Is CPA In Trouble?

[CPA4Ever]

Come on. There's a book about it. Nobody's making money?

 

Sure, there will be exceptions to every rule. In general, kids are exploited because of their athletic abilities from the time they first distinguish themselves from the rest of the crowd. Most of the people that can benefit from the kid's ability, take full advantage of it. The definition of exploitation. What can this kid do for me? How many high school coaches at a public school would tell a phenom that he would benefit by going to this private school or that prep school because the academics are better and they have more college contacts? How many private school coaches would tell a kid that he's better off staying in the environment he's in because the social adjustment and financial burden is too much for him to ask? None of them will. And if somebody thinks they can make a dollar off of him? Katy bar the door. It's become a kid brokering system and it stinks.

You sound like a liberal Democrat, blaming the system for exploiting people when in fact we live in a free country where these kids and parents have a right to make decisions in their life, whether you agree with it or not. These kids are not being drugged, tied up, and held in prison at these schools. That is real exploitation. You may not like the system, but who are you to dictate to a family what they should or should not do with their children? Don't participate in the perceived exploitation with your family, but it is none of your business what other families and their kids want to do.

[ksgovols]

You sound like a liberal Democrat, blaming the system for exploiting people when in fact we live in a free country where these kids and parents have a right to make decisions in their life, whether you agree with it or not. These kids are not being drugged, tied up, and held in prison at these schools. That is real exploitation. You may not like the system, but who are you to dictate to a family what they should or should not do with their children? Don't participate in the perceived exploitation with your family, but it is none of your business what other families and their kids want to do.

 

Quite the opposite. Give 'em vouchers and let them go where they want to go. I'm just calling a spade a spade. If your school is hiring a coach that doesn't have anything to offer on the academic side of things, doesn't teach a class and basically draws a salary to just coach a high school sport, then I can understand why you are having a problem with the concept. That's part of the problem. If parents are making choices about putting their kids into schools based on whether or not they think it will help their kid get into a college, then high schools should start putting the stats out there. What percentage of these kids are playing at the next level? Cause I'm thinking I'd put my kid in Memphis Melrose if that were the case. They've got more kids playing college ball than anybody.

 

It's about ego and money. Most of the Nashville area private schools started because of desegregation. White Flight. They formed their own club so they could play by their own rules. When the new wears off of that, they've got to stay in business somehow.

 

I have zero problem with choice. I just don't think most people are in it for the kids so much as they're in it for themselves. The kids are stuck in the middle. How interested would some of these schools be in having the same kid with half the athletic skills? Not many. How many students are going to be attracted to a school if the Math whiz decides to transfer there? Not many. Athletics is a comodity and the kids are the ones being sold.

Edited February 15, 2012 by ksgovols

[DAD1]

You sound like a liberal Democrat, blaming the system for exploiting people when in fact we live in a free country where these kids and parents have a right to make decisions in their life, whether you agree with it or not. These kids are not being drugged, tied up, and held in prison at these schools. That is real exploitation. You may not like the system, but who are you to dictate to a family what they should or should not do with their children? Don't participate in the perceived exploitation with your family, but it is none of your business what other families and their kids want to do.

 

What he said........

[5-Sport Dad]

There's an exploitation of kids that is going on regardless of how we spin it. And yeah, the parents are in it up to their necks. I feel sorry for some of them that are getting pulled in every direction under the guise of 'for the kids'. I wouldn't limit it to just private schools though, it's everywhere. Why do they have open zones? As long as a parent is willing to move, change apartments or whatever, there will be schools that will accommodate them. Parents will manipulate their Little League sign up forms because their kid can only play for Coach so and so or they have a travel issue or fill in the blank here. Rarely do parents with any means at all just let the chips fall where they may. They exploit their child's athletic ability to gain the maximum advantage, real or imagined, that they can get away with. How many of these parents would have been better off to take the money they've spent on their kids athletic endeavors and put it in the bank? Many could have payed for the college education they are trying to earn just by folding up their money and sticking it in their pocket.

