LB

June 5th, 2013 at 4:29 PM ^

I'm going with the answer as stated by Michael Scarn.

Edit: We did just discuss this, but it was rumor at that time. Regardless, The News should have just linked the post, we had this settled days ago.

NOLA Wolverine

June 5th, 2013 at 4:41 PM ^

I don't really get the logic in forcing players to sit out after moving. You're in the school district your in at any given residency, and you attend the public school associated with your location accordingly or go to private school. "Athletically motivated" or not, it's where you live. 

CRex

June 5th, 2013 at 5:06 PM ^

Well there is moving and then there is 'moving'.  Plenty of cases where the player suddenly moves in with a grandparent, uncle, etc who lives one or two school districts over, which means the recruit tosses some clothing in his uncle's spare room and claims to have moved.  Also richer parents might purchase a second home which is basically a lot with a potting shed on it and use that address so they can claim they moved.

Normally one of the exceptions for moving (there are 8 in Michigan) aren't that hard to prove and basically just a check to prove you're not school district shopping.  It also prevents high schools from recruiting kids and assembling dream teams, in high school this is actually a bit of a safety concern given how a team of BCS recruits could chew up a lesser program prettly easily and do some damage in the process. 

Most parents seem to move while the kid is in middle school or 9th grade (if their kid shows talent and they want him in a specific program), so the high school coaches that recruit still have to gamble a bit and you have busts that help keep the program somewhat in check.  What you don't want is all the manchildren relocated to create an all senior dream team.  Some weaker school that has to start underclassmen would end up with a dead kid.

Magnus

June 5th, 2013 at 5:04 PM ^

Let me tell you a story. We recently had a kid whose dad came shopping his kid around, looking for the best school for his kid to play so he could "move" to the right district. Our head coach said, "You can move wherever you want, but I don't want anything shady involved with our program." The guy put his kid in our school. He started the season, but he didn't play as much as he and his dad wanted, so he quit the team. After some investigation was done, he was using an empty lot as his address (kind of like in the "Friday Night Lights" TV show) but resided in a neighboring school district. A few weeks after he quit, he was forcibly transferred to his "home" school. He and his dad don't get along with the coaches there, and he's transferring to a third school this coming fall.

Academically, athletically, and ethically, that turned into a negative situation. How is he supposed to learn anything, develop social relationships with classmates, etc. when he's bouncing from school to school due to athletics? How can he learn the terminology, plays, etc. when he's bouncing around? What kind of coping skills does it teach if a kid just up and leaves when things don't go his way?

NOLA Wolverine

June 5th, 2013 at 5:52 PM ^

That family isn't crazy because they can switch what school their kid goes to, that family is crazy because it's crazy. MHSAA rules wouldn't even stop you from doing that if your family actually moved into that district, or even if they didn't, all they would have to do to play football that next year is transfer in time (i.e. before winter semester). That family needs conseling.

But all of that aside, looking at the MHSAA rules it seems to be pretty rare that they actually make someone ineligible. (http://www.mhsaa.com/Portals/0/Documents/AD%20Forms/Regulations%20Simplified%20Transfer.pdf). Although of note here, the MHSAA does not seem to appreciate private school kids switching back to public schools (last paragraph). 

jdon

June 6th, 2013 at 11:06 AM ^

this is somewhat off topic but it fits:  I have been teaching in Detroit for 6 years now and I can say, antidotely at least, that only 20% of students finish high school where they started...  even lower if you actually want those kids to graduate...

jdon

 

MGomaha

June 5th, 2013 at 6:59 PM ^

The summer before my Junior year, I moved to Omaha, Nebraska (hecne my name) from Garrett, In. We won state and we had been living in an apartment until our house in Indiana sold. When it sold, we moved into a house out of the district of my high school. Well, two days before fall practice started, I get a call from the AD telling me I'm not enrolled at any high school in Omaha, Nebraska. So I moved back to Indiana to play my senior year. I felt I got shafted.

tl;dr

Blue in Yarmouth

June 6th, 2013 at 7:57 AM ^

and the previous posters as well in terms of a kids transferring from a different school distrcit. I also don't know a lot about Michigan rules obviously or even if what the above poster I am going to reference said is correct, but if it is I see a difference.

One of the above posters insinuated that Malik wasn't actually changing districts, just going from a private school to a public school in his same distirct. If this is the case I can't see how that would be an issue. I mean, if a parent suddenly says "I don't feel like paying for my kid to attend school when there is a perfectly god public school they could attend" why would that be against any rule?

I see why the rules you mention are put in place, but if this case is the way the above poster describes, I could see that as being a transfer that wouldn't require a person sitting out. Just my two cents.

Edit* I kept reading further down where you answer this question and render my post moot. I should have read the entire thread first...lol

readyourguard

June 5th, 2013 at 4:49 PM ^

He'll face better competition, that's for sure.

As long as he moves and there's nothing blatantly fishy about his transfer, he'll be eligible this Fall.

wresler120

June 5th, 2013 at 4:58 PM ^

That he doesn't already live in Southfield? Isn't Detroit Loyola a Catholic Private School? I may be way off, but I know kids travel a distance often to go to private schools. Is it possible he may already live in Southfield and was commuting to Loyola? What would the rules be if that were the case and he now wants to transfer to the public high school in his residing district?

LSAClassOf2000

June 5th, 2013 at 5:07 PM ^

Here is a summary of the rules regarding eligibility (LINK)

If I read the second page corectly, Malik would not be eligible for the upcoming semester if he were returning to a school of residence after attending school elsewhere (under school of choice, that is - there doesn't seem to be any distinction made for his situation), or actually, in the same listing, if he were transferring due to financial considerations. Someone may have a more detailed or different interpretation, as this is only a summary of MHSAA requirements here.