Paying $56,000 to play high school football this fall? Charlotte families make sacrifices
BY LANGSTON WERTZ JR.
AUGUST 29, 2020 06:00 AM
PART 1
A few months ago, Brad Simpkins never thought he would’ve spent Tuesday morning driving from Huntersville to Arden, just south of Asheville, to enroll his son in a private school.
His son, A.J., was the star quarterback at Hopewell High. The coaches loved him. His friends loved him. But when coronavirus shut down high school sports in March, the plans slowly started to change.
By June, fearing that there might not be a football season, effectively ending A.J.’s shot to play in college, the Simpkins family decided to transfer from Hopewell to Christ School, where A.J. will repeat the 11th grade and reclassify to the class of 2022.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association, which governs the state’s 421 mostly public schools, won’t be playing football this fall, instead delaying the sport until second semester. And unlike districts in surrounding counties, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools is not allowing its teams to gather for skill development until further notice. These two stoppages of play have led borderline major college prospects around Charlotte to seek football refuge where the game will still be played Friday nights.
The Observer surveyed 140 public schools in and around Charlotte on the North Carolina side of the border to learn how many football programs have had players transfer out to avoid waiting until February to play their seasons. Seventy coaches responded. At least 22 football players have changed schools for football purposes. Of those, 14 have transferred to either area private schools or South Carolina public schools.
For Simpkins, that meant an all-boys boarding school that costs $56,670 per year. The school’s nearly 300 students come from 18 states and eight countries, and because its governed by a private school league separate from the NCHSAA, his new team will still play football this fall.
The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association, which has 97 private school members including Christ School, has voted to play football beginning the week of Sept. 21.
“We moved because of all the uncertainty,” said Brad Simpkins, whose son announced his intention to transfer before the football season was officially postponed. “We’re living in a very different world today, and there’s uncertainty with what is going to happen with football across the board, and not just high school. Specifically affecting my son was: What was the state association going to do? And then, on top of that, what was CMS going to do?
“... I can’t speak highly enough about (the staff at Hopewell). So while we feel good about our decision, we feel absolutely horrible about so many kids that are facing the fact that they’re not going to play this fall and it’s no fault of their own.”
Preventing more players from making similar moves is a battle teammates are fighting.
“I literally live, like, 300 yards from the (S.C.) border,” Marvin Ridge quarterback Sully McDermott said. “I can walk there. Seeing private schools play is hard as well. I know we don’t have a say in it, but I want to play. We all want to play. There’s a bunch of seniors on our team and we can’t go to college (campuses), we can’t go to camps. We’re not getting our name out there, and there’s been a lot of talk about people trying to go across the border and play. Some of our young players need to tape to show coaches. It’s hard to keep them, because they want to play, just like all of us.”
BY LANGSTON WERTZ JR.
AUGUST 29, 2020 06:00 AM
PART 1
A few months ago, Brad Simpkins never thought he would’ve spent Tuesday morning driving from Huntersville to Arden, just south of Asheville, to enroll his son in a private school.
His son, A.J., was the star quarterback at Hopewell High. The coaches loved him. His friends loved him. But when coronavirus shut down high school sports in March, the plans slowly started to change.
By June, fearing that there might not be a football season, effectively ending A.J.’s shot to play in college, the Simpkins family decided to transfer from Hopewell to Christ School, where A.J. will repeat the 11th grade and reclassify to the class of 2022.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association, which governs the state’s 421 mostly public schools, won’t be playing football this fall, instead delaying the sport until second semester. And unlike districts in surrounding counties, Charlotte-Mecklenberg Schools is not allowing its teams to gather for skill development until further notice. These two stoppages of play have led borderline major college prospects around Charlotte to seek football refuge where the game will still be played Friday nights.
The Observer surveyed 140 public schools in and around Charlotte on the North Carolina side of the border to learn how many football programs have had players transfer out to avoid waiting until February to play their seasons. Seventy coaches responded. At least 22 football players have changed schools for football purposes. Of those, 14 have transferred to either area private schools or South Carolina public schools.
For Simpkins, that meant an all-boys boarding school that costs $56,670 per year. The school’s nearly 300 students come from 18 states and eight countries, and because its governed by a private school league separate from the NCHSAA, his new team will still play football this fall.
The N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association, which has 97 private school members including Christ School, has voted to play football beginning the week of Sept. 21.
“We moved because of all the uncertainty,” said Brad Simpkins, whose son announced his intention to transfer before the football season was officially postponed. “We’re living in a very different world today, and there’s uncertainty with what is going to happen with football across the board, and not just high school. Specifically affecting my son was: What was the state association going to do? And then, on top of that, what was CMS going to do?
“... I can’t speak highly enough about (the staff at Hopewell). So while we feel good about our decision, we feel absolutely horrible about so many kids that are facing the fact that they’re not going to play this fall and it’s no fault of their own.”
Preventing more players from making similar moves is a battle teammates are fighting.
“I literally live, like, 300 yards from the (S.C.) border,” Marvin Ridge quarterback Sully McDermott said. “I can walk there. Seeing private schools play is hard as well. I know we don’t have a say in it, but I want to play. We all want to play. There’s a bunch of seniors on our team and we can’t go to college (campuses), we can’t go to camps. We’re not getting our name out there, and there’s been a lot of talk about people trying to go across the border and play. Some of our young players need to tape to show coaches. It’s hard to keep them, because they want to play, just like all of us.”
