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LCC and Ada are probably tops on the list because of their success in athletics.....don't get me wrong.....I am not downgrading any schools, but athletes view schools in different ways...
This may very well be true. But it misses or ignores my larger point. Not EVERYBODY is doing it...yet. We still had 3-4 teams make Columbus who did not utilize transfers this year. We still had 80-90% of the NWC doing it the traditional way this year. Somehow the MINORITY (in our area) has convinced the majority that their "new-school" methods are "correct" or "with the times."
I don't deny that the future trend is in that direction. But the fact is that in the conference I follow (and probably yours too flounder) the utilization of transfer athletes is a MINORITY position. I would also argue that it was not Ada's success that lead to transfers. It was transfers that lead to success. LCC is a different beast, but the same argument could definitely be applied.
I would also opine that it is NOT the kids and their parents who created the current inequities. None of this is possible without willing coaches and school administrations. As argued earlier...there is no rule or law that says a coach has to play a kid. You probably have to accept them educationally...but there is certainly no reason/rule that requires extracurricular participation and playing time is a guarantee. Kids and their parents can be excused for not maintaining a healthy perspective...but what about the adults that were hired to teach our kids?
The point being that if the ADULTS emphasized tradition and competitive balance OVER their selfish desires to take the "easy" path...these "changing times" would have never had a chance to take hold. And lets not mince words here. The 'EASY" path is exactly why we are in this situation. Coaches have quickly realized that building and sustaining successful programs through traditional means is a difficult and fleeting process. It is a lot easier to "accept" transfers, win some games, and deflect criticism from message board man, than it is to win the way Ottawa and Kalida have done it.
It would take a strong coach/person of conviction to turn away a "transfer" based upon principal. However, before these "changing times" we used to respect adults/coaches who had conviction. Now we make excuses for coaches and make statements like "what coach is going to turn away a good player?" That is a liberal cop out to justify a character weakness in the adults who are supposed to teach "character" and "be an example" to our kids.
I'm not making myself out to be a superior person. I'm not coaching. But if I were, I have my doubts about whether I would have the strength of conviction to turn away a player that could help me win games. But my hypothetical character weaknesses, and that of other coaches are not reasons to lessen the standard...is it?
How can we teach our kids that hard work, teamwork, loyalty, etc are virtuous qualities while also accepting "transfer athletes" and playing them in front of kids who have worked hard, stayed loyal, and been a part of the TEAM from elementary on up?
If you break this phenomenon down we can freely observe that in our current society, in many places, there is a MUCH greater emphasis/focus/acceptance on WINNING versus hard work, teamwork, loyalty, etc. I'm more than willing to admit that this cat is out of the bag. But I'm not going to bury my head in the sand and pretend that this trend is "good" or "just." Winning games should NOT take priority over hard work, teamwork, loyalty, etc. It does...but it shouldn't.
Look...it will never happen...but these "athletic" transfers could end over night at the conference level if ALL the coaches got together and made a blanket statement that they would not play "transfers" on their teams. Once kids and parents realized that skirting the "athletic transfer" rules did not lead to the desired consequence, the trend WOULD stop. The problem is that we do not have enough diciplined, fair-minded, conviction-based coaches and administrators who emphasize traditional values over the immediate gratification of winning the "modern" way.
That is a sad statement on the decline of our society. When the educators/coaches are incapable of maintaing a healthy perspective about what values we should be teaching our kids, how can we expect our kids to grow up with a healthy worldview that goes beyond "just win baby?" Steroids, transfers, recruiting, etc are all but differing examples of diverse magnitudes that point to a much larger issue. As a society we have lost a healthy perspective about the decency of right and wrong. We have muddied the waters so much that for many, there is NO right and wrong.
I don't have the answer. I'm like most of you. I'm resigned to the fact that this trend will only worsen. The only difference between me and a lot of you is that I will not sit quietly as the adults/schools around us bastardize competitive fairness and then have the gull to pimp for accolade. They will get their victories. But an asterisk will come with it. Those that puss out and take the quick and easy path will be recognized as coaches and programs who "puss out and take the easy path." They certainly do not deserve to be mentioned with program's of the bygone era who won their titles on a level playing field.
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