Private School Transfer Portal

PrimeDog

Senior
Jan 2, 2025
631
702
93
Concur, NWR and Brandon are great schools, but a lot of folks are spending $20k (?) yearly to send a kid to Hartfield. Friends of ours had a son that graduated Hartfield, we say them last year and they revealed that their son had been to rehab several times. I'm not sure hat private schools are as pure as some parent's expect. No doubt more pure than public schools, but not as pure as they think.
I know of a couple of kids that just graduated from Hartfield that have been dealing weed and pills since the 9th grade.

That school is about as “Christian” as the orange pedophile in chief.
 

o_Hot Rock

Senior
Jan 2, 2010
1,834
765
113
You used 'sports' multiple times, but I think your post is more accurate if you use 'football'...and possibly baseball. Also, its applicable to some schools, but not most.

Coaching jobs arent on the line in boys or girls golf.
Coaching jobs arent on the line in girls JV basketball.
Coaching jobs arent on the line in probably 70% of schools since regardless of who coaches, those programs wont win so the stakes arent high.

If coaches are in charge of your schools, well that alone is something which needs to change immediately. That is an insane way to operate K12 education.
It absolutely transfers to all sports to some degree but you are right football dominates everything. I loved basketball but only the select few at any school get to play in HS. I was not one of them.
HS sports are not for the students, if it were, everyone that wanted to play would play.

Don’t get me talking about golf coaches. I know of one that is an inclusion teacher and never goes to class. You will find him mowing the football fields during class or just absent. His wife does his reports and how does this happen? Former coaches run the schools.
 

o_Hot Rock

Senior
Jan 2, 2010
1,834
765
113
Just look at your Thursday night HS, any school on that schedule is run by idiots that have no clue or don’t care if these kids get an education.
 

oh yeah

Redshirt
Aug 28, 2017
237
39
28
In reality, we would ALL be pissed, if it were our kid that got passed over. It's just dishonest at best to say we wouldn't and that we'd happily just 'accept' it for the almighty private school football glory. Nobody would like that.

It's still reality, though. And I still say the sadder reality is why they are trying so hard to win among the 4 team MAIS. That part is actually quite pathetic.
I’ve seen it happen in reverse as well. Kid thought he was gonna be a starter on the baseball team. Kid from private school tries out and makes the team, takes said kids spot. I’ve also seen exchange students come in and take a spot on a team that was a seniors spot.
Either way it stinks.
 

greenbean.sixpack

All-American
Oct 6, 2012
8,802
8,073
113
In reality, we would ALL be pissed, if it were our kid that got passed over. It's just dishonest at best to say we wouldn't and that we'd happily just 'accept' it for the almighty private school football glory. Nobody would like that.
Good to see someone finally being honest.
 
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HWY51dog

Sophomore
Jul 24, 2013
315
164
43
Collierville is also raiding North MS. Hernando just lost MS Gatorade Player of the year in girls basketball. Fran Kelley and her sister. Fran averaged 27.5 a game. Also was told they are after players in football.
 

BulldogBlitz

Heisman
Dec 11, 2008
16,167
20,251
113
I can't disagree with you. If a kid was brought in just for athletic reasons, as the parent of the child being replaced - I would be pissed. But there's nothing you can do about it really. It's also a life lesson for the kid.
The flipside is my school. I went to Kingsbury in mempho. The widely known scuttle among our school was we could have had a hell of a football team if everyone in our zone actually attended. However, East and Trezvant and a few others poached all the good players in our areas. Some were very obvious as the younger brother went to kingsbury while his older brother was a standout football player elsewhere while living at the same house. So, all that talent was elsewhere, leaving crappy players (like me) could play if they so desired.
 

OG Goat Holder

Heisman
Sep 30, 2022
12,258
11,331
113
Good to see someone finally being honest.
I'll go further. My kid would probably no longer be on that team. Why go through that? That teaches nothing about life, and leaving actually teaches a better lesson. Go where you are wanted. Again, I'd rather my kid spend his time learning jiu jitsu than being a bench warmer as part of 'being on a team'. Unless he just enjoyed being on the team and didn't care. Even then, I'd try to convince him not to waste his time.

