North Oldham Loses Three Middle School State Champs

[grappler-of-old 44]

pinthis: I think you are slightly mistaken. Any school can take a kid from another county as long as it is they do it their freshman year. I know of 2 that wrestled on my team in the 80s because they lived in a county school district that didn't have wrestling. They came to my school their freshman year and graduated from there.

Every parent has the same opportunity to send their kid to any high school they want their freshman year. There are some hoops you have to jump through but they are not that difficult.

As for the kids that did not attend grade school and middle school catholic schools but then attend a catholic high school. This happens all the time. Usually because of cost. A family will save so their child can attend 4 years of high school at a catholic school but could not afford it in middle or gradeschool. I see nothing wrong with this. (And remember this is from an Agnostic that prefers public schools).

[pinthis 0]

GOO - JCPS does not officially allow kids from outside J.C. to attend public schools inside the county. That's why people get creative with addresses (grandparents, for example) and such outside the county if they want to attend a public school inside J.C.. The Catholic schools gain a huge advantage in this area.

And I agree it's not a problem if a kid opts to go to a private high school after attending public elementary and middle schools within J.C.. That has always been an option and should continue to be one.

You eluded to the fact that many kids that wrestled in the Fern Creek system ended up at private schools. Again, that's their druthers. But what is a problem is that kids in the JCPS system can go to almost any high school they choose, including other public schools. All someone needs to do is look at the Dixie Hwy. area and how much PRP has grown while schools in the area such as Doss, Valley, and Western have shrunk in overall student body numbers. Same with Waggener, Moore, Iroquois, etc.

It's within the rules, but should the rules be changed? I understand Coach K's sentiment about the lack of Catholic high schools outside J.C., but should those kids be able to compete in sports when they can't at a public school? I think Manual, Male, Ballard, and some others could make a case for getting out of county kids. There are no traditional programs or magnet career academies outside of J.C. either, or none that I know of.

[grappler-of-old 44]

Pinthis: JCPS have put these restrictions on themselves. So JCPS has put themselves in a disadvantage. If you want it changed then you need to get the right people on the JCPS school board who will change this decision.

As I stated KHSAA has some hoops that you have to jump through but the hoops are low to the ground and big enough to drive a truck through. Complaining about JCPS not able to get kids outside their county is like a vegetarian complaining about not being able to eat meat.

As I mentioned before, in Nky it has been happening for many decades now. Not in wrestling much but in other sports mostly football at Beechwood and Highlands. Kids attend other gradeschools and middle schools then end up at one of these two places for football their freshman year. Both of these are public schools, Covington Catholec and Newport Catholic have also drawn people in the past. Its the nature of the beast.

We are a country with the right of choice. If we force our kids by law to attend school how can we tell them what school they must attend?

Who cares what school a kid attends for wrestling? No matter what school he attends you still have to beat him to win. I've mentioned it in the past, the one thing I enjoy most about wrestling is that it is an individual sport. Some try to make it a team sport but it is an individual sport, that is what makes it so great. Do away with the team champion in wrestling and no one will be complaining about what school the kid attends.

[Mike Calhoun 49]

Jefferson County is not the only county that requires public school kids to live in that county. Just recently there was a story on the news about Oldham County cracking down and prosecuting parents of children going to Oldham County schools who did not live there.

[tiltfor3 20]

Do away with the team champion in wrestling and no one will be complaining about what school the kid attends.

There will be no team champion at youth state next year.

[grappler-of-old 44]

There is a difference between a parent lying about where they live to attend a school and a parent asking for permission and gaining permission to attend that school.

As long as KHSAA is notified of the situation and all the paperwork is filed then there is not problem. We already know that KHSAA is lenient about school transfers by their recent actions.

[Mike Calhoun 49]

Oldham County school system and the KHSAA are two different entities, under no circumstance I know of would Oldham County allow a student to attend one of their schools without living there, so of course they had to lie to get them in.

[grappler-of-old 44]

I'll take your word for it MC. However I bet if one of their teachers that don't live in the county wanted to send their kid to an Oldham Co. school they would allow it.

The arguement however is that Oldham and Jefferson Co. have put restrictions on thermselves and some are complaining about those restrictions.

[plantmanky1 58]

I'll take your word for it MC. However I bet if one of their teachers that don't live in the county wanted to send their kid to an Oldham Co. school they would allow it.

The arguement however is that Oldham and Jefferson Co. have put restrictions on thermselves and some are complaining about those restrictions.

Well duh, what school system wouldn't.

[grappler-of-old 44]

Oldham County school system and the KHSAA are two different entities, under no circumstance I know of would Oldham County allow a student to attend one of their schools without living there, so of course they had to lie to get them in.

According to MC Oldham Co. would not allow it.

[Mike Calhoun 49]

According to MC Oldham Co. would not allow it.

"That I know of". I never claimed to be a know it all. Only stated that I didnt know of any. Nor do I think it would be a very common practice.

[Mike Calhoun 49]

I'll take your word for it MC. However I bet if one of their teachers that don't live in the county wanted to send their kid to an Oldham Co. school they would allow it.

