9th graders eligible in HS?

silvers · May 03, 2006, 10:23:40 am

Can 9th graders play up in the Central conference??

I am hearing that a 7A West coach is trying to get 9th graders eligible for next year??

bknight33 · May 03, 2006, 12:22:11 pm

Quote from: zebra on May 03, 2006, 10:23:40 am
Can 9th graders play up in the Central conference??

I am hearing that a 7A West coach is trying to get 9th graders eligible for next year??

No way they are going to let that happen. Bentonville would have the only legitimate case as their ninth graders will now be on campus. There is a competetive conference championship in the 9th grade. No need for kids to move up.

T-Wacker · May 03, 2006, 01:05:31 pm

Quote from: bknight33 on May 03, 2006, 12:22:11 pm
Quote from: zebra on May 03, 2006, 10:23:40 am
Can 9th graders play up in the Central conference??

I am hearing that a 7A West coach is trying to get 9th graders eligible for next year??

No way they are going to let that happen. Bentonville would have the only legitimate case as their ninth graders will now be on campus. There is a competetive conference championship in the 9th grade. No need for kids to move up.

I believe there was a rule not allowing 9th graders to move up in 5A only. The other classifications it was allowed. I assume that will carry over to the 6A and 7A classifications next year.

LC sports · May 03, 2006, 01:08:59 pm

When Parkview won the state title over Cabot in 2004, they had a ninth grader play in the title game

infinity41 · May 03, 2006, 01:15:24 pm

The reason why that happened at Parkview is because there are no 9th grade teams in the LR school district. The 9th grade is part of their high school and they do not field 9th grade teams which makes them legal to play at the HS level in 5 A

lakers · May 03, 2006, 01:16:48 pm

If they are on the HS campus, ninth-graders, they can play. If not, they have to play in their jr. high.

bknight33 · May 03, 2006, 01:47:12 pm

This is going to create quite a stir. Bentonville will have 9th graders on campus. However, they have a conference available for the 9th graders to participate in; interesting to see how this one turns out.

infinity41 · May 03, 2006, 02:07:28 pm

It doesn't matter if they are on campus, what matters is if they have a team available for them to play on. LR schools do not have 9th grade atheltics.

Quite Frankly · May 03, 2006, 02:51:43 pm

Nelson can't handle the HS players at BHS. Here's hoping he won't handle the 9th as well. Personally, I like the junior high system as it is in NWA.

silvers · May 04, 2006, 10:30:09 am

Quote from: Quite Frankly on May 03, 2006, 02:51:43 pm
Nelson can't handle the HS players at BHS. Here's hoping he won't handle the 9th as well. Personally, I like the junior high system as it is in NWA.

I would agree, Nelson's attempts to wreck the junior high basketball circuit in NWA, is a bit amusing. However, I can't imagine that kids playing in practice jerseys in the auxillary gym at the high school and losing, is going to benefit him long range. However, he would not want to use freshman, he wants to keep them under the radar.

T-Wacker · May 04, 2006, 12:37:09 pm

Quote from: infinity41 on May 03, 2006, 02:07:28 pm
It doesn't matter if they are on campus, what matters is if they have a team available for them to play on. LR schools do not have 9th grade atheltics.

Actually, the rule states that if they are to play at the senior high level at 5A, they must move up before the 9th grade season starts. They cannot play junior high and then move up to senior high during, or after the junior high season is completed. Below 5A, they can move at any time during the season, but must play senior high only if they are moved up. Oklahoma allows 9th grade students to compete in both junior high and senior high during the entire season. Heaven forbid that Arkansas allow such a rule.

key_stone12 · May 09, 2006, 04:29:50 pm

Junior High athletics is very good in NWA. The main thing being travel. Farhest conference game is Ramay to Lincoln. Which is only, at most, 45 minutes. It is very unlikely that 9th graders will ever get to play up. First thing being, I haven't seen one that was good enough. The best freshman in this area in a long time is Fred Gully. He may have been able to play a very limited role for Fayetteville's varsity, but was better off winning regionals for the second year in a row.

Dr. 7A West · May 09, 2006, 07:20:20 pm

For the most part, the larger schools do not allow a 9th grader move up to the H.S. level. The general rule for sports is if a sport is offered at the Jr. High level and the High School level, the student will play the Jr. High schedule.

LR Parkview did have a girl play on their state championship team a few years back, but that was a district policy. Numbers could play a part in that decision. If you don't have the numbers at the high school level, i.e. Parkview Magnet School and Prep School, then they can move up a player.

One exception I know of for larger schools to move up athletes from the 9th grade level to the high school would be if a sport is not offered at the jr. high level. For example, female students at the 9th grade level could move up and play softball for the high school. Another sport would be golf. However, they have to be in 9th grade.

OC · May 18, 2006, 01:10:11 pm

A 9th grader can play high school ball, if he starts the season on the high school team, in any classification.

silvers · May 18, 2006, 01:55:08 pm

The rule in the AAAAA West was that you could NOT play 9th graders up in basketball at anytime.

However, it is my understanding that the Rogers girls coach is trying to get that changed so that he can pull up some 9th grader.

backdoor23 · May 19, 2006, 08:26:00 am

Is the Rogers girl Morgan Hook? That girl has some major talent. I don't know if she could play varsity next year but should be fine her soph. year.

mrscoach · May 19, 2006, 12:52:47 pm

Is Morrilton not 5A? I am not sure of their classification but they moved Shakena Strickland up when she was in 9th & she has been playing Sr. girls since. I thought they could be moved any class as long as it was either before the season or after the Jr. high district & finished their eligibility there.

silvers · May 19, 2006, 01:48:42 pm

No, Morrilton was in AAAA this year.

Yee-Haw · May 22, 2006, 02:43:57 pm

Morgan would have played a significant role off the bench LAST year and would easily be a starter next year as a ninth-grader.

It's long past time that the "Corliss Williamson" rule be given a serious look.

If the player's parents are all for it and the coach is all for it......well......

infinity41 · May 31, 2006, 03:22:16 pm

I believe the rule was a "Sally Moore" rule from Bryant.

Baseballwatcher · June 17, 2006, 03:46:22 pm

Why shouldn't a 9th grader be allowed to play in high school sports? You have four years of eligibilty to play high school sports, so why prevent them from playing their freshman year? Just like the AAA.