, tell them they are better than what they are. And no im not a grouchy old man. I'm pretty young relatively. Just alive long enough to have witnessed this sad transition we are currently in.

What you just said makes absolutely no sense either. “The one kid going to the big 10 to play running back, doesn’t even get that many carries at his school now”. That to me is why kids are coming. It’s not the personal exposure it’s the culture of the program and the development and connections that’s getting these kids in schools. Stats don’t get kids recruited. The Qb from Western Brown will tell you that. He lead the Country in passing yards last year and doesn’t have an offer to play. I’ve also heard people on here say well they have recruiting guys close to their program helping. Those “recruiting” guys represent a lot of kids in this area and I don’t see it helping those kids land offers. The moral of the story is if your dream is to play college sports in 21st century it 100% matters where you play. The kid you were referring to is also the leading ball carrier on a team with other D1 kids. Ironton has weapons everywhere and they parity in their athletes is very close.

I can only speak for the games I have watched. And I choose not to mention the school because I get tired of every single post on this site being about them. But the games I have watched, that kid has been severely under utilized. In a loss and a should have been loss. Still blows my mind that a team composed of this many next level athletes aren't blowing teams out of the water.

Just maybe they are just like your kids except they are getting more exposure and a chance to compete at next level because of what school they are at.

[mustard]

If a public school kid transfers to another public school & takes a kids spot thats a teachable moment.

Lesson #1. Life is hard and nobody is entitled to anything. Even a spot on ya school team just cause you been around longer.

Keep teaching that entitlement and that kid is gonna fall apart the 1st time a romantic relationship ends. Lol

You are entitled to NOTHING. Not even your geographical stint in one location entitles you.

Teach them to be go getters. Competitors.

Do you not see the hypocrisy in this though? You want to teach them to be competitors and go getters? So you join another team that's already talented, so you can coat tail and bathe in that glory? What does that teach?

I love the feel of home small town football. The sense of pride and community is important to me.

How about the lessons that life isn't always gonna be easy. Things might get difficult with your hometown team. But I would rather my kids learn not to be selfish. Not to bail on your friends and team mates because you think you are above them. Problems? Stay and fix them. Not tuck tail and run.

If you are so talented, you will make a difference on your team and get noticed. If you don't, then maybe you aren't as good as you think. Or the parents think. So don't give me that crap that said other school will get you recognition. Shoot the one kid that is going to a Big 10 school to play running back, doesn't even get that many carries at his school now.

These transfers show exactly how soft society as a whole has become. Everyone wants to take the easy way out. Everyone wants to blame everyone else. No personal accountability for anything. Parents get in the kids heads, tell them they are better than what they are. And no im not a grouchy old man. I'm pretty young relatively. Just alive long enough to have witnessed this sad transition we are currently in.

What you just said makes absolutely no sense either. “The one kid going to the big 10 to play running back, doesn’t even get that many carries at his school now”. That to me is why kids are coming. It’s not the personal exposure it’s the culture of the program and the development and connections that’s getting these kids in schools. Stats don’t get kids recruited. The Qb from Western Brown will tell you that. He lead the Country in passing yards last year and doesn’t have an offer to play. I’ve also heard people on here say well they have recruiting guys close to their program helping. Those “recruiting” guys represent a lot of kids in this area and I don’t see it helping those kids land offers like it happens at Ironton. The moral of the story is if your dream is to play college sports in 21st century it 100% matters where you play. The kid you were referring to is also the leading ball carrier on a team with other D1 kids. Ironton has weapons everywhere and they parity in their athletes is very close.

Yeah that's why those coaches are so great, to give those kids national exposure. Gimme a break dude. They gettin those kids to win baby! Look at their roster this year, 4 to 5 newbies that start! HaHa! He's using those recruiting gurus to lure them in. And probably is against the rules, who knows.

Ironton fans still trying to make it sound PG! LOL It's full tilt down there in tiger land, texting, showing up at basketball games, payin for apartments, all those water cooler stories that are in current circulation, true or not, but they are out there. I think one guy on here was admitting to Ironton being dominant with these transfers because otherwise posters look silly with all their exposure talk, yada yada. As if Ironton is the only school that has D1 talent. And you mention the Western Brown QB, he's the best prospect in Ohio compared to this area, hands down. He will end up somewhere.

