From the Bench: Quick Thought on West Virginia State Legislature's Senate Bill on Travel Ball - It Stinks
By Jeff Toquinto on March 03, 2024 from Sports Blog
It has been roughly a year since the 2023 version of the West Virginia Legislature passed what I believe is one of the worst pieces of legislation relating to high school sports with the transfer portal. Once it became law, I said to myself nothing can come close to topping this.
Then comes West Virginia Legislative Session 2024 with a definitive “Hold my beer” statement for the ages.
Here we are. In the same spot as we were last year when the Legislature’s transfer portal was making headlines. Before we get to this year’s fiasco, here is quick question for those folks in Charleston relating to last year’s transfer portal bill.
How has that turned out?
Even though it is not a year old, it shows those non-elected folks in education and coaching who opposed it – those who make it their life’s work to know – were right. The bill is a disaster. Gov. Jim Justice would not sign it and even called for it to be revisited in the State of the State Address.
It has been revisited. Four proposals, including three sponsored by Del. Dana Ferrell, R-Kanawha, to do something with the bill have not really moved. They are stuck in the House Education Committee.
I don’t see this 2023 turd of legislation changing. Besides, changing or eliminating it would require someone admitting they were wrong.
I digress. Let us get back to this year’s legislation. Allow me to introduce you to Senate Bill 813. Like last year’s transfer portal, two words come to mind – it stinks.
Apparently, the West Virginia Legislature has decided to set up camp once again in the high school sports zone. Quite frankly, the Legislature has no business in prep sports (college as well). SB 813, just like House Bill 2820 (the transfer portal bill) are exhibits 1 and 2 for the defense.
Since SB 813 has yet to pass, but is showing good odds it will, here is a quick rundown. Under this creative piece of legislation, students would be allowed to play on their school team and travel team in the same sport at the same time. As an added bonus, one I will delve into later, the possibility would exist that the coach of a school team can also coach a travel team.
What could possibly go wrong with this?
Already, the transfer portal has given students who believe, along with their parents or guardians, they just are not getting fair treatment to head for greener pastures. Now when the student-athlete finds the same unfair treatment and cannot transfer again, they can just walk away and play travel ball.
Struggling to make the grades to play for your school? We have all seen that and have seen it as a huge motivator for many kids to hit the books. Now, they can just say, “I’ll just play travel ball.”
Any thought put into kids playing so many games it increases the chance of injury? Any thought put into those students doing all they can 
with every free second to crack 20 points a game as opposed to cracking a textbook for 20 minutes an evening? Any thought process regarding practice times for both teams and the possibility they may end up missing school practice? Any thought on how a coach could legally punish a kid for missing practice when this legislation says they have a right to be with another team?
with every free second to crack 20 points a game as opposed to cracking a textbook for 20 minutes an evening? Any thought process regarding practice times for both teams and the possibility they may end up missing school practice? Any thought on how a coach could legally punish a kid for missing practice when this legislation says they have a right to be with another team?
Of course, thought has been minimal. Understand, this is not a law yet, but it just passed the Senate by a 24-9 margin and is with the House. Baffling, simply baffling.
Why is it baffling? Because the elected body is not listening to those people who know way better than the suits in Charleston. The WVSSAC is against it. The West Virginia Schools Athletic Coaches Association is against it. Every single coach, administrator, and athletic director – both past and present and from both within and outside Harrison County – I and my colleague Chris Johnson have talked to is against this.
I cannot imagine the legislators do not know this. I also cannot imagine those same elected officials see what those folks are saying and think anything other than “we know better than you.”
Honestly, this should be a matter of the WVSSAC. They exist to determine how to operate sports and extracurricular activities and when it it is appropriate to compete for more than just school teams, and it has worked well for years.. And while they do not get everything right, I will take what they believe is best for student-athletes over those in Charleston. Again, our Legislative members that supported this have a message for the WVSSAC, “we know better than you.”
It is almost as if the Legislature would like to do the WVSSAC’s job – the group of past educators and principals that know a thing or two about what is taking place. Perhaps that is a blog for another day.
As for those I have talked with, the opposition is fierce. One individual working with and around sports a long time, got right to the point.
“This legislation (if passed) is going to end up destroying high school athletics. It’s going to disrupt the mindset of educators and coaches trying to implement the importance of loyalty and teamwork,” the individual said. “Another issue is that it will create a divide between high
school coaches and travel coaches because we’re going to put kids in a position of deciding where they’re going to be and when they’re going to be there.”
school coaches and travel coaches because we’re going to put kids in a position of deciding where they’re going to be and when they’re going to be there.”
This individual also hit on something else that I mentioned above.
“Are we considering the impact on students that may end up doing both? We really should start considering over training and over working and the real possibility of injuries,” they said. “We should consider how this will impact the time a student dedicates to their studies.”
In fairness to the Legislature, not everyone is on board.
“Two games a week, two high school games a week, your multiple practices a week and I want to talk about sports medicine issues, that’s going to wear a kid out. What about academics? When is that kid going to study and do homework? Kids are going to get burned out,” Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, told MetroNews recently.
Woelfel, by the way, coaches AAU ball.
Another voicing opposition was Sen. David Stover, R-Wyoming. He said a player, or even a coach, should not be dividing their time or their loyalties in a recent piece on MetroNews.
Stover, by the way, is a former coach.
Two legislators deep in sports, from the majority and the minority, being told by their peers, “we know better than you.”
The benefit? Outside of those running travel tournaments stuffing already full coffers it just seems to be the old “more exposure” line as stale as a loaf of World War II surplus bread.
The argument holds little if any water. West Virginia has never been an assembly line for student-athletes knocking down four-year free rides from collegiate programs. It happens but is the exception – by far – and not the rule. Heck, a lot of D-I athletes are not getting free rides despite what many believe. And almost no one playing at a level lower is getting a full athletic scholarship even if a school is resourceful enough to cover the void with academic money and grants.
Regardless, if you are good enough to compete at the next level, they will find you no matter how small the school or how isolated the community. Baseball scouts found Paul Popovich at Flemington High School decades ago. College coaches found Travis Harper at Circleville and Susan Robinson at Doddridge County.
Perhaps the worst part included in the legislation is to allow a high school coach, with some restrictions, to coach a travel team. If anyone has been around that circuit, teams typically put the best players from an area and even surrounding areas together to compete. It is essentially an all-star team from several schools.
What could possibly go wrong?
How about an overzealous coach or assistant coach with a van full or their region’s best players touting their school, their program, and what it would be like to all play together? That is not a scenario that could happen if this legislation happens. It will happen. The only variable is how many opt to do it.
There are so many questions that need answered that no one seems to care about. One coach I talked to brought something up that was a big concern of the WVSSAC that came to pass in recent years.
“There is a pitch count in place for baseball under WVSSAC rules,” said a long-time and now retired area administrator. “If they’re playing travel ball and pitching, is anyone going to keep track of that? That’s something I would be concerned with. There really needs to be some answers here.”
It is a good question, and one of many. Perhaps the Legislature has an answer for it. I imagine the answer would be like the bill itself – it would stink.
Editor's Note: The Senate Bill can be found HERE. Top photo is of an empty BHS gymnasium. Second photo is of Senate Minority Leader Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, while the third image is of Sen. David Stover, R-Wyoming. Senate Photos by Will Price, WV Legislative Photography.
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