Will Ainsworth@willainsworthAL
Alabama High School Athletic Association President Heath Harmon and his board announced a new classification system last week that was obviously not properly thought out, and immediately upon reading the proposal, words like “unfair,” “unsportsmanlike,” “punitive,” and “mean-spirited” came to my mind.
It opens a never-ending maze of issues and problems, and my phone, texts, and emails have been flooded with messages of concern from coaches, school administrators, and parents in both public schools and private schools alike.
Alabama will soon be one of only eight states in the nation that does not allow public and private schools to compete against each other.
I join countless others across the state in hopes that the AHSAA will reconsider its decision and adopt a plan that serves the interests of every school across the state, and not just the hand-picked few.
First let me tell you about my background in school and sports and why I care so much about this issue because there are several misconceptions and misperceptions.
I grew up in Boaz and attended public school there from kindergarten through tenth grade. I played three sports and was a student when the basketball program made it to the championship tournament and is still considered among the best teams in Boaz history.
Three of our varsity players — Jeremy “Stick" Hays, Ramey Morrison, and Derrick Underwood — stood over 6 feet 5 inches tall, and that team, which feared no school whether public or private, finished in Final Four and lost to B.C. Rain.
During my junior and senior years of high school, I attended Westbrook Christian School, and our quarterback was a once in a decade talent whose name may be familiar to you — Brodie Croyle. He led our school to a championship game but eventually lost to Billingsley High School.
I have also coached youth baseball and basketball teams for more than a decade and have personally helped teach and trained hundreds of student athletes in summer sports programs.
Our three children attended public school in Guntersville throughout their elementary years, but after COVID struck, my wife and I decided to move them to Whitesburg Christian Academy for its strong academics and its religious education.
My point is that I have experienced both public and private schools as a student and as a parent, and I have a longstanding interest in youth sports and athletic competition, so the concerns I have about the AHSAA’s actions are well-informed and deeply felt.
Whitesburg Christian Academy is currently filled to capacity with students in all of my children’s grades, and it does not recruit or admit students based upon their athletic prowess in any sport. Whitesburg, in all cases, places academics first and foremost.
Nevertheless, though its players were very young, Whitesburg’s football team notched a 5-5 record last year and earned a spot in the playoffs before Mars Hill ended their run in a 70 - 14 rout. I will also note that Whitesburg lost its football game against Fyffe by a 62-21 score last season. The baseball team advanced to the Elite Eight, where it lost to a good Gordo team from Pickens County.
That fact that they suffered these defeats offers irrefutable evidence that our private school did not have any unfair advantage over their public or private school opponents of the same size, and the same is true in 95% of the cases across the state.
In essence, the AHSAA is punishing 95% of the state’s private schools for the 5% that people complain about when they win championships, and instead of fixing the competitive balance and multiplier issues that exist in all classifications, Harmon and his board simply decided that segregation was the best option.
