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Coaches think choice-by-lottery system could complicate old problem.
By PETE YOUNG
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 16, 1999
The whispers and rumors waft through the high school sports community.
Volleyball? "Oh, you know they recruit. That's how they stay so good."
Baseball? "Of course they're always winning. They recruit the best middle school players."
Recruiting is a perpetual area of concern in prep sports. And with the sweeping overhaul of the Pinellas County school system announced this week, many coaches say opportunities for abusing the athletic system through recruiting could increase.Beginning in fall 2003, the county will be divided into no more than four geographic zones and students will be assigned through lottery to schools in the zone in which they live. The plan ends more than 30 years of desegregation by court-enforced busing. There is no guarantee a student will get his first choice, or second in the computer lottery. An estimated 80-85 percent will get one of their first two choices. "The first thing that pops into my mind (with the system) is recruiting," said John Planamenta, the East Lake girls soccer coach. "The student has a choice, but you're not supposed to talk to them? With the value of a (college) athletic scholarship, (families) should want to know more about your program. I don't know how they're going to be able to restrict it."
Pinellas County athletic director Bob Hosack estimates his office rejects 5-10 Special Attendance Permit requests each year -- permits to attend a school outside a student's zone -- on the basis they were sought primarily for athletic purposes, which isn't allowed. The Florida High School Activities Association has sanctioned and fined schools for recruiting, notably Miami High last year.
There are no plans to relax the recruiting restrictions.
Planamenta also coaches the Countryside Lightning under-16 girls club team. That kind of situation often leads to recruiting rumors. He said the new school system could create an opportunity for mass recruiting by a coach or players in a club-team situation.
"On our team, we have one girl who goes to Countryside, one at Palm Harbor (University) and three at East Lake," he said. "What if they all got together and said, "We want to play for East Lake,' or "We want to play for Countryside?"
In general, however, most coaches don't think recruiting will increase.
"Will there be coaches out there shaking the bushes for a seventh-grader? I don't think that's going to happen," Clearwater boys basketball coach Rudy Coffin said.
The FHSAA has some encouraging news for county coaches and administrators.
"We have not had any more problems (with recruiting) in counties that have school choice than those that don't," FHSAA director of communications Jack Watford said. "Bay County (in the Panhandle) is wide open, and we have not had a problem there."
In Lee County, which this year implemented a similar school choice system to the one proposed in Pinellas County, it's so far, so good.
"Three years ago, when it was first proposed, we were fearful it would just open up the floodgates (for recruiting problems)," said Ed Stickles, Lee County liaison for athletics. "And that hasn't happened as yet. We have not had one problem."
Overall, most Pinellas County coaches agree the new system probably will benefit the better programs. "The rich get richer to a certain extent," said Dunedin baseball coach Tom Hilbert, a 1988 Dunedin graduate who played under legendary Falcons coach Greg Nichols. "It'll be the same at all of the established schools with the established coaches. You might lose a few kids, but you're sure to gain a few."
Some coaches, however, are frustrated about those few they might lose. A family could move next door to, say, Countryside High so a child could join the wrestling program but be denied by the lottery.
"That's absurd," Countryside wrestling coach Dave Frayer said, referring to the possibility the child would not be able to attend that school. "They're creating major problems for everybody."
Other issues could further complicate matters.
Will a student who transfers in midseason when an opening arises at his first-choice school immediately eligible?
The computer lottery will favor keeping siblings together, so could a coach be enticed to recruit an older sibling to later secure the services of a younger sibling?
Will private schools benefit as some star athletes, discouraged by not getting their first choice, opt to attend them?
"It'll be interesting to see how it shakes out," Lakewood boys basketball coach Daniel Wright said. "The kids are in school for an education, but if there's an opportunity for a parent to get a kid into a better (athletic) program, then the parent owes it to the kid to do that."