This year, junior football players Alex Sarem and Mikey Crowley transferred from Cathedral Catholic High School to Carlsbad High.  Deciding that the trek to Del Mar was too far from their Carlsbad home, Sarem and Crowley chose to move to their local high school. Although it is halfway into football season, they have yet to suit up for a varsity game.

Though the transfer was not football related, CIF requires all transfer athletes who don’t change addresses to sit out the first six weeks in order to avoid athletically-motivated transfers.

“You’ll get a good athlete that maybe just doesn’t get along with the coach and wants to go somewhere else, so they’ll submit a transfer,” athletic director Amanda Waters said.

To the transfer students who move simply for the school’s location, the rule is aggravating, but understandable.

“It makes me mad that I can’t play,” Crowley said. “But I also understand how a transfer could make for an unfair advantage in a game.”

Rather than trying to prove whether or not a transfer is athletically-motivated, CIF applies the rule to all players of every sport.

“They want kids to stay at the same high school for four years,” Waters said.  “[CIF] has to prove the transfer is athletically- motivated which is hard, so they just do a blanket six weeks.”

However, the rule is only applied to varsity sports. Students are able to play the entire season on the JV level after transferring, but are not allowed to move up to varsity for play-offs.

“I had a choice of either waiting for my time to be up on varsity, or just playing for JV,” Sarem said. “I chose to play on JV and I’m glad I get to play the whole season.”

Whether they have to wait to suit up for varsity or play for JV, the players still feel the experience has been worth the move.

“Even if you’re not a starter, the Carlsbad coaches are still invested in you and want to