"Mike" Gatens was a typo, or a mini-stroke. I meant Matt Gatens, who was one of my favorite state of Iowa players of all time. "Transfers" always have been and will be a problem. I can think of about 15 players in the same number of years who started for public school teams in the Dubuque area who lived with host families, were adopted (by our U.S. Representative), lived with assistant or guest coaches (Spencer Carter and his brother), were exchange students who played on AAU teams, and moved in with siblings, aunts, uncles, boosters, etc. The reason you don't hear much about it is because nobody complains, or knows, or cares. Forty-something years ago, when Wahlert had an enrollment of over 2000 students (right before Hempstead opened and took 1500 kids away from Senior and Wahlert), instead of 550 like they do now, any transfer would just add to their strength and to the consternation of their rivals. It's nothing like that now. A couple of years ago, three football players transfer from Wahlert to Hempstead and nobody knows, or cares. The "transfer" situation has gotten much better over the last fifteen years. I will say that all the current coaches in the Dubuque area are fine, honest gentlemen. Tom English is a very hard-working, fine man, who is a better coach than he gets credit for. The improvement of some of his players is astounding. If a family moves to the city, or if one of the very few exchange students (two in school history) who happens to be an athlete shows up, he certainly is not going to turn a player away. Senior coach Wendell Eimers is a man I admire a lot and he is a really fine coach. Without going into details, he's booted two sure-fire starters off the Senior roster the last couple of years when they got into trouble, and almost none of his players except exchange students have been living with host families (unlike a predecessor),.and I really admire that. Same goes for Dennis Geraghty at WD who is honest as the day is long, and Curt Deutsch has had very few transplanted players, some of whom left the program. He has only one transfer starter (from Senior) this season. Lots of players in Dubuque, and most larger cities, transfer upon entering middle school, or when they start high school. This should not count, as families make decisions based on more than athletics. More athletes transfer from the Catholic schools in Dubuque to the public schools than the other way around. The Carter family (a good family) is a case in a special category of its own, in which five athletes from the immediate and extended family have played at all three local high schools. A little like Marcus Paige and his sister playing for different schools in the CR- Marion area. Two current Senior basketball starters have siblings at Wahlert. Dynamics are much different than they used to be.
The thing is, the decision to attend this school or that is basically a choice of the parents and the athlete. Many want to follow their friends or AAU teammates. The vast majority of student transfers between schools are not athletes. Every semester, every school in Dubuque has new students, some from other local schools and some who have moved here from (especially) Chicago or the Chicago area. Dubuque, like Davenport and other border cities, get more than their share of families who have moved into the area for any number of reasons. Special programs, including elementary basketball, have been set up to give these kids a sense of belonging. Some of the mentors are former public school teachers and coaches. Some of these kids find their way onto high school teams, but sadly, many disappear after a year or two or three. Some of these kids are troubled, and with good reason in many cases. I know of one freshman player who was basically homeless in Chicago, wandering the streets, until another family took him in, and then they moved here.
Society has changed greatly, and so have schools. It seems as if every teacher or coach should have a counseling or psychology degree. Both the private and the pubic schools do the best job they can, with the resources they have (or don't). The private schools are becoming more college prep centers in order to maintain enrollment, at least the larger ones. Yes, they have the advantage of casting a wider net, but the schools of fish keep getting smaller and smaller. The public schools have a much larger mandate, with much wider ability gaps, from the top, top, to the very unfortunate. Public school open enrollments bring in more athletes than some people realize. The last few years, the top team in the MVC is Iowa City West, and close to the bottom, and this year- THE bottom- is Iowa City City High, once a basketball power. How does this happen?
I think the private schools have pretty much peaked out their recent success. I'll be shocked if any school other than a public school wins the state basketball championship the next couple of years in 3A and 4A. If I am wrong, then maybe the state could try a multiplier. 2A is a problem, but with a new coach at Western Christian, maybe they will be beatable. 1A has so many little private schools, most of which aren't very good in sports. I think if you use a multiplier, it would also entail charting out results over a three or five year period and then coming up with a different multiplier for each class. The multiplier might have to be highest in the lower classes, and less as you ascend classes. One of my relatives is a coach in Illinois and they have multipliers for private schools which now almost never win the state basketball or football championships, whereas schools like Simeon are literally all-star public school teams, because of open enrollment and players live with extended family or move. We have it much better in Iowa.
