Almost all of my soccer playing classmates, teammates, former teammates, and pretty much every soccer player in Illinois will be playing high school soccer this year. The trend around here is for clubs to drop their ten-month soccer programs in favor of a seven-month program so their players can compete in high school soccer. But, I am not playing this year and it feels like I am the only exception.
High school soccer has always appealed to me because I could compete for my school. I go to Carmel Catholic High School in Mundelein, Illinois. I feel a sense of pride in the community Carmel has formed and I would love to represent this amazing school on the field. In addition, I am intrigued by the idea of competing against players I have played with and know in a non-club environment.
The hype surrounding the start of high school soccer made me very excited and filled me with anticipation. I thought that I could finally join my school team after not being able to play during my freshman year because I played with a ten-month club program. Unfortunately, I recently found out that, yet again, I could not play for my school and rather than sharing the excitement of my peers, I felt frustration.
So just why can’t I play? Well, to start, I play in the Girls Academy League. For now, I live in Illinois but play for SC Wave, a club team in Wisconsin. However, I will be attending the Champions Cup Finals in the Girls Academy League this week. The rules for high school eligibility differ by state. The problem is that in order to be eligible in Illinois, I need to be off of my club roster seven days after the high school season tryout. High school tryouts were last week. This did not line up with the Champions Cup event schedule, meaning that I could not be off of the roster in time and therefore, am unable to play high school soccer in Illinois. If I were playing in Wisconsin, there would be similar rules, however my teammates benefit from the fact that their high school season starts later in Wisconsin and high school players there get to compete in two events during the high school season..
In an attempt to find a way to play for my high school team because I only missed the deadline for being off of my club roster by a couple of days, the high school coach had my school’s athletic director reach out to the IHSA. (Illinois High School Association) to apply for an exemption. In addition, the Girls Academy commissioner, Patricia Hughes, wrote a letter on my behalf explaining the importance of the Champions Cup as a national event that helps players get scouted by hundreds of colleges. I even wrote my own letter to the IHSA. I understand these exemptions are often granted for lacrosse and gymnastics events. Unfortunately, and for some reason I don’t know, the IHSA denied my exemption. I am not sure why these rules exist. They certainly don’t promote or benefit student-athletes in their quest to play college soccer and they definitely don’t provide any advantage to a team with players who are granted an exemption.
So, I will not be out on the pitch during games this season. I
considered and even started down the path of playing lacrosse for my high school, but lacrosse was not for me. Someone please explain to me why it is okay under the rules for me to run track or play lacrosse but I cannot play soccer! Luckily, my father is a lawyer and he looked at the IHSA bylaws and learned that an ineligible player can serve as team manager. Even better, an ineligible player can practice with the high school team. I put in a call to my high school coach and finally, something good came out of my inability to play for my high school team.
I am now the player manager for the Varsity Girls Soccer team at Carmel Catholic. I can support and be part of the team. Being the team manager allows me to keep my skills sharp throughout the off-season and forge the bonds with girls I longed to make when I thought I would actually be on the team.
It is my hope that the Girls Academy will move their event so that next year, I am able to play a full season of high school soccer at Carmel!