That said - that's on an individual level. I don't like it on the macro level either, but I'm now indifferent to it. I enjoy watching a team develop, rather than just steal players. But that toothpaste has long been out of the tube.
 
Jul 5, 2020
487
406
63
JA was founded in 1956 (give or take a year or 2). It was founded for academic reasons. Had nothing to with segregation. It’s still probably the best academic school of the “big 4” metro academies.
It was 1959, so 5 years after Brown v. Board. Also, I guess you missed the part where I said that my uncle was in the first HS class. My grandparents were deeply involved in Jackson civics and were close to the Bearrs family. They were one of the first 100 families in the school, when you had to have a stock share. In other words, they were initial investors. JA avoided becoming a tax exempt school for decades to avoid integration rules.

I'm not guessing about the segregation intent. I'm telling you the intent of my family who helped found it, and another private school in Jackson, because they didn't want their kids going to school with black kids. As I said, it is what it is.

By the way and not that it matters, but that grandfather and great-grandfather have endowed chairs in the engineering and business school. This is just Mississippi.
 
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johnson86-1

All-Conference
Aug 22, 2012
14,324
4,824
113
I’ve seen it happen in reverse as well. Kid thought he was gonna be a starter on the baseball team. Kid from private school tries out and makes the team, takes said kids spot. I’ve also seen exchange students come in and take a spot on a team that was a seniors spot.
Either way it stinks.
That stinks for the kid, but that is also the way high schools sports are "supposed" to be. You don't lose your spot because somebody with money with a weird obsession over high school sports pays somebody else's tuition just so they can take your spot. There is a life lesson for the kid either way it happens, but one is a pretty good life lesson in handling curve balls and the other is more a lesson in being cynical about there always being people willing to ignore rules if there are no consequences and people with money and class/good judgment/ethics (depending on your view of high school recruiting) not being strongly correlated. There are plenty of places that kids are going to learn that second type of lesson so I wouldn't be opposed to not using high school sports to teach them.
 

cadawg26

Junior
Apr 17, 2024
270
331
63
I went to a small Catholic school in Vicksburg and the opportunity to play sports was so much of what made high school awesome to me. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
The mighty Flashes!!!!! I have lots of family that graduated from there.
 

johnson86-1

All-Conference
Aug 22, 2012
14,324
4,824
113
I'll go further. My kid would probably no longer be on that team. Why go through that? That teaches nothing about life, and leaving actually teaches a better lesson. Go where you are wanted. Again, I'd rather my kid spend his time learning jiu jitsu than being a bench warmer as part of 'being on a team'. Unless he just enjoyed being on the team and didn't care. Even then, I'd try to convince him not to waste his time.

That said - that's on an individual level. I don't like it on the macro level either, but I'm now indifferent to it. I enjoy watching a team develop, rather than just steal players. But that toothpaste has long been out of the tube.
Yea, I question what lesson some people are teaching with the finishing out a season. Finishing what you start is generally a good enough lesson, but cutting your losses is also generally a good enough lesson, although you have to be a little more careful about how broadly it's applied.

If you are not leaving your team in a worse spot, I think leaving mid season is fine if it's to put time into a more valuable endeavor. There's only so much time to figure out what you want to do and put time into it. Spending 6 months not contributing to a team except for possibly scout team and possibly not even that outside of football is not a good use of time and I don't think it's a moral failing to learn that. Gets a little iffy if people are cut and you're important for practice but not for a game (so say the 10th basketball player; outside of the rotation but necessary for practice; scout team QB). Biggest thing is just making sure they are not quitting because the likely payoff is too far down the road.
 