[SiderBlood]

What you just said makes absolutely no sense either. “The one kid going to the big 10 to play running back, doesn’t even get that many carries at his school now”. That to me is why kids are coming. It’s not the personal exposure it’s the culture of the program and the development and connections that’s getting these kids in schools. Stats don’t get kids recruited. The Qb from Western Brown will tell you that. He lead the Country in passing yards last year and doesn’t have an offer to play. I’ve also heard people on here say well they have recruiting guys close to their program helping. Those “recruiting” guys represent a lot of kids in this area and I don’t see it helping those kids land offers. The moral of the story is if your dream is to play college sports in 21st century it 100% matters where you play. The kid you were referring to is also the leading ball carrier on a team with other D1 kids. Ironton has weapons everywhere and they parity in their athletes is very close.

I can only speak for the games I have watched. And I choose not to mention the school because I get tired of every single post on this site being about them. But the games I have watched, that kid has been severely under utilized. In a loss and a should have been loss. Still blows my mind that a team composed of this many next level athletes aren't blowing teams out of the water.

Just maybe they are just like your kids except they are getting more exposure and a chance to compete at next level because of what school they are at.

I played in a state championship game and played that with every single kid from West Portsmouth. We actually beat a Youngstown Ursaline team in the 2002 semis that had real D1 players that played for Penn State and Ohio State. Not just claimed them. And my kid is excelling at the pee wee level right now. Along with his great team mates. Every grade 3-6 just beat Ironton a few weeks ago actually. I'm sure in a few years those same teams will get a few boys from huntington, and rock Hill, and maybe Mississippi. Maybe we can try again then.

As for our high school boys, we have two boys that have D1 interest. I heard one of them jut got contacted by Illinois. How did they manage to do that without going to Ironton?

[XandOs]

How many kids from West Portsmouth has played D1 football in the history of the school?

Actually played too. Not walked on the team or was on a team for a couple weeks?

I know of one and I can remember and he’s the Head Coach here at Ironton.

[SiderBlood]

How many kids from West Portsmouth has played D1 football in the history of the school?

Actually played too. Not walked on the team or was on a team for a couple weeks?

I dont know of any that was on scholarship. I know of a handful that were no doubt good enough, but college was never an option. And if you are going to say Trevon, he walked on. And came from a family that could afford to keep him there until he earned a scholarship. You could be confused with what I said. We beat Youngstown Ursaline who had players start for OSU and Penn State.

I never said the two on this team were getting scholarships. I said had interest. One visited Pitt and one will probably go visit Illinois. Most likely not get offered, but interest is what I said.

How many from Ironton are ACTUALLY playing right now? I love rooting for Carrico and want him to succeed. But you guys love to talk about how you manufactured him, and he's yet to see the field? What difference is that than other schools around here that's sent kids to D1? Does Ryan Day not know as much as the Pendletons?

[XandOs]

You my friend are blinded by hatred. I’m going to guess and say you rode the bench as a player at P. West and are now living through your children. Anyone that thinks youth success translates to HS doesn’t have a clue about sports anyways.

As for Carrico. He was hurt from what I understand before the season and missed all of pre-season camp with a tore hamstring. I know for a fact he was in rotation prior to that. I can also tell you all the Ironton kids that are portrayed as D1 kids are in fact going D1 Full scholarship. There is no smoking mirror or hidden information on any of that. You along with many other people are struggling trying to figure out how these kids are getting scholarships unlike everyone else. The answer is right in front of your face. Your just trying to dig too deep.

[SiderBlood]

You my friend are blinded by hatred. I’m going to guess and say you rode the bench as a player at P. West and are now living through your children. Anyone that thinks youth success translates to HS doesn’t have a clue about sports anyways.

As for Carrico. He was hurt from what I understand before the season and missed all of pre-season camp with a tore hamstring. I know for a fact he was in rotation prior to that. I can also tell you all the Ironton kids that are portrayed as D1 kids are in fact going D1 Full scholarship. There is no smoking mirror or hidden information on any of that. You along with many other people are struggling trying to figure out how these kids are getting scholarships unlike everyone else. The answer is right in front of your face. Your just trying to dig too deep.

