Letter: High school athletes need time to adjust to new school

on January 15, 2014 at 8:26 AM, updated January 15, 2014 at 8:27 AM

Congratulations to The Star-Ledger for its article about students transferring schools for athletic reasons ("The big shuffle," Jan. 5). This subject is overly dominated by concerns with transfers for athletic advantage (i.e., attending a "better" basketball school), rather than the objective of interscholastic activities — whether math, economics, business or sports — and the formative development of young men and women.

Schools should require absence from any interscholastic activity for 10 to 15 in-session school days, for the benefit of students becoming acclimated to their new school communities. Even a bona fide transfer (i.e., economic reasons) needs time to connect with teachers and acclimate socially; interscholastic activities should be secondary to thorough orientation.

The article highlights a lack of perspective on what students must do to be successful after formal education. As a former Division I athlete, I know that two school weeks off the hardwood doesn’t hurt any talented athlete’s chances of playing collegiately. But perhaps two orientation weeks prior to competing interscholastically can help students get off to a better-than-otherwise social and academic start in a new setting.

Jim Lane, Westfield, social studies teacher in Westfield Public Schools, head basketball coach at Monmouth Regional High School