Maroon Eagle

All-American
May 24, 2006
17,995
7,805
102
It was 1959, so 5 years after Brown v. Board. Also, I guess you missed the part where I said that my uncle was in the first HS class. My grandparents were deeply involved in Jackson civics and were close to the Bearrs family. They were one of the first 100 families in the school, when you had to have a stock share. In other words, they were initial investors. JA avoided becoming a tax exempt school for decades to avoid integration rules.

I'm not guessing about the segregation intent. I'm telling you the intent of my family who helped found it, and another private school in Jackson, because they didn't want their kids going to school with black kids. As I said, it is what it is.
Yep.

JA expanded to the high school level and began playing MPSA football in the old Class A in 1980.

They struggled that year but won their half of the district in 1981.

My old school, Heidelberg Academy, beat them 35-0 in Jackson in the first round of the playoffs. HA went on to win their second consecutive state title.

JA moved up to Class AAA the next year.
 
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615dawg

All-Conference
Jun 4, 2007
6,633
3,592
113
This Jackson anchor division crap that the MAIS is going to have more second half running clock games than ever.

IIRC, Prep beat the MAIS 5A champ by 50 last year. What do you think is going to happen when they line up against non playoff teams.
 

Maroon Eagle

All-American
May 24, 2006
17,995
7,805
102
Did Prep play tri-county?
They do this year…

Tri- County’s schedule…
2025 Season
8/22 OPEN
8/29vs. Saint Alyosius
9/5@ Canton Academy
9/12@ Jackson Prep
9/19vs. Kirk Academy
9/26vs. Washington Academy
10/3@ Wayne Academy
10/10@ Saint Joseph Madison
10/17vs. Central Hinds Academy *
10/24vs. Leake Academy *
10/31@ Riverfield LA *



(Germansed by SteelCurtain74)

BTW, that website can’t spell Aloysius…
 

dawgstudent

Heisman
Apr 15, 2003
39,444
18,867
113
They do this year…

Tri- County’s schedule…
2025 Season
8/22 OPEN
8/29vs. Saint Alyosius
9/5@ Canton Academy
9/12@ Jackson Prep
9/19vs. Kirk Academy
9/26vs. Washington Academy
10/3@ Wayne Academy
10/10@ Saint Joseph Madison
10/17vs. Central Hinds Academy *
10/24vs. Leake Academy *
10/31@ Riverfield LA *



(Germansed by SteelCurtain74)

BTW, that website can’t spell Aloysius…
8/29 is going to be a juggernaut.
 

RocketDawg

All-Conference
Oct 21, 2011
18,974
2,081
113
Maybe this is just something that's different between parochial schools where I live vs in MS.
There is 0 expectation of making a team, much less playing, at most of the private HS programs around me(football, volleyball, baseball, swimming, softball, basketball).
That's true here as well. Many of the private schools don't even have a football team, and if they do it's at a very low level. They tend toward basketball which is a lot less expensive. Or it was that way when my kid was in school some years ago.
 

OG Goat Holder

Heisman
Sep 30, 2022
12,258
11,331
113
Not last year. They are on the schedule this year.
Insanity.

I know TCA has grown. But to play them as a district game? Good hell

Whatever, I don’t care, just calling it like I see it. Jackson parents gonna Jackson parent. I was just so lucky to spend my kids formative years there
 

Maroon Eagle

All-American
May 24, 2006
17,995
7,805
102
Insanity.

I know TCA has grown. But to play them as a district game? Good hell

Whatever, I don’t care, just calling it like I see it. Jackson parents gonna Jackson parent. I was just so lucky to spend my kids formative years there
It’s non-district.
 

SteelCurtain74

All-Conference
Oct 28, 2019
1,986
2,922
113
Insanity.

I know TCA has grown. But to play them as a district game? Good hell

Whatever, I don’t care, just calling it like I see it. Jackson parents gonna Jackson parent. I was just so lucky to spend my kids formative years there
Not to play semantics but Tri County wouldn't be a district game. They are a 3A classification. Now they could probably grow to be 4A if it wasn't for the fact that they intentionally limit their enrollment so they aren't bumped up a class. Not necessarily criticizing that but that's what they do along with Canton Academy.

