Posted by Howard Richman on May 16 2008 at 09:10:36:
Homeschoolers in Pennsylvania can still get noticed by colleges by playing on the local public school sports teams. (A state law signed by Governor Rendel in passed on November 10 2005 says that the public schools have to let homeschoolers participate on their sports teams and in other extra-curricular activites.)
But homeschoolers who don´t play school sports will have a much harder time getting noticed by colleges as a result of a new NCAA ruling.
An article by Mike Barber in the Harrison (VA) Daily Record tells the story:
Under an NCAA rules change, college football coaches can no longer attend so-called high school combines - events where recruits from multiple schools come together to work out. Now, college coaches can evaluate a prospect athletically only at his home school, James Madison coach Mickey Matthews said this week.Howard"It´s been the biggest change in college recruiting in 15 years," Matthews said. "We would have one afternoon workout and there would be 90 college coaches watching them lift and run 40s. Now, the only time you can see a high school kid is at his school."
The rule stopping coaches from specifically attending combines went into effect last spring; this year, language was added to prevent coaches from scouting players at any "non-scholastic events," NCAA spokeswoman Jennifer Kearns said this week.
The NCAA passed the rule in an attempt to curb the increasing number of non-scholastic recruiting events in football, a scene that was becoming reminiscent of AAU basketball.
"These events permit individuals with little or no role in the education of prospective student-athletes to become involved in their lives for the primary purpose of testing the prospective student-athletes athletic ability," the NCAA stated as its rationale for the rules change.
The NCAA also said it hopes that de-emphasizing the combines will allow students to focus on academic pursuits....