The arguement however is that Oldham and Jefferson Co. have put restrictions on thermselves and some are complaining about those restrictions.

And whoever you are referring too as the complainers, I'm willing to bet you they are not the ones who sat on the board who voted to put these restrictions on "themselves".

[grappler-of-old 44]

I'm sure they are not MC. But if you want things changed people have to stand up and make those changes and do what it takes to get them changed.

My point is that Catholic schools don't have a huge advantage about getting talent at their school. It may be easier for them to admit those students into their school. But public schools have the same oportunity as private in getting talent in their schools.

Choosing where your kids will spend their last four years in school prior to college is a big decision for anyone. I know my family had to decide where my kids would go to school. (Either at the school I teach or the school district they live in) We descussed this for 3 years before they started high school. In the end I think we made the right decision for everyone. As long as the rules are followed to the "T" I have no problem with kids starting high school in a district they don't live in. What we need to be carefull of is the bending of the rules. Up here in Nky we see the rules being bent all the time in football but not much in anything else.

[patriotsrule 1]

Non-residents of Oldham County can attend Oldham County schools as long as there is sufficient space in the school and you pay the non-resident tuition. The crackdown happened because folks were falsifying their address to avoid paying the money.

[Mike Calhoun 49]

Non-residents of Oldham County can attend Oldham County schools as long as there is sufficient space in the school and you pay the non-resident tuition. The crackdown happened because folks were falsifying their address to avoid paying the money.

Any idea how much the cost? Just interested to know.

[ynss 3]

Who cares what school a kid attends for wrestling? No matter what school he attends you still have to beat him to win. I've mentioned it in the past, the one thing I enjoy most about wrestling is that it is an individual sport. Some try to make it a team sport but it is an individual sport, that is what makes it so great. Do away with the team champion in wrestling and no one will be complaining about what school the kid attends.

I like the idea of doing away with team championship. There would not be recruiting, which we all know does happen and choose not to talk about. Whether the wrestler starts their high school career as a freshman somewhere, KHSAA has set a precedence where a wrestler can transfer to another school and participate at the Varsity level that same here. Yes there are rules, but all rules have loop holes.

Good luck to all the wrestlers in the upcoming year. Some that have graduated will be missed, some that are coming from middle school will be a pleasure to watch.

[trithis 34]

GOO and YNSS - Really? Do away with team championships in HS Wrestling? C'mon man. That's pushing it a little far. Going back to the beginning of Olympic times we had teams or countries that win titles. I could see it in youth, but in HS....No Way!!!

[grappler-of-old 44]

We would not do away with the team champion. That would be decided where it should be decided at the State Duals.

If you want to try and make wrestling a team sport then allow the entire team to compete for the championship. At the "State tourney" you usually don't have the entire team competing for the school, only those who qualified. At the state duals you have the entire team there and allows for team building and sacrifice if needed.

Everyone wants to keep the team champion because it builds team chemistry and team skills. How better to get those when wrestlers have to make sacrifices like allowing someone else to wrestle in your spot. Or trying to loose without giving up many team points. That is team building and team skills. Not just rooting your teamate on when he is trying to get his individual state championship or placement.

[eville dad 17]

I think GOO has a good point about the importance of determining the team championship at the team duals. If the sport focuses on the developement of more teams and more complete teams the entire sport grows.

The team aspect of wrestling has kind of been lost through the years. The team aspect encourages all the wrestlers to bond in a selfless common effort to get better for the team. In the often referred to major states very few of the total wrestlers make it to state. Only a small percentage make it to any post season wrestling beyond the first round, (districts, sectionals, etc..) Most kids dont realistically expect to make it deep in their state tourney, so the team is more important. Lots of teams live for dual matches against cross town rivals or neighboring counties. It isnt about one or two kids its about the entire team and who has bragging rights after the match. Unfortunately at least one neighboring state, Indiana has decided to end their Duals State Championship. I think it hurts the sport by minimizing the importance of the team. All successful wrestlers will tell you they benefitted from the support of a good team, practice partners, coaches, asst coaches, parents, alumni, dual matches.

In KY about 20-25% of the wrestlers advance to the state tournament. It seems like everything is geared toward getting kids ready for the state tournament. I'm not sure thats the best way to grow the sport. I always thought all the teams within a region should wrestle each other at least once before team duals to determine who earns the berth to state duals as region dual champ and runnerup. Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems like some teams never even wrestle other teams within their region.

[Josh_Claywell 52]

Fireplug; You are correct. Other sports have been going through this for a while now. Here in Nky we have two football programs that seem to draw kids from other districts. Highlands and Beechwood which are not private schools. I'm not saying they recruited. I'm saying that kids start their freshman year at these schools after attending middle schools in other districts. Once again not a problem for me, make the decision you think is best for your kid his freshman year and attend that school.

Adding to this post: Athletes, regardless of sport, can attend whichever middle school they choose. They have not established what's called residency at a high school until their freshman year, so they are more or less free to go where they want.