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Teen Athlete Transfers Like 'Free Agency'

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By MARILYN BROWN, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 1, 2008

TAMPA - Hillsborough County high school athletes can transfer to just about any school they want in a system coaches say has come to mirror the NFL or NBA.

For some, it's no longer as much about team spirit and loyalty as it is about getting ahead and landing promises of money for college.

"It's high school free agency," said Earl Garcia, head football coach at Hillsborough High School. "If there's a will, there's a way to get it."

The practice of student-athlete transfers piqued public interest in January when Eric Dungy used a special assignment to enroll in South Tampa's Plant High School.

Dungy, son of Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, lives in Avila in northwest Hillsborough and plays wide receiver, although Eric Dungy said his parents were sold on the school's academics.

Parents of most students must prove hardship or meet other standards to enable their children to attend over-capacity schools, but Hillsborough's student-athletes can basically choose who to play for, Garcia and other coaches said. Some attend four schools in as many years.

Extra playing time, scholarships and future professional contracts provide plenty of incentive.

Neither individual schools nor the school district tracks the number of student athletes who transfer, and transfer records are considered confidential and could not be reviewed by the Tribune.

But the notable transfers are recorded in the sports pages.

Among those recent transfers is a freshman quarterback who transferred to a school his second year and another the following year; a lineman who transferred for his senior year; and two quarterbacks who transferred to other schools after their freshman years.

Recruiting And Opportunities

Under Florida High School Athletic Association rules, parents must sign an affidavit saying a child is not transferring because of athletic recruitment.

Coaches are prohibited from recruiting under FHSAA rules, but some Hillsborough coaches say it happens routinely. None admit to doing it, but all said they know others who do.

"I don't even try to prove it," Hillsborough's Garcia said. "I can't." When he thinks he knows of a coach recruiting one of his players, "I call the coach, tell 'em to quit."

Complaints can be lodged with Lanness Robinson, who has been the district's athletic director since October 2006.

"At the beginning of a season we probably get a dozen calls," Robinson said. "Most are anonymous" and are not investigated. He said he has investigated three or four, but found none valid.

He said coaches aren't the only ones recruiting. Parents recruit players to their children's teams or have the students talk up their school teams.

Parents agree.

"Everybody recruits," said Alex Cooks, the father of two athletes, one who plays football and baseball at Gaither High. "It starts in the parks when they're 13 and there are families from different schools. You hear people say, 'Get ready to play for so and so.'"

Parents sometimes shop for high school athletic programs and teams like they hunt for colleges.

"Parents view high school athletics as a business," said Garcia, who said he sees nothing wrong with transfers. "It's a vehicle to get perhaps to college for free. ... It's a sign of the times. It's a portable society."

Athletes don't always transfer to schools with top-rated teams, coaches say. Sometimes it's moving to a lower-ranked team or one needing a particular position where a student can have a better chance at playing.

Parents "shop their kids around to find a place their kid can start," said Frank Permuy, in his 24th year as Gaither High's baseball coach.

How They Get There

Student-athletes mainly use two ways of getting into schools outside their geographical boundaries - changes of address or district-approved special assignments.

The district won't release applications parents submit for special assignments, citing privacy laws. But according to district figures, of 1,657 high school applications last year, only 626 were approved. Principals no longer see the applications.

Steve Ayers, the district director who makes recommendations for special assignments and school boundaries, said two administrators above him review his work. School board members vote on those recommendations as lists with names and schools but no detail unless they ask, Ayers said.

Some athletes land in schools outside their boundaries by taking certain courses, although that is no longer an allowable reason to get a special assignment.

"What really matters is, 'Is it in the best interest of the student?'" Ayers said.

Kelliejo Montes is a career counselor at Robinson High whose sons attended Robinson until their baseball coach left before the 2006-07 school year.

Not knowing who the new coach would be, she applied for special assignments as a school district employee for both to attend Jefferson High, although they didn't live in that attendance zone. Jefferson is not over capacity.

Both her sons are top students, Montes said. Her older son now plays junior varsity baseball for the University of Tampa and her younger son, a junior, pitches for Jefferson.

"It wasn't about playing time," Montes said. "It was more about being in limbo. ... We wanted to get the old-style coaching."

Determined parents can also buy or rent property in the desired attendance boundary. Some students live with a friend or relative, although Ayers said the child is supposed to reside with the parent or legal guardian.

District officials admit they do little if anything to verify the claims of hardship or residency that allow athletes and others to switch schools. Signed affidavits and electric bills are usually enough.

Ending The Practice

Not all coaches like the ease with which athletes jump ship.

Robinson, the district's athletic director, calls transfers "a bad decision."

"I don't like it," he said. "It's not always the best fit when a kid leaves one school and goes to another. I think it hurts the student who leaves, and I know it hurts the team that he leaves."

"I would be in favor of much stricter rules," Robinson said.

Pop Cuesta, Jefferson High School's baseball coach for 37 years, said the school board could bring an end to the frequent transfers. "But "they don't want to do it."

Cuesta suggests students make a choice when they enter high school, then sit out a year from sports if they move.

"It's just out of control," Cuesta said.

Board Could Take Up Issue

Veteran board member Candy Olson said she thinks the board needs to discuss the matter. "We need more clarity," she said. The board is updating its policy manual now and could address the issue, she said.

One question is how much the district should spend on trying to police student transfers. "What do you do - give them a polygraph test?"

At the same time, however, Olson suggested that perhaps the district should "go back to giving principals more authority" over student transfers.

A few districts in Florida have instituted rules restricting transfers, said Robert Hernberger, spokesman for the FHSAA. He said his association does not keep track of which ones.

Two years ago, FHSAA members voted to restrict transfers statewide. The rule would have required players to sit out a year from sports if they transferred, starting in 2006-07. The rule was put on hold by state legislation and never implemented.

Absent a statewide rule, Robinson said, "I don't know how to put anything into place to stop it."

All sports have their share of athletes who transfer, but it's probably most visible in football and on winning teams such as Plant High, which won the 2006 Class 4A state championship, and Armwood High, which won the Class 4A championship in 2003 and 2004 and was runner-up in 2005.

"We're in the state of Florida and football's king here," said Hugh Dehnert, Leto's head football coach.

With Leto in the bottom quartile of high school football teams, Dehnert said he doesn't worry about his players transferring.

"They leave before they even get here," he said "I sat down and counted eight kids who should be going to Leto on special assignment to Jefferson. ... My hands are tied in what I can do about it."

But times and records change - and so do perceptions, coaches said.

Sickles had its first winning season in football this year, so "maybe the kids we're supposed to have will come back," said Pat O'Brien, Sickles head football coach.

Not all student-athletes want to transfer.

Derek Heiser, a senior and second baseman for Gaither High, said he understands those who leave: "They want to play the sport so bad. They want to go to college and think the only way is to play right now."

But for him, "It's worth spending your high school with your friends. If you're going to go on and keep playing, it's going to happen, no matter what; I've had a blast in high school."

Reporter Adam Atkins contributed to this report. Reporter Marilyn Brown can be reached at (813) 259-8069 or mbrown@tampatrib.com.

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