Robert P. Graby, president of Archbishop Murphy High School, is correct, politically speaking, when he says in a Dec. 17 letter that his school does not recruit student athletes. I’m tired of hearing from the private schools that they don’t ”recruit.” If it’s not recruiting, then it’s certainly “enticing” student athletes to end up all on one big super team.
I’ll throw King’s in the mix, too, since I have firsthand knowledge of their efforts. I played high school basketball at Lakewood, which is in the same league as AMHS and King’s. Several years ago, we had a terrific basketball player who was a few years older than me. Probably one of the best female athletes Lakewood has ever seen. King’s started showing up at our games and before we knew it, this girl had transferred to the Seattle school. Apparently, this was for academic reasons and it was just a bonus that she was a great basketball player. Neither of her siblings made the transfer.
Strange, I had good grades, but King’s never showed up to my games and offered their services to me. But then again, I was only a mediocre basketball player. Of course, these schools aren’t paying their students to play sports. If that is their definition of recruiting, then no, private schools are not technically recruiting.
My point is: Lakewood gets athletes from Lakewood, and Granite Falls gets athletes from Granite Falls. AMHS and King’s get athletes from all over. A talented basketball player living in Lake Stevens can’t say, gee, I would really like to play basketball at Lakewood but they can say, I’d really like to play at AMHS. This is what creates the disparity and why private schools should play in their own league. Private schools can call it what they want, but the spirit of the game is ruined because of it.
If this sounds like sour grapes, it is. I only want the teams in the Cascade League to stand a fighting chance.
Jennifer Maurstad
Arlington
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