Nathan Hale's Basketball Team Looks Super
The Times had an article yesterday about the new head boys basketball coach at Hale and what looks to be a very competitive team - as in competitive at both the state and national level. Hale is now ranked as 22nd in the nation. Two of Hale's games this year will be televised nationally. Sixty students tried out and 14 made the team.
I had reported earlier this year that former NBA All-Star Brandon Roy was taking the head coaching job at Hale. He receives $6,000 a year for his work, just like all the other SPS coaches. Roy had wanted to coach at UW but chose to coach at Hale.
Coach Roy appears to have made his presence at Hale known to top high school boys basketball prospects and got one of the most highly-sought after high school players in the country, Michael Porter, Jr., from Missouri. Porter's brother, Jontay, is also playing on the team.
By August, four more top basketball prospects transferred to the school including a player who had been on Garfield's basketball team, one from Lakeside, one from Edmonds-Woodway, one from Blanchet and one from Yakima.
SPS does have open enrollment for high schools but that is based on capacity. And we all know about the current capacity issues. There are only two comprehensive high schools that aren't full and Hale isn't one of them.
Tracy Libros used to run the Enrollment office and she had in place a process about checking addresses. That usually occurred if the district itself had a suspicion about an address OR if it was reported to them. The district had this process because of issues of enrollment at JSIS and MacDonald because so many people wanted to get into the dual language program. Even further back, it was used because of people wanting to get into Ballard, Garfield and Roosevelt. At the time I asked Libros, she confirmed to me that the district did investigate complaints.
I'm checking on that process now. Interestingly, the Times' article had this to say:
I'm all for good teams but the players on those teams need to live within the boundaries of the school they represent.
I had reported earlier this year that former NBA All-Star Brandon Roy was taking the head coaching job at Hale. He receives $6,000 a year for his work, just like all the other SPS coaches. Roy had wanted to coach at UW but chose to coach at Hale.
Coach Roy appears to have made his presence at Hale known to top high school boys basketball prospects and got one of the most highly-sought after high school players in the country, Michael Porter, Jr., from Missouri. Porter's brother, Jontay, is also playing on the team.
By August, four more top basketball prospects transferred to the school including a player who had been on Garfield's basketball team, one from Lakeside, one from Edmonds-Woodway, one from Blanchet and one from Yakima.
SPS does have open enrollment for high schools but that is based on capacity. And we all know about the current capacity issues. There are only two comprehensive high schools that aren't full and Hale isn't one of them.
Tracy Libros used to run the Enrollment office and she had in place a process about checking addresses. That usually occurred if the district itself had a suspicion about an address OR if it was reported to them. The district had this process because of issues of enrollment at JSIS and MacDonald because so many people wanted to get into the dual language program. Even further back, it was used because of people wanting to get into Ballard, Garfield and Roosevelt. At the time I asked Libros, she confirmed to me that the district did investigate complaints.
I'm checking on that process now. Interestingly, the Times' article had this to say:
"Everybody is concerned, you don't want bad rumors," said Roy, who was questioned most by principal Jill Hudson.Coach Roy apparently thought he would just be creating strategy and coaching and didn't realize:
" I don't control enrollment and the rumors aren't going to stop us from having a game on Monday."
"...being responsible for grade checks, parent meetings, ordering uniforms and scheduling transportation to games."The other Metro coaches are fairly sanguine about Roy. Seattle schools - Garfield, Rainer Beach, Ballard and Cleveland along with private school, O'Dea - have always been competitive teams.
I'm all for good teams but the players on those teams need to live within the boundaries of the school they represent.
Comments
So this is where SPS sports is headed?
Disgusting
High time in this country to de-couple academics from organized athletics. I find the Canadian Junior Hockey system to be the most honest approach to developing pro athletes vs this pipeline of High School to the NCAA as "amateurs".
No other country has this intertwining of athletics and academics. Let schools focus on education and not as a clearinghouse for booster clubs and petty corruption...
--FridayNightSighs
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/
--FridayNightSighs
Aren't there rules, however, against recruiting?
too true
ILLEGAL RECRUITING - Students who demonstrate special skills and talent in any of the activities under the jurisdiction of
the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association should not be subjected to pressures to enroll or continue to be
enrolled in a member school outside of their normal enrollment area. The rules do not prohibit legitimate school public
relations, promotion or marketing. Rather, these rules prohibit capitalization upon a school’s athletic program and/or a
student’s athletic interest, potential or proficiency as a factor in determining school attendance.
Efforts to induce students to enroll or continue to be enrolled in a member school because of the students' special
talent or skill is considered recruiting. Recruiting of students or attempted recruiting of students for athletic purposes is
prohibited, regardless of their residence.
I'd be very careful saying the coach "has recruited heavily" unless you have evidence of that. And if you do, Nathan Hale will likely have some problems...
rulebook
I can't imagine moving an entire family from Yakima to NE Seattle for high school basketball.
