With several junior college basketball showcases coming up I'm already hearing from several sources of the growing 'poaching' epidemic at California Junior Colleges. The CCAAA has rules established to try and minimize this dilemma, since players must pass 12 credits at a school before they are eligible to play as a transfer. This rule also limits the amount of summer credits to 8. Therefore the athlete must be enrolled before summer and have passed a minimum of 4 credit hours to be allowed to play in the upcoming season. If this is not done, then the player must sit out a year before being eligible to play as a transfer at a California Community College.
It goes without saying that not every player and coach are going to get along. And that at times players will seek out greener pastures. Their are also financial and family issues that arise out of a kids control that may make such a transfer suitable as well. However, when coaches at competing schools call a player directly to persuade him to transfer this is what I consider 'poaching'. It is against several rules that are defined by the CCAAA to contact a player in such a case. Coaches are not allowed to contact players out of their recruitable district unless the student-athlete has contacted them first and expressed interest. Even then their are rules that minimize what the coach can do to persuade this player to attend their school as an athlete. It is also clearly defined in the rules that a coach cannot initiate recruiting a player that is already attending and participating in their sport at another California Community College. However, with what I have been hearing through the grapevine lately, these rules are completely neglected by certain programs on a regular basis.
Recruiting players is always a battle during the recruiting stage. This is part of the life of a coach at the college level. If a player wants to leave on their own free will and starts contacting programs on their own this is understandable. But when a program has put in all the upfront work to get the commitment of a player and is 'poached' by another this is not only against the rules, but is completely unethical.
I guess if I were to use an anology, it's a lot like the dating or bar scene. You do all the work to break the ice with a woman and get her interested, then a friend jumps in and capitalizes on all your guts and hard work. Effective? Maybe. Should you feel any guilt by capitalizing on someone else's work? Guess that just depends on the type of person you are.
It seems that now the National Junior College Athletic Association is jumping in the mix. However, they do NOT have the same rules that apply to the California Community College Athletic Association. They can recruit and contact any player they want at pretty much any school in California. I have seen some things recently that have gotten under my skin. I've seen a California Junior College coach give a kid an opportunity, a kid who nobody wanted based on his high school career. I've seen a coach work with the kid and help him develop into a great prospect only to see National Junior Colleges jump in and recruit the player away after a very successful freshman season. These same players were also being contacted by California schools in complete violation of the rules.
Since this is a blog I felt that this was a good time to put some if this out there. Won't mention names or programs or players specifically; just the possible epidemic that is evolving in the state of California as I'm sure is evolving at all levels and all sports.
More to come on transfers and player movement in the weeks to come. Wish everyone luck out there these next couple months with not only recruiting, but retaining your current student-athletes.
