It’s all about the scholarship!

Ed Hardin spoke out in today’s N&R about the current recruiting scandal in Guilford County and when you start reading it and realize we are all right in the middle of this thing, it kind of hurts and seems nasty to know this ordeal is a scandal.

This takes us back to the days of guys like Shoeless Joe Jackson and the “Blacksox Scandal”. Scandal sounds dirty and maybe the dirt and the mud have been flying around like some of Tim Wakefield’s knuckleballs or a few of Jake Delhomme’s passes in the playoffs.

Here’s the link to Ed Hardin’s piece at www.news-record.com/content/2009/05/01/article/kids_are_the_losers_in_recruiting_scandal

What are your thoughts on Mr. Hardin’s article?

It got me thinking again and one of the points we haven’t really touched on in detail is why all of these sports are so important and who has the most to gain or lose from it?

The kids are playing the games, but the real game is being played by the parents and in some ways the coaches. For the parents and there is some practicality to this, the game is can we win?

Can we(parents and their kids) win the game? No, don’t get me wrong, the wins will help; but this game is can we win the scholarship?????

The AAU basketball, the baseball travel teams, the football showcases, it is all about one important part of the economic equation and that is, can he/she get that scholarship?

That’s what this has come to in the long run. Why are the kids jumping around and moving from place to place? With the economy like it is and the opportunities out there like never before, today’s game is, “Can we get that Scholarship?”

Most every parent out there is on this trail. Who wouldn’t want to save $50,000.00 or more per year?

Most of this is based on the need factor, but many times the greed factor creeps in and there you go. Often the fear factor shows up when a kid and his family are facing last minute decisions and they don’t know if they will get a shot at a scholarship. Time is running out and the DI’s have quit calling.

Again, it goes back many years, but never before have we seen the game like it is today, and that in turn is why we are in the mess we are in.

You got to be seen. Showcases for football, basketball, and baseball and this is the new game and the schlorships are on the line. Today’s game is not can Grimsley beat Page or can Ragsdale top Southeast?

Many of the real games are played out on the weekends and school teams are just another chance for the college coaches to see the kids during the week. But you have to be seen and that’s where the frenzy has set in. It becomes a panic and in some ways you can’t blame the parents, because much of this becomes a need it now, or need it soon scenario. Later, it becomes a must have it now or NO COLLEGE situation.

We could start up a home-school sports unit with players that might be ruled athletically ineligible and try and get Oak Hill on our schedule….This might sound crazy but it might work. Find qualified parents who could teach the kids and then work out a schedule like they do at private academies.

Remember, the scholarship issue is not a bad thing, but it has become a crazy thing. Again, helping get the kids the scholarships is not a bad thing, but when it creates the mess we are into today, the overall approach may need to be revisited.

You have people scrambling and running around everywhere trying to chase down that elusive scholarship. Maybe they can come up with a company that can legally help the parents and the kids for a fair price and that might help take away some of the pressure.

The real game today is can the kid get that scholarship?

2 thoughts on “It’s all about the scholarship!

  1. It is all about the scholarship. At least the AAU, Impact baseball, scout combines, etc. are. Which makes all the movement around from high school to high school all the more confounding.

    Scouts could care less if a kid plays on a competitive or championship team. I have seen the scouts at the Ragsdale games this year for Nick McBride – they raise their guns when he pitches. I’m sure there are other things they look at but it’s sure not the game or the other talented players. When he’s not pitching they aren’t even watching the game – or even watching him when he comes to bat. If a pitcher that talented was pitching for a little 1A school in the heart of nowhere NC those scouts would be there – no matter what the sport.

    Players moving from Grimsley to Northern or SE Guilford to Grimsley or Ragsdale to Dudley or HP Central to NW Guilford – whatever the scenario is mind boggling. They would get playing time and scouts attention if they are good enough without all the moving around. And yes I know that McBride moved from W Forsyth to Ragsdale last year. I don’t know why – it was his family’s decision to make, but I do know with his talent the scouts would still be all over his games if he was still at West.

    I wonder how long the list is of players in this area, just baseball players, that moved schools this past year. I can think of more than a handful off the top of my head. And for what exactly? Enough is enough.

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