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Editor, News-Register:
West Virginia is old school, this is not up for debate. But being old school on the new school transfer rule is not noble; it's just backwards. Not every coach or program is infallible. Previously, a student transferring after ninth grade was required by the WVSSAC to sit out one year unless he or she could verify a change of address into the district of the new school or petitioned the WVSSAC and won an appeal. I can tell you that the appeal decisions were arbitrary at best. Now a student in West Virginia can transfer high schools at least once and maintain athletic eligibility.
Why shouldn't a kid transfer if the school's program lacks any player development. Why shouldn't a kid transfer where parents influence rosters and playing time. Why shouldn't a kid transfer when administrators and their spouses meddle in a program to the detriment of the team. Why shouldn't a kid transfer when decisions are not always made in the best interest of the team but based on personal agendas. Why shouldn't a kid transfer when the kid would start for every other team in the state but their current one.
No hard feelings, but kids should not be the prisoner of a world of nonsense. Hypothetically, why shouldn't a kid be allowed to transfer under any of these circumstances? You can switch jobs, you can move to a new neighborhood, you can change your clothes, you can switch the channel on the TV, but if a kid transfers to a different high school, the old school views it as a moral failing.
The new school transfer rule is good for students. We always hear from educators it's about the kids. Well for once, let's actually show it.
David Delk
Wheeling