Reveal parties, odd transfers among reasons for new Rock Hill athletic rules

The families cut into the cake to reveal a color. However, it isn’t pink or blue, and the color has nothing to do with a baby.

In an ongoing trend, some Rock Hill district athletes have been holding reveal parties, similar to families revealing the sex of their unborn child, to announce what high school they will attend, said Kelly Pew, superintendent of Rock Hill schools.

“When that’s happening, that’s a problem,” she said.

The Rock Hill school district has taken action to prevent student transfers within the district for purely athletic reasons, officials say.

As of Jan. 1, any student athlete who has a change of address within the district, from the second semester of eighth grade through their senior year of high school, will be ineligible to participate in sports for a year, according to district athletic rules.

“There are situations we believe to be happening at middle schools where students will have a ceremony, like a signing day, for their high school,” said Mychal Frost, director of communications for Rock Hill schools. “When we know of instances of that taking place, there is clearly a problem, and this is our way to address that situation.”

Luanne Kokolis, associate superintendent for Rock Hill schools, said the district has seen many transfers specifically for athletics.

“We are trying to get a handle on student movement for the purpose of playing sports,” Kokolis said. “These guidelines have been put in place to limit that type of activity and to make sure our students are attending the school they are zoned for, and limit student movement as it relates to being part of an athletic program.”

The district has allowed transfers in the past if both school principals and the superintendent approved, Pew said.

“It’s easy when both principals know there is a viable reason for the student to transfer and they sign, but it becomes a problem when one (principal) does and the other doesn’t or neither do,” she said. “We’ve had several situations of that. We’ve had this problem for a long time and this gives us the opportunity to make sure we don’t have students trying to transfer so they can play football at one school or basketball at another school.”

Ozzie Ahl, Rock Hill High School principal, also said there is a problem.

“I think it’s just become so commonplace that you have kids transferring from school to school, and it’s becoming more and more obvious they’re doing it for athletic reasons,” he said. “We want to stop it. You can’t build programs if kids can leave just at will because they think there is a shinier penny on the other side of town.”

Lauren West, Northwestern High School athletic director, said in some cases, parents are bringing court documents that relinquish guardianship or claim medical problems to request a transfer. Children also are being sent to live with relatives or another parent after a separation.

“We have kids who are blatant about not meshing well with one coaching staff and wanting to play with a coaching staff across town,” she said. “It’s unfortunate because every school in our district has a solid athletic program. It’s creating a rub between two schools unnecessarily.”

The problem spans all athletic programs, said Al Leonard, South Pointe High School principal.

“It’s an issue and I would say not just for football but for all sports,” Leonard said. “Football gets more attention, but really there have been issues and rumors with all sports.”

The new rule says any athlete who transfers must appeal for eligibility to play immediately, rather than waiting a year. A committee of three high school principals, a middle school administrator and the associate superintendent for athletics would determine whether an athlete must sit-out a year.

“We are trying our best to make sure we don’t penalize students who shouldn’t be, but we make sure kids are transferring for appropriate reasons,” Pew said.

West said the blanket rules are needed because athletic directors and district officials can’t track every address to be sure moves are legitimate.

“We don’t have time to do that,” she said. “Our resources are limited.”

The rules are aimed at the dishonest, West said.

“The majority of our families are good, honest families,” she said. “We don’t make rules for honest people, but unfortunately, we have to make rules for people who are trying to beat the system.”

Amanda Harris: 803-329-4082

This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Reveal parties, odd transfers among reasons for new Rock Hill athletic rules."