By Stephen Smoot
Two years ago, the West Virginia State Legislature passed an act that allowed students to transfer high schools one time and play immediately, without penalty, for the receiving team’s sports teams.
One of the act’s most critical supporters back then, reflected the buyers’ remorse felt by most in both chambers. During the debate on the West Virginia Senate floor, and quoted by West Virginia Metro News, Amy Nicole Grady (R-Mason) said, “It’s all about athletics—all of it. Our current free-to-transfer law might seem harmless on the surface, and I think our intent when we did it was good, but in so many cases it’s damaged the integrity of high school sports.”
The act had significant impact. Some schools proved themselves savvy at recruiting athletes from other school programs while others saw their squads decline significantly. A few high schools had to forego having varsity football with numbers of players dropping below what is reasonably necessary for athletes’ safety.