It was a joke, I dont really think that pee wee success translates to high school. I was not a bench player. And I don't hate anyone. I hope all these kids are successful.

It's the fans that's that are annoying. Every post concerning other teams gets over run by tiger fans. You talk this team up so much. Then make so many excuses when they don't perform the best. I don't care what anyone says. You claim all this talent, it should be a walk to the championship game.

[Zunardo]

Wow - four high schools in four years? Sounds like an Air Force brat.

The article certainly paints a rosy picture of Florida high-schoolers preparing for the next level. Had no idea they had such a liberal policy. Would be curious to see a follow-up study of just the football transfers since 2019:
- how many went to college on athletic scholarships
- what percentage of them actually made it pay in the form of NFL contracts
- a look at how all of them in general fared in post-HS employment.

And speaking of Ohio public school transfers, is it still a thing where parents relinquish their custodial rights to a non-family member in a different district, so their kid can play immediately at a new public school? I think it was discussed on here, a family doing that 10 years ago or so. Kid had a lot of football potential, but never heard if he ended up with a scholly or what. And I don't know how many families went that route.

[formerfcfan]

A couple general thoughts that somewhat flow with each other, although they conflict, in no particular order...

When I think about the concept of opportunity and transferring, what comes to mind is a personal neologism: "sports-conscious." I define sports-conscious as a loose belief held by parties (schools, coaches and players) that it is important to create-and-sustain an image that programs care about their athletics being strongly competitive in both the interscholastic competition realm as well as the market of students. Underpinning that mission is capital: either material capital (money, facilities) or human capital (volunteerism, commitment by multiple actors at the table.) I think to an extent, all schools want to be sports-conscious and successful in the pursuit of maintaining competitiveness -- they know they stand to lose kids if their programs are lackluster. The problem is, through no fault of their own, a lot of schools in SEOPS territory do not have much material capital (lack of tax base, lack of private actors to donate) and human capital can be feast-or-famine given a declining population that is only getting older and frankly less-resourced to expend a significant amount of energy toward the cause. As someone who lives a just a hair above the "Lancaster-Dixon line", I see a ton of sports-consciousness within the Ohio Capital Conference as well as the Mid-State League -- just a direct byproduct of having a) lots of money circulating, b) high population -> bigger schools, c) a greatly competitive landscape of the education market (e.g. I live a 20-minute drive from multiple large public high schools, medium-sized publics, small publics; medium-sized private schools and small private schools,) Hell, you have leagues literally structuring and changing-over all the time because the mission of "being the best / playing the best" isn't incompatible with driving-time nor expenditures. d) Tying all of that together, all of the actors (as a product of the unconstitutional funding of our school systems) up here have really competitive educational offerings.

I get the ideal on "play for the hometown", but if you're a parent with a younger child in JH and an older kid who plays/played for the high school where the HS program has been dysfunctional/unstable for a minute what is the incentive to stay? At the risk of "putting down" schools (not the intent, just merely observing and stating an obvious), what is the upside in sticking with a program like Wellston or River Valley? The coaches' office is a revolving door. If you're a parent who cultivates their kid into learning a specific skillset for a position (e.g. working on route-running as a wide receiver), do you really feel comfortable in a situation where (due to a thread-barren roster and/or a dramatic change in offensive scheme/philosophy) your kid is made into a QB, RB or guard because there's no one else on the roster who could play the role in the coach's eyes? A position your kid doesn't know the ins-and-outs of, or frankly isn't prepared physically to play?

To an earlier comment/point made on this thread when it comes to "escaping", a kid has dreams? How can their dreams be met? Networking is a pretty good pathway. Kids primarily achieve networking through one of three ways: a) college, b) trades/para-professions (although this is a hard ladder to network with) or c) sports. Those three aren't equally-accessible networks that provide equal amounts of opportunity. Sports can provide a pathway to college (not that I necessarily endorse it unconditionally for every kid, but I see where it helps and the role it plays.) Hey, if you're a strong student and a determined enough athlete, you can go D2 route and do a 4+1 (or a 3+2) program like PT/occupational therapy or sports medicine with significant amounts of it paid for by the school. Kids just need direction, and sports is an imperfect means that bridges some of the opportunity-gap.

