Stealing this one from the Football Forum....all credit and thanks to the OP
@Prozyan.
"Is it fair to use regular enrollment rules for Private schools?"
Copying it here because there are few of us that this affects on a yearly basis.
OK, where to start.......To answer the question directly...it USED to be fair to use enrollment numbers, then things changed and the multiplier was tacked on as an equalizer. Now schools in the mid classifications 3A & 4A are seeing no benefit or effect of that multiplier. The competitive scales have now tipped so much to the private school side that now people in this zone are now scratching their heads.
To tie this to soccer specifically, let me pull in two articles that help drive home the point:
1) Santa Fe New Mexican -
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/sp...cle_424de4db-27b6-5d4f-bbf7-1a4d6be02262.html
This article is great in that it points out two things, IMO, first that no matter how good a public school program can be it is totally crushing to go out the same way, to the same program for 4 consecutive years. Los Alamos is one of the best boys programs in 4A and they are at a loss for what to do next. No matter how many times they reload, its not a fair fight.
Second, I love that the kid has the sense to just call it like it is in a public publication "They’re big and physical and, I mean, they’re a private school,” Steinkamp said. “They recruit kids. It’s no secret. I mean, that’s bull. They recruit kids, they get the biggest kids and they just go out and work hard and just put the pressure on us.” Wow! My props to him because thats the exact same sentiment our boys felt the day before.
2) Los Alamos Monitor -
https://www.lamonitor.com/content/girls’-soccer-loses-heartbreaker-academy-state-semifinals
This article reflects the situation on the girls side of the picture, BUT its not the article we should pay attention to but to the comment by the probable parent at the bottom of the page. Now, I can go several different directions with the statement that if even the parent(s) from Los Alamos feel that they are at a "significant disadvantage when it comes to competing with the private schools" then what is the next level of disadvantage is it for our kids in Sunland Park and Chaparral? Really, if the Los Alamos parents feel that way, a county with its highest income, highest degrees, etc, etc, are saying this, what can anyone else in that class say?
To stick with soccer, our last two trips to the playoffs have ended at the hands of SPX & AA both in the semifinals. We played SPX straight up and lost a close (to us) 2-1 game. We took that lesson and played AA this year with a deep 5-2-2-1 formation, absorbed pressure, looked for the counter and took them to PK's, losing in the shoot out 5-4. We cant reload like those programs, just not possible.
Trying to veer back to the question: I think the other poster (
@COACHED13 ) stated in his reply, private schools can control their enrollment unlike publics by using any number of factors: tuition, enrollment caps, selective enrollment, etc. That is a big factor that goes under the radar. If the NMAA wanted to slap a 2.0 multiplier, privates could slash enrollment to stay where they like.
There is no simple solution. Whatever action the NMAA takes, as a proxy of the public schools, the privates will just lawyer up and draw the process out. Already, a few of the privates, SPX I believe (someone fact check please), get their own vote on some of the NMAA committees, whereby they have a huge impact on NMAA decision making. (If wrong, I'm sorry, please educate me).
As an extra aside, someone in the private school pool, was able to somehow take SPX soccer and put them in a district with ZERO metro schools, thereby separating them from in-district competition with AA and Hope. I call bologna on that.
I think at this point, there are enough private schools to have their own playoffs in certain/most sports. Would it happen, probably not. Should it...yeah maybe.
As a soccer guy, I think, and I've said it before, that with the frequent 4yr realignment, that NM soccer should have a form of pro/rel. Having 3 divisions based on accumulated records during the 4yr span to then move teams up/down as needed. It would only affect 8-12 schools per realignment and in different districts so not a huge problem. But as I believe Charliedog said, this might actually amp up the recruiting situation...
Sorry, for the long meandering post.
TLDR: Private school vs Public school issue not going away. Unequal playing field. Options possible,. No easy answer