 

I don't think there is a fix. It's a societal issue, win at all costs, concentrate on this one sport that might get your marginally gifted or above average athlete into some college. Any college. There's no 3 sport athletes because the coaches for their sport have to have them all year or they have to be playing AAU ball to get 'noticed' or some guru has told them they have a better shot in sport A than in sport B. Face it, the best athlete on your team would be the best athlete in the other sports too given the same opportunities and choices. It's ego driven and it's wrong. Let the kids play.

Gosh! Sadly, you've told it like it is... Now, I'm not one that says to children, 'you can be anything you want to be'...because, if you've lived in the 'real world' long enough, you know that ain't necessarily true. It takes politics sometimes, a break here and there and God's grace. Craig Bradshaw, for example, is, I'm sure, doing what he wants to do. BUT, and I never even saw him play either, I believe he could've probably been as dominant in football AND baseball, had he chosen...or been allowed ???

 

KB, I think ALL HS coaches should be held accountable for not doing all he/she can to help the ones that want to, and legitimately can, play college ball. They can, and should, at the very least contact college coaches as a courtesy, especially if they've already had a few players go through their program that received scholarships. It has to start somewhere, though, and if I were a HS AD I'd make that a part of their job descriptions. When you become a coach, you're not just there to get paid, teach, coach, etc. You're supposed to be there to educate, edify, help and promote the students. So, what would it hurt if you told a few of your cronies at the next level about the 'special' one that everybody (who's seen 'em play) knows can play on some college team? Heck, if I was a college coach, I'd appreciate the 'heads up' especially with travel budgets the way they are today.

[ksgovols]

What he said........

 

By the same token, don't cry when there's a multiplier, when the public schools don't want to schedule you and to get all defensive every time the 'recruiting' word comes up. Is the mission to have the best high school sports program that you can have to attract the maximum number of paying customers or to be christian based? It gets fuzzy sometimes.

[CPA4Ever]

By the same token, don't cry when there's a multiplier, when the public schools don't want to schedule you and to get all defensive every time the 'recruiting' word comes up. Is the mission to have the best high school sports program that you can have to attract the maximum number of paying customers or to be christian based? It gets fuzzy sometimes.

First, there's been more crying AFTER the multiplier by publics than by privates. The only cryin' I have done about the multiplier is that after they did it to make things "fair", the private haters still aren't satisfied.

Second, didn't know the publics didn't want to schedule us. We had 6 games this year against publics outside of our district. Maybe they want to get better by playing good teams.

And lastly, it has been stated very well and many times on these boards, but here it is again:

Private schools are a business. They have no guaranteed customers (students) like public schools where kids are mandated to attend. As a business, they have to attract students to stay in business and they have to offer attractive programs, facilities, and staffs to do that. If they don't, they go out of business. A business that is trying to attract paying customers can still be Christian based, such as, Chick-Fil-A for example. Business and Christianity is not mutually exclusive.

[Redog]

By the same token, don't cry when there's a multiplier, when the public schools don't want to schedule you and to get all defensive every time the 'recruiting' word comes up. Is the mission to have the best high school sports program that you can have to attract the maximum number of paying customers or to be christian based? It gets fuzzy sometimes.

.... and can you start a poll in regards to: if Clarksville Northeast plays an illegal player should they have to vacate their wins?

[lbell615]

This issue would go away if CPA just admitted their true identity. They are a DII school posing as a Class AA school. They have kids playing sports from multiple zip codes in Middle Tennessee. They use the 8th Grade rule to recruit talent. They have a basketball coach that played High Major ball at Vandy. They have an NFL player as their football coach. Is this all for the legacy kids at CPA from pre-first until graduation? Never has been. I don't see kids crying about not being admitted to CPA for academics. Have they brought in great math, english and science teachers? CPA is way down on the list of West Nashville's premier schools. One could safely assume that CPA is stocking up to destroy schools that don't have the advantages they have in sports. CPA should should look itself in the mirror and go play with the schools it's trying to be like. If that doesn't happen, the TSSAA should put them in DII on principle. On a side note, CPA posters should stop all this "Christian values" non-sense. I'm sure the lord has better things to do. Making sure basketball players play for Jim Jones over there is a reach.