[THEEE_GAME]

Do you not see the hypocrisy in this though? You want to teach them to be competitors and go getters? So you join another team that's already talented, so you can coat tail and bathe in that glory? What does that teach?

I love the feel of home small town football. The sense of pride and community is important to me.

How about the lessons that life isn't always gonna be easy. Things might get difficult with your hometown team. But I would rather my kids learn not to be selfish. Not to bail on your friends and team mates because you think you are above them. Problems? Stay and fix them. Not tuck tail and run.

If you are so talented, you will make a difference on your team and get noticed. If you don't, then maybe you aren't as good as you think. Or the parents think. So don't give me that crap that said other school will get you recognition. Shoot the one kid that is going to a Big 10 school to play running back, doesn't even get that many carries at his school now.

These transfers show exactly how soft society as a whole has become. Everyone wants to take the easy way out. Everyone wants to blame everyone else. No personal accountability for anything. Parents get in the kids heads, tell them they are better than what they are. And no im not a grouchy old man. I'm pretty young relatively. Just alive long enough to have witnessed this sad transition we are currently in.

What you just said makes absolutely no sense either. “The one kid going to the big 10 to play running back, doesn’t even get that many carries at his school now”. That to me is why kids are coming. It’s not the personal exposure it’s the culture of the program and the development and connections that’s getting these kids in schools. Stats don’t get kids recruited. The Qb from Western Brown will tell you that. He lead the Country in passing yards last year and doesn’t have an offer to play. I’ve also heard people on here say well they have recruiting guys close to their program helping. Those “recruiting” guys represent a lot of kids in this area and I don’t see it helping those kids land offers like it happens at Ironton. The moral of the story is if your dream is to play college sports in 21st century it 100% matters where you play. The kid you were referring to is also the leading ball carrier on a team with other D1 kids. Ironton has weapons everywhere and they parity in their athletes is very close.

Yeah that's why those coaches are so great, to give those kids national exposure. Gimme a break dude. They gettin those kids to win baby! Look at their roster this year, 4 to 5 newbies that start! HaHa! He's using those recruiting gurus to lure them in. And probably is against the rules, who knows.

Ironton fans still trying to make it sound PG! LOL It's full tilt down there in tiger land, texting, showing up at basketball games, payin for apartments, all those water cooler stories that are in current circulation, true or not, but they are out there. I think one guy on here was admitting to Ironton being dominant with these transfers because otherwise posters look silly with all their exposure talk, yada yada. As if Ironton is the only school that has D1 talent. And you mention the Western Brown QB, he's the best prospect in Ohio compared to this area, hands down. He will end up somewhere.

This is the product of a very shallow gene pool. It's almost like the author can barely cast one unsupported allegation before they are off with the next.

[THEEE_GAME]

A couple general thoughts that somewhat flow with each other, although they conflict, in no particular order...

When I think about the concept of opportunity and transferring, what comes to mind is a personal neologism: "sports-conscious." I define sports-conscious as a loose belief held by parties (schools, coaches and players) that it is important to create-and-sustain an image that programs care about their athletics being strongly competitive in both the interscholastic competition realm as well as the market of students. Underpinning that mission is capital: either material capital (money, facilities) or human capital (volunteerism, commitment by multiple actors at the table.) I think to an extent, all schools want to be sports-conscious and successful in the pursuit of maintaining competitiveness -- they know they stand to lose kids if their programs are lackluster. The problem is, through no fault of their own, a lot of schools in SEOPS territory do not have much material capital (lack of tax base, lack of private actors to donate) and human capital can be feast-or-famine given a declining population that is only getting older and frankly less-resourced to expend a significant amount of energy toward the cause. As someone who lives a just a hair above the "Lancaster-Dixon line", I see a ton of sports-consciousness within the Ohio Capital Conference as well as the Mid-State League -- just a direct byproduct of having a) lots of money circulating, b) high population -> bigger schools, c) a greatly competitive landscape of the education market (e.g. I live a 20-minute drive from multiple large public high schools, medium-sized publics, small publics; medium-sized private schools and small private schools,) Hell, you have leagues literally structuring and changing-over all the time because the mission of "being the best / playing the best" isn't incompatible with driving-time nor expenditures. d) Tying all of that together, all of the actors (as a product of the unconstitutional funding of our school systems) up here have really competitive educational offerings.