18.13.0 RESIDENCE RULE WAIVER - Transferring students, unless eligible via 18.10.0 through 18.11.0, shall be deemed to have
transferred at will and must apply to the WIAA District Eligibility Committee for a waiver of the Residence Rule. Such an application shall be processed under the appeal provisions contained in Article 19 of this Handbook. The procedure for evaluating a transferring student's application will be as follows:
18.13.1 The student must meet all other eligibility requirements of Article 18 of this Handbook.
18.13.2 The student must establish a hardship as defined under the provisions of Article 19.1.0 and as determined by the District Eligibility Committee.
18.13.3 There can be no evidence that either the student transferred for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics or transferred as a result of having been recruited for the purpose of participating in interscholastic athletics.
rulebook
~FHS85
As for athletics, I'll say out loud what I said out loud at the budget meeting - if they are saying they need to cut about $70M for a year (I would hope and pray that the McCleary money would be there by the start of school year 2017-2018), then they should cut athletics for the year.
Lynn, that's an interesting point because the previous article in the Times about the Missouri boys moving here said the mother did not want to move so the father was moving with the boys while the mom stayed with her daughter. I would not think entire families have moved.
rulebook
Read rules
If the whole Porter family hasn't relocated and BRoy is acknowledging recruiting, SPS is going to have a Bellevue Football sized problem on its hands any minute now.
High schools so far don't seem to get any share of the revenue, but maybe that's just from lack of creativity. Big city school systems could concentrate their best players at one school, and form inter-city leagues and get TV contracts and persuade middle-aged men to spend their Friday nights watching. The world is going mad anyway so what's one more thing?
HCC Parent
It gets to that issue of equity vs. equality. Is "equal" most fair? If so, why do we provide special services for anyone? Or is equitable more fair? It would be more equitable to provide everyone with courses appropriate to their preparation level, with additional attention devoted to those who are struggling the most so they can hopefully make larger gains.
DisAPPointed
Nathan Hale Academies:
For the fall semester, each academy has been further divided into a health/science block and a language arts/social studies block. Students will do course work in a single block first quarter, and then work in the other block second quarter. Your student will have either health/science or language arts/world history first quarter; second quarter they switch and have the block they did not have first quarter.Quarter academy classes are worth a semester credit per class. We are able to do this because the class periods are longer and the material is covered in an in-depth manner. Throughout the entire semester both blocks will focus heavily on reading and writing.
In regards to basketball, there are 3 teams or more to play on - varsity, jv, C team (sometimes Freshman team). Anybody who wants to play can play, just not necessarily on varsity. It is the same for all sports at Hale.
HP
The point is that Hale should not segregate 9th and 10th graders in academies because doing so limits the school's ability to provide services to students as required by state law. I anticipate all high schools will be doing something like this soon with Jill Hudson in charge of recreating the high school experience.
Varsity, JV, and a C team (or a 9th grade team) are what you can field and have competition for. Each team is typically 10-12 players. 60 players tried out at Hale. That means at least 25 hopefuls didn't make the three teams. None of the variety starters attended Hale prior to this year. Romar gives Porter a job. Porters kids commit to UW. Porter starts looking for high schools for his sons to play basketball at (they don't actually attend school for academics, just sports), UW grad Brandon Roy becomes the Hale coach after years of being the patron to his high school team (Garfield), the Porters pick Hale because of Roy being the coach. Then other kids "move" to join the team. Including Garfield players Roy had mentored at his alma matter. It smells. Hope SPS has done some due diligence and that this doesn't end up blowing up in their face like the Chief Sealth girls basketball scandal of about ten years ago.
Yeah, no.
Athletics departments that make more than they spend still a minority: http://www.ncaa.org/about/resources/media-center/news/athletics-departments-make-more-they-spend-still-minority
Myth: College Sports Are a Cash Cow: http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Myth-College-Sports-Are-a-Cash-Cow2.aspx
But I'm looking into this and I'll let you know what I find out. As BTDT says, I hope SPS has vetted the whole thing because it would not be good to have a scandal over something that didn't need to happen.
Melissa, as you look into this, you might want to see if the address of the new players who have moved into the Hale area happen to overlap with Brandon Roy's personal real estate holdings and real estate business. An astounding number of Garfield transfers used to live in real estate connected to Roy when he was the Garfield patron.
-GSHA
Kids have always moved to be on the teams they want. I know of swimmers whose families moved to Roosevelt's area. Gymnasts who have moved to be at Ballard. It doesn't just happen with baseketball and football.
HP
HP
The story can be found on Komo:
Rival frisbee teams band together to send one to national tournament
-Danielle
Melissa, do you have plans for a posting about Licton Springs, and the principal's push to move to an option site?
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