High school recruiting scandal, bullying alleged at Hayfield
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Neighborhood boys no more
- Thread starter mbonape1
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Yawn. Name a high school that is good on consistent basis and they have transfers, period...
My question is: the kids who left Hayfield - did they move residences or are they using the same means the people coming into Hayfield are using?...
My question is: the kids who left Hayfield - did they move residences or are they using the same means the people coming into Hayfield are using?...
You don't have to change address with Fairfax County. It is the ones coming from Prince William County that have to show a Fairfax County address to play sports for a Fairfax County School.
Regardless of how guilty Coach Overton actually is of breaking the rules, he made a huge mistake of moving to a Fairfax County school. He should've understood that his standard operating procedure wasn't a fit. Moving to Hylton would've made more sense.
The real question is why did they just up and move after playing for Hayfield the year before?
I mean it’s pretty clear to me that the actual tension here is that Overton is all but, and maybe even explicitly, telling many Hayfield kids that they will not be contributing to the team he’s trying to make. Whether his actions are illegal I won’t speculate, but that’s the motivating factor for the anger of the hayfield parents. It’s certainly not ethical from my perspective.
The transfer game is a balancing act. Nobody is turning down more talent. But if you want a healthy program and not just a good team, the base of your roster has to be your own kids.
The transfer game is a balancing act. Nobody is turning down more talent. But if you want a healthy program and not just a good team, the base of your roster has to be your own kids.
I think that is one of the reasons Salem doesn't generally get many transfers. They give preference to seniority in the program. At the beginning of the year they usually start the Srs and guys that have been in the program that have put in the work in the off season. Starting positions can be won over the course of the year through hard work and performance in practice. Certainly talent can't be overlooked, but more starting positions are won by showing up, hard work, and attitude, than by sheer talent. Guys that transfer in to Salem generally do so by 9th grade or even middle school. It's better to get established into the program as early as possible. Otherwise, what would that do to a team's morale to have transfers constantly taking guys spots that have been there and put in the work? Also, transfers find out real quick that the competition in practice is generally much harder at Salem than most competition they'll find on the playing field. There's a sign on the practice fields that says Proving Grounds for a reason.
My philosophy is the best kids need to play. But that doesn’t mean the “more talented” kid is gonna be the best. A “program player” that is 75% as athletic as a guy who got here last week is probably better for your team. Even if that new kid is better, they need to earn that on the field. It’s not just dumb for your community relations to anoint transfers, it’s bad football.
Martinsburg gets quite a few local transfers, but just like you say for Salem, most of those kids are coming in the 8th and 9th grade. The best programs will always pull kids in(and lack of playing time will push kids out), but you can’t build the kind of sustained excellence you see at a Dinwiddie, Highland Springs, Salem, Stone Bridge, etc by just going out and getting an all star team. You can have a great team for a few years maybe, but eventually you either piss off enough locals that they start picking apart your books(which given you’re trying to juggle all these transfers, probably aren’t clean even if you think they are) or your recruiting well runs dry. And then you’ve got no base to fall back on.
He's watched too much Deion Sanders social media on YouTube and is trying to run this program like he does his. Ain't going to work up there. I think the Fairfax County parents aren't going to let things slide in regards to things he may have been able to get away with tucked in eastern Prince William County.
Coaches that recruit are insecure pieces of human feces.
Recruiting scandal at Hayfield widens into multiple investigations
This spring, soon after football coach Darryl Overton announced he was starting a “New legacy” at Hayfield Secondary School, the school’s director of student services, Erin Crowley, and an assistant
Wow. Concerning stuff. I’d say some heads will roll over this. Using a loophole meant for homeless children so you can stack your football team is just scummy.
Let’s be real. What’s happening at Hayfield is happening at several other programs in the state.
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I would like to hope that the investigations are pursued thoroughly, and with openness and integrity. And if the adults involved are proven to be guilty of violations of the rules, that they are barred from involvement in any and all VHSL sanctioned activities, for life.