I get the ideal on "play for the hometown", but if you're a parent with a younger child in JH and an older kid who plays/played for the high school where the HS program has been dysfunctional/unstable for a minute what is the incentive to stay? At the risk of "putting down" schools (not the intent, just merely observing and stating an obvious), what is the upside in sticking with a program like Wellston or River Valley? The coaches' office is a revolving door. If you're a parent who cultivates their kid into learning a specific skillset for a position (e.g. working on route-running as a wide receiver), do you really feel comfortable in a situation where (due to a thread-barren roster and/or a dramatic change in offensive scheme/philosophy) your kid is made into a QB, RB or guard because there's no one else on the roster who could play the role in the coach's eyes? A position your kid doesn't know the ins-and-outs of, or frankly isn't prepared physically to play?

To an earlier comment/point made on this thread when it comes to "escaping", a kid has dreams? How can their dreams be met? Networking is a pretty good pathway. Kids primarily achieve networking through one of three ways: a) college, b) trades/para-professions (although this is a hard ladder to network with) or c) sports. Those three aren't equally-accessible networks that provide equal amounts of opportunity. Sports can provide a pathway to college (not that I necessarily endorse it unconditionally for every kid, but I see where it helps and the role it plays.) Hey, if you're a strong student and a determined enough athlete, you can go D2 route and do a 4+1 (or a 3+2) program like PT/occupational therapy or sports medicine with significant amounts of it paid for by the school. Kids just need direction, and sports is an imperfect means that bridges some of the opportunity-gap.

Very well said. Sadly seo largely resents growth or people growing beyond their idea of "how it always has been."

[THEEE_GAME]

You my friend are blinded by hatred. I’m going to guess and say you rode the bench as a player at P. West and are now living through your children. Anyone that thinks youth success translates to HS doesn’t have a clue about sports anyways.

As for Carrico. He was hurt from what I understand before the season and missed all of pre-season camp with a tore hamstring. I know for a fact he was in rotation prior to that. I can also tell you all the Ironton kids that are portrayed as D1 kids are in fact going D1 Full scholarship. There is no smoking mirror or hidden information on any of that. You along with many other people are struggling trying to figure out how these kids are getting scholarships unlike everyone else. The answer is right in front of your face. Your just trying to dig too deep.

It was a joke, I dont really think that pee wee success translates to high school. I was not a bench player. And I don't hate anyone. I hope all these kids are successful.

It's the fans that's that are annoying. Every post concerning other teams gets over run by tiger fans. You talk this team up so much. Then make so many excuses when they don't perform the best. I don't care what anyone says. You claim all this talent, it should be a walk to the championship game.

They are undefeated so far. Must be doing something correct.

Also. A state title is a great achievement. But its not the only representation of success. There are a lot of other successes along the way to creating a program like Ironton. Some are community, some are personal. Saying because you have talent you should walk to the title game is an emotion based ultimatum with zero rationale. Talent only goes so far. Those talented kids have to work hard. Commit. As individuals. Then as a collective.

[ohbuckeye2]

Now that I have kids of my own, as much as I understand loyalty to a community, I'd want my boys to get the best coaching in the best program they could. They live with that experience the rest of their lives, and that lasts longer than a few cheers from hometown fans who forget your name after the season is done.

If you start from the beginning that's one thing to me. But to up and change is another. I do think football teaches incredible life lessons. But the root of the games is what teaches those lessons. A few extra wins in the long run doesn't. 99.9 percent of the student athletes won't go to a division 1 school and start. Idc who the coach is. Going to a certain school doesn't make your kid talented.

You can have whatever opinion you want. I don't know why you would bother having one about choices parents make for their children. Personally, I would not ask you or wonder afterwards what you thought.