[ksgovols]

.... and can you start a poll in regards to: if Clarksville Northeast plays an illegal player should they have to vacate their wins?

 

I didn't start any polls. I'm just participating in the debate. And for the sake of argument, I would say that most people know what rules they are breaking while they are breaking them. They either hope they won't get caught or that they can ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

 

I have lot's of friends who send their kids to private schools for one reason or the other. That's fine. I am all about choice. My point is that we're exploiting kids to do it at times. Recruiting, attracting, whatever, at the private school level and public schools that open up the enrollment and do the same things. And AAU coaches or travel ball coaches or guys running camps that are in it for their ego and monetary gain rather than with the kid's best interests at heart. We are stretching rules athletically so that schools, coaches, donors, can benefit. Usually at someone else's expense.

 

As far as multipliers and the like go, I think the small rural publics are the ones suffering. Large urban schools can compete with numbers and athletes. Private schools can afford the best facilities and coaches their alumni and donors can afford, small county schools just are what they are. Stuck. Competitively speaking, they get the short end of the stick typically and in alot of cases their athletes aren't the ones getting recruited away from them. They just don't typically have the numbers to compete on the same playing field as those with more resources, either financially or physically.

[kbrks]

We can agree to disagree, but how can you dispute that any player who signs with a top college program (Duke, Ky., Kansas, etc.) does so fully aware they may not play as soon, as much, or score as much as they would going to a lesser team or mid-major?

And the coach and the perception of how he can help the athlete is a factor in kids and parents choosing a school. May not be a correct perception, but it is a perception, otherwise, why do players jump ship at schools when coaches leave? The question on this thread is not does the coach help a good athlete get a scholorship, but does the kid and parents think it will help.

Cause they are telling every player they are going to be the next Christian Laetner hitting the winning shot against KY, not necessarily hey, come sit the bench and rub elbows with great players. This is why they call it recruiting. Though I admit, there are exceptions to the rule who would just want to be part of a great program, but few and far between. And you are right, thet kid and parents think it will help, they just don't need to, just like a coach should not feed their perception.

[sportfreak]

Question...can you jump to DII anytime? Seems like you commit for X amount of years to DI or DII. I do believe CPA should go ahead and get in DII; it is inevitable that they go there. I have heard Maddox say on the radio (when he was on 104.5 in recent years) that he wants to coach at the college level only to backtrack a bit by saying he loved being at CPA. I see him riding the "Jalen train" to its end in 2 years and then moving on.

[kbrks]

KB, I think ALL HS coaches should be held accountable for not doing all he/she can to help the ones that want to, and legitimately can, play college ball. They can, and should, at the very least contact college coaches as a courtesy, especially if they've already had a few players go through their program that received scholarships. It has to start somewhere, though, and if I were a HS AD I'd make that a part of their job descriptions. When you become a coach, you're not just there to get paid, teach, coach, etc. You're supposed to be there to educate, edify, help and promote the students. So, what would it hurt if you told a few of your cronies at the next level about the 'special' one that everybody (who's seen 'em play) knows can play on some college team? Heck, if I was a college coach, I'd appreciate the 'heads up' especially with travel budgets the way they are today.

Totally agree, HS coach should do all he can for his or her players. All I am saying is those with college ability and even more so for those who have legitimate D1 ability, you don't have to think who you play for in HS will make or break you (unless you don't play AAU and you don't have a HS coach who is willing to help). I am confident you agree that CB would have made it just as easily to Belmont from GHS as he would from CPA. That doesn't mean he did not make the change based on other factors, but helping him secure a college scholarship didn't need to be one of them.