Why not allow transfers for sports?

I remember her face. I'd seen it before on other parents who loved other children.

She was near tears, earnest and adamant, as she explained why her son needed to change schools immediately and why he, just as critically, needed to be able to play football.

Being involved in sports, she said, is the only thing that keeps him in school. It's the reason he gets good grades. It's the reason he stays away from alcohol and gangs.

How could those who advocate for more participation in high school sports tell her son he couldn't play?

Because he attended one high school for two years, and then, just five months before football season of his senior year, he wanted to transfer to another school. A hearing panel ruled it was athletically motivated. He left just two weeks after two of his friends transferred to the same school. He went and lifted weights with some players from the new school, and they had begun to hang out on weekends. He even told friends at his old school, he'd already been guaranteed a starting spot if he transferred.

But the official story was different. He said there were gang issues at his old school. Kids harassed him, and there was an incident where he got into a fight. His parents decided it was time for a change.

Clear as mud — just as most of these cases are.

I suspected he really wanted to play football for a program that won more games. He wanted to learn from a coach he saw as more knowledgeable. His parents definitely saw the coaching staff as more supportive. They checked on the grades of their players, made them participate in study groups and helped promote them to colleges.

And while I knew this was against the rules, I understand teens who struggle with school. Some of them only graduate because they love the activities at school.

It is not easy to separate the activities from the high school experience. There are not many teens who would relish going to school if it resembled a job.

Athletics enhance the experience of a high school student.

Activities keep teenagers involved, engaged and interested in learning subjects they may see as irrelevant and out-of-date. Great teachers make school easier, more enjoyable, but being part of the track team makes school memorable.