Agree eferns, it's the families decision and nobody elses period.

[THEEE_GAME]

I can only speak for the games I have watched. And I choose not to mention the school because I get tired of every single post on this site being about them. But the games I have watched, that kid has been severely under utilized. In a loss and a should have been loss. Still blows my mind that a team composed of this many next level athletes aren't blowing teams out of the water.

Just maybe they are just like your kids except they are getting more exposure and a chance to compete at next level because of what school they are at.

I played in a state championship game and played that with every single kid from West Portsmouth. We actually beat a Youngstown Ursaline team in the 2002 semis that had real D1 players that played for Penn State and Ohio State. Not just claimed them. And my kid is excelling at the pee wee level right now. Along with his great team mates. Every grade 3-6 just beat Ironton a few weeks ago actually. I'm sure in a few years those same teams will get a few boys from huntington, and rock Hill, and maybe Mississippi. Maybe we can try again then.

As for our high school boys, we have two boys that have D1 interest. I heard one of them jut got contacted by Illinois. How did they manage to do that without going to Ironton?

"I heard."

[THEEE_GAME]

If you start from the beginning that's one thing to me. But to up and change is another. I do think football teaches incredible life lessons. But the root of the games is what teaches those lessons. A few extra wins in the long run doesn't. 99.9 percent of the student athletes won't go to a division 1 school and start. Idc who the coach is. Going to a certain school doesn't make your kid talented.

You can have whatever opinion you want. I don't know why you would bother having one about choices parents make for their children. Personally, I would not ask you or wonder afterwards what you thought.

Agree eferns, it's the families decision and nobody elses period.

It's pretty cringe stuff. Grown men sounding like soccer moms. I remember years ago people from other programs would call Ironton the lawrence co all stars. Blah blah. Not much has truly changed all these years as much as they have changed. If you try to move ahead of the pack people are gonna hate it to their very core. It doesn't matter if it's 1986 or 2022. They're gonna criticize and try to somehow lessen your accomplishments because it doesn't fit outdated perceptions of what you should be or how things should be done. Truth is though the world outside of their perceptions do not do that and neither do the record books. It's been the same story for 30+ years given a handful here or there. Ironton is a "blue blood" program in their region. Parents and kids with an invested interest in football are going to be interested in programs that invest back into them. I don't understand the issue. A program in the region is trying to provide opportunity to student atheletes in the region. Seo is so small you have to appreciate any part or town in it that enjoys any kind of opportunity in that region. Football actually made money for the town of Ironton this past weekend. Hotel..etc etc. I can't imagine being that upset about lil johnny losing a spot or your favorite team not being able to get in the end zone this year vs Ironton. Now Ironton is trying to share some of the love and invite local teams to be a part of what looks to be an annual event. Extending that exposure to their region. Love the ambition. Ambition makes people wake up. If rules have been broken, show it. If they are simply using their resources to their full potential within the pretty loose transfer rules per gov body, your displeasure is misguided, because most of it should rest with your own programs and asking why they cannot be ambitious also.

[THEEE_GAME]

I agree. I was trying not to make the post about Ironton specifically. I’m just giving my take on the entire picture of it. Not sure I like the college version of it either

It only seems like a big deal because we are living withing the change. In 3 years, 5 years, it'll be old news and new changes will occur. Just like any aspect of our lives and world. And when new changes occur some will dislike those also but they will still occur. The measure by which we assess things changes right along with it so any outdated assessment is irrelevant. Fact is its here, its legit, its present at every level in diff aspects, it doesnt make anything less than or not legitimate, and programs that cannot keep up to a degree will struggle consistently outperforming more ambitious programs.

How is staying at a hometown school preventing someone from escaping the so called gutter that you call southern Ohio ? Why can’t they still go to college , military ext to “escape” the misery and disadvantages of being poor appalachian folks ? I’m confused .

When they go is the beginning of them leaving. I know. That was me.

[Paulcrew]

The only way this level of transfer-o-rama will ever reach Ohio is if privates break from the publics, forming their own association.