There is an opportunity here to draw a line in the sand and make it clear that cheating, (let’s face it, that is what this is, plain and simple), will not be tolerated and comes with a heavy price tag.
The only difference with what is going on at Hayfield, and what we all know is going on at numerous schools across our state is the scale and scope of the violations. It’s almost as if Hayfield, (and yes Fairfax County Public Schools), is saying, “hey, your rules don’t really apply to us so we are going to do as we please!”
And I my eyes, it goes a hell of a lot deeper than the coach and his staff. “Somebody” had to hatch the idea of hiring this coach. And that “somebody” knew he was a “win at all cost” kind of guy. And that “somebody” knew how he built his teams at Freedom. And all that was perfectly ok. And that “somebody” has a boss or two that had to be complicit. Everybody from the county school Superintendant down to the AD at Hayfield need to be made to explain why they allowed this situation to occur in the first place. You know, Captain Hazelwood was rightfully in his cabin when the Exxon Valdez rammed a reef, but they hung the oil spill on him, not the guy steering the ship. Just saying!!
There is an opportunity here to draw a line in the sand and make it clear that cheating, (let’s face it, that is what this is, plain and simple), will not be tolerated and comes with a heavy price tag.
The only difference with what is going on at Hayfield, and what we all know is going on at numerous schools across our state is the scale and scope of the violations. It’s almost as if Hayfield, (and yes Fairfax County Public Schools), is saying, “hey, your rules don’t really apply to us so we are going to do as we please!”
And I my eyes, it goes a hell of a lot deeper than the coach and his staff. “Somebody” had to hatch the idea of hiring this coach. And that “somebody” knew he was a “win at all cost” kind of guy. And that “somebody” knew how he built his teams at Freedom. And all that was perfectly ok. And that “somebody” has a boss or two that had to be complicit. Everybody from the county school Superintendant down to the AD at Hayfield need to be made to explain why they allowed this situation to occur in the first place. You know, Captain Hazelwood was rightfully in his cabin when the Exxon Valdez rammed a reef, but they hung the oil spill on him, not the guy steering the ship. Just saying!!
You guys would know the exact number of players better than me, but didn't Huguenot basically import a new team with their new coach last year? Maybe people were less bothered since the kids mostly came from private school.
The residency stuff is serious especially if coaches and administrators are involved but it would be a huge shift if the VHSL were to start caring about transfers and recruiting. Maybe they will make a show of caring once and then go back to not caring.
Definitely the same situation. Only difference is Richmond City does basically have open enrollment so it might be a little more legal than what Hayfield is doing. But they won some games and were a feel good story for the city so no one cares unfortunately. And John Marshall basketball takes all of the heat for the city schools.
Let’s be honest it isn’t anything new and as another poster said it happens everywhere. The issue is that he’s built a winner and it’s proven what he’s doing works. The dilemma is how they get to the results — does it really matter if the kids are getting a better education and get to play some football ? All sports are predicated on winning so let’s keep the criticisms to a minimum call him what you want but he won back to back. Then took his show to a new venue, probably going to have a contender there as well. I doubt they blantantly breaking the transfer rule but there could be some gray area they’re exploiting. If momma is mad lil Tommy isn’t playing maybe lil Tommy needs to workout a lil harder and compete more.
If he’s embezzling money then that’s a problem.
If he’s stealing or forcing kids out of their “home” school for the newer kids he brought that’s a problem.
If he’s busing kids in from all over the country to get hayfield some notoriety it’s a problem.
However I doubt all those things are actually happening and it’s more of a parent upset and wanting to bring the entire organization down since she couldn’t be team mom and the kid wasn’t promised a big role.
If he’s embezzling money then that’s a problem.
If he’s stealing or forcing kids out of their “home” school for the newer kids he brought that’s a problem.
If he’s busing kids in from all over the country to get hayfield some notoriety it’s a problem.
However I doubt all those things are actually happening and it’s more of a parent upset and wanting to bring the entire organization down since she couldn’t be team mom and the kid wasn’t promised a big role.
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