Prep has played West Jones the last two years and split the games. There was a time that they played Pearl 6 times and split the results 3-3. Last MRA played Oak Grove. This year Hartfield plays at Tupelo.

I think the notion that the Big 4 won't play top competition is nonsense. Would they want to play a Tupelo or Oak Grove every week? Probably not but the insinuation that these teams are happy having running clocks every other week is just not true.

This year, Prep's first game is in Collierville TN against Battleground Academy out of Franklin TN. I know nothing about them except the were 11-3 last year and finished runner up in the championship game in their division.

People can criticize all they want about the Big 4's scheduling but it takes two to tango. You can't force teams to play you.

As far as the other teams, in whatever this God awful system is that MAIS has created, I've had 2 athletic directors tell me directly they have no interest in scheduling any of the other Big 4 teams in football that aren't in their division as long as this system stays in place.

Just like the many Jackson threads on this board, the answer to this issue can't be summed up in a paragraph. I sure as hell don't have the answer but this current system is not a long term solution.
 

615dawg

All-Conference
Jun 4, 2007
6,633
3,592
113
The issue that the Big 4 have is outside the other three, there is no private school competition in the entire MAIS. Zero.

So you have to play public schools or regional privates to see any competition at all. The big schools in the Metro (Brandon, Madison Central, etc.) will not play them - not because they are scared - but because of what this thread is about, they are recruiting those kids openly.

The MAIS cannot continue in this format. They will go the way of the AISA and the LISA and have a handful of schools playing 8 man. After this two year round of alignment is over, I imagine that most of MAIS 4A is going to throw a fit after losing games by 50+ with a running clock.

This season is going to be a joke. The road to fix the MAIS is difficult. Either a bunch of schools have got to get a lot better quickly or you are going to end up with a four team classification.
 

Maroon Eagle

All-American
May 24, 2006
17,995
7,805
102
The issue that the Big 4 have is outside the other three, there is no private school competition in the entire MAIS. Zero.

The MAIS cannot continue in this format. They will go the way of the AISA and the LISA and have a handful of schools playing 8 man. After this two year round of alignment is over, I imagine that most of MAIS 4A is going to throw a fit after losing games by 50+ with a running clock.
It’s even worse than you’ve said.

There are 50 MAIS members playing 11-man football.

There are 32 MAIS members playing 8-man football.

If 8-man football is the future of MAIS, then 11-man MAIS football has no future.
 

615dawg

All-Conference
Jun 4, 2007
6,633
3,592
113
I believe MRA is closer to playing an all regional schedule (teams from TN, AR, TX, LA, FL, AL) than they are to joining the MHSAA.

Prep and JA want the MAIS to work things out but would join the MHSAA if it got bad enough. I can't get a feel from Hartfield, but scheduling Tupelo is an interesting move. If Hartfield were to win or even play Tupelo close, I think it could signal that the Big Four could compete and make those conversations a little more serious. We're past the point of no return with the MAIS being competitive. Pillow and Washington aren't walking through that door to save the MAIS.
 

Maroon Eagle

All-American
May 24, 2006
17,995
7,805
102
I believe MRA is closer to playing an all regional schedule (teams from TN, AR, TX, LA, FL, AL) than they are to joining the MHSAA.

Would MRA be able to do that in football only?

You know it won’t happen in other sports…

Prep and JA want the MAIS to work things out but would join the MHSAA if it got bad enough. I can't get a feel from Hartfield, but scheduling Tupelo is an interesting move. If Hartfield were to win or even play Tupelo close, I think it could signal that the Big Four could compete and make those conversations a little more serious. We're past the point of no return with the MAIS being competitive. Pillow and Washington aren't walking through that door to save the MAIS.

Agreed.

The MAIS is a Dead Man Walking in football.

It should de-emphasize football and administer the other sports…