Yup. I think the better point for this forum isn't as direct. Transfers are a normal part of the game in 2022. Everywhere. Just to differing degrees. If someome grew up at a time where their 1983 experience makes it hard to relate, it doesn't make it wrong or cheating. Grow accustomed to everyone having interests in anything that is a collective effort. The idea is for everyone to benefit from their opportunities. Prep age atheletes have more to gain now than ever before. Doesn't matter what some relic from a small town feels about it. Programs that provide opportunity are sought after or considered. Opportunity vs hometown sentiment in 2022 is gonna always end in a blow out for 16, 17, 18 year olds in seo. The whole idea is to get out of the nest/cage. They don't wanna stay and get old and espouse whimsically about the old days in good ol Ironton or good ol Wheelersburg, ( or wherever) They wanna see what the world has for them beyond it.

Opportunity = destination.

Don't get upset because a local program is willing to do more for their student - atheletes, match that ambition & exceed that effort.

Have you ever considered that these schools are public and not everyone has the means to pick up and transfer? But yet they still have the want and desire to play for their school and be a part of something. Whether you acknowledge it or not, Ironton falls into that public school category and now those average kids who just want play some high school football now have to look over their shoulder for playing time all because someone painted a bus, or has connections. If that’s the direction that some want to go, start a harvest prep in the area and do so. This is my biggest complaint with the current sports environment. Public school kids should have the opportunity

When I see kids getting offers to play D1 football that based on field performance aren’t necessarily passing the eye test for what is normally D1 level, I certainly understand kids and parents wanting opportunities for themselves.
I also understand that most kids just want to
play for their home school.
I believe by kids transferring into your district, it helps the school and the community. They live here and spend money to live here and the school gets more revenue from the state because enrollment increases.

Back to the college opportunities. I’ve watched kids from all 4 of Irontons opponents this year. There were kids on all four teams that I believe have produced more than a few of the kids who already have standing D1 offers. I’m sure there are many reasons for that, with one being that Irontons staff and administration promotes the kids from Ironton.
Maybe some at Burg, Jackson and Fairland, who are interested in their kids getting D1 offers, should be asking why their kids aren’t getting offers?

[Fan of the youth]

I think transfers used to be about winning the league the state or whatever. I believe now it is winning and exposure to college coaches. I think some of the areas younger coaches know how to give their players exposure through promotion and work hard at it. Many of he old guard expects DI coaches to find their players and parents know with one shot to make it that is too much to chance.

[dantargaryen]

Y'all, please, go outside and touch some grass...

Some of you are looking at a situation that is happening in Miami-Dade, FL and then tripping out about something like that happening in SEO is laughable at best. There are 37 high schools and 54 public charter schools just in the Miami-Dade Public system alone. The Archdiocese of Miami operates 13 high schools, there are also 4 independent Catholic prep schools, and around a dozen other non-denominational private schools.
We're talking an area with a population of 8.5 M people in 1,946 sq. mi. -- that's as large as Gallia, Jackson, Lawrence, and Scioto counties combined (land area), and a population bigger than the Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus metro areas combined.

We aren't going to see a situation Ryle Aguila situation where a kid transfers 4 times in 4 years (btw, all his hopping from team to team didn't land him an offers from the U, FSU, or UF -- he's at the University of Charleston. Yes, the Div II school in West Virginia...)

An Ironton kid doesn't magically get noticed because they're from Ironton anymore than a kid from Hilliard or Dublin gets noticed just because they're from Hilliard or Dublin. Kids that want DI offers have to have DI talent and DI grades to back it up. I don't care how great of a football player you are, if you are repeating Algebra I for the third time as a senior, and still barely pulling a 2.0, you aren't going to be getting any looks from DI programs. Plain and simple.

Maybe, and just maybe, we should be thinking as much about kids that are getting noticed first for their academic abilities and then garnering attention for their athletic abilities. Because those are the kids that are going to ultimately be getting offers regardless of where they go to high school. Maybe we should be talking about why the kids that are transferring are very often going from schools that have a garbage academic reputation and going to schools where they have as many academic opportunities as they do athletic opportunities.

Look, some of y'all clearly peaked in high school and can't see the forest because of the trees, but nobody cares if you were an all-conference athlete if you can't do 2+2 and use an Oxford comma.