Ever since the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Athletic Association (OSSAA) implemented the (new) transfer rule, it has brought on new challenges to high school coaches throughout Oklahoma.
The OSSAA’s transfer rule generally dictates that students transferring schools after establishing athletic eligibility at the 9th grade level or above face one-year ineligibility at the new school. However, a one-time exception was introduced, allowing a student a free transfer and immediate varsity eligibility if they declare the transfer between July 1-15 and meet specific conditions. This exception only applies to students who have never transferred before.
Not only do coaches have to deal with those changes but also NIL (name-image-likeliness), which is more than likely to enter the high school ranks officially.
In addition to the transfer rule and NIL, coaches now deal with loyalty and development issues. Across the state, coaches might question themselves- why spend years developing an athlete if he or she is just going to transfer?
That is an area where good coaches will automatically continue to develop athletes and prepare them for competition to the best of their ability and hopefully the school will provide the best facilities for their student athletes.
The following area coaches respond: Eufaula head coach Larry Newton The new transfer rule has changed the landscape of high school football. I personally do not like the new rule. It has made it too easy for players to go somewhere else and leave their teammates behind. I am still a firm believer in coaching life. Life is not going to be kind and there will be many, many times that things are not going to go your way, and you have to find a way to get through it. Life is not going to let you transfer into another situation; you will have to find a way.
The biggest deal talking to other coaches is that we now have to recruit our own kids to stay. I don’t think these kids and parents understand the commitment we have put into these young kids’ lives, and to have the rug jerked out from under our team with a transfer can be disheartening to some of the players on the team.
I know some people don’t agree with all the things and ways I do things here, but I can promise you one thing: no other coach out there loves your kid like I do. I want to see them succeed in life; that is the ultimate goal.
Everybody knows my dad coached me. He was extra tough on me and my brother. I never heard my dad praise me until I started playing college football. I now know it was the best thing he ever did for me.
I say this because these days, some parents are not letting these kids fail, fall, and find a solution to get back up. I want kids to fail so I can see how they respond to tough situations. Will they rise above it or once again just settle with “I CAN’T DO IT”?
As far as how I am handling it — hey, I tell these young men every day: It takes a special person to be an Ironhead. We do Ironhead things, and if you can’t do them, you aren’t an Ironhead, plain and simple. There are a thousand Wildcats, Buffaloes, Cougars, Panthers, Wolverines, Tigers, etc., but only one Ironhead.
You wear that Ironhead attire outside this state, throughout the country, and when they see Ironhead, they know it is Eufaula Ironheads. Man, why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that legacy! Like Coach Bell always said, “hang tough.”
Morris head coach Jimmy Whitlock
With the change in transfer rules in Oklahoma, we here at Morris are focusing on our student athletes within our programs. We strive to provide our student athletes with what they need to be successful both on the field and in the classroom.
Our goal is to not lose an athlete to another district for athletic or academic reasons. By providing our student athletes with the best possible experience we hope we will retain our current student athletes and make Morris a place everyone wants to attend.
Checotah head coach Zac Ross The new rule has definitely added more challenges in high school football. I personally believe that the current rule change gives us a better chance to influence the kids we are coaching. Our program’s mission and purpose is to build the players into better people first and foremost. We focus on the life lessons that football teaches as well as the character building opportunities that come with it. At this point, we have been very pleased with the response we have had from our community as the new rules have come into effect.
