Parents say let high school athletes play on club teams
A parade of parents and students complained to state lawmakers that limiting high school athletes from participating in non-school club teams harms their development and intrudes on parental rights.
Megan Akins, a junior at Lincoln Pius X High School, said Tuesday that she had to choose between participating on her high school swim team or continuing with her club team.
Swimming with the school team meant only three hours less of training each day, Akins said, but that harmed her chances of reaching her goal of swimming in college.
The proposal for dual participation was introduced by State Sen. Kent Rogert of Tekamah. A similar measure was debated last year. This year’s proposal, Legislative Bill 228, aims directly at the governing body for high school sports, the Nebraska School Activities Association. The bill would prohibit high schools from membership in the NSAA if they barred athletes from participating in both school and club sports.
The Legislature’s Education Committee heard a litany of complaints about the NSAA, including that it was undemocratic in structure, wasted money on a new headquarters and was a “monopoly” that refused to work with club-sport supporters.
The committee was also told that 45 states now allow dual participation. Currently, NSAA rules bar athletes from practicing with high school and club teams during the same season.
Athletes can participate in a club swim meet or tournament, but must sit out their next high school meet or game, said Jim Tenopir, executive director of the NSAA.
Tenopir added that students on Olympic development teams are regularly granted waivers to participate in those activities. He defended the NSAA, saying it is governed by the wishes of its members, the high schools in Nebraska. When asked what harm could come from dual participation, NSAA supporters said the practice would create “team chemistry” problems and benefit only a few elite athletes while harming other team members.
