[LOOKAYANNER]

Every year we see players moving to different schools all over the state. When I read the preseason magazine and newspaper articles about the upcoming high school season, it is full of information about who has transferred to where. But it seems when it occasionally happens in the mountains the rest of the state goes bonkers about it. Students and families move around, jobs change, people move back to their original home sometimes, these things happen sometimes. It's not always recruiting. And sometimes parents might deliberately change a job and move because they want their child in a better school system or in a program that will get them more publicity with college coaches. If they do it the right way, by KHSAA rules, then it is totally legal. Yes, sometimes parents recruit the school, not the other way around.

But as I said in another post, in many of the larger counties, Jefferson being the most notable, there is an open enrollment policy that should actually be called an open sports recruiting policy when it comes to athletics. That's why some of the same schools in Jefferson County dominate or are near the top in certain sports every year. It doesn't matter if you live completely on the other side of Jefferson County from the school you attend, it is legal as long as you enrolled there as a freshman (they may have backed it up to 8th grade of the feeder school, that was talked about being done a few years ago). The coaches know who the great upcoming athletes are going to be, and from what I've been told they go after them early. High school coaches or assisants with clip boards scouting the newbees are seen all over the county during middle school sport events, particularly basketball. In a county with over 1/2 million people one can see how it would be possible to accumulate an all star team, or at least a top 20 team at any one of the numerous high schools in the county. And I won't even get started on the private schools. Some of those are like small colleges, especially in football.

So, transfers in the mountains are small stuff compared to the more populated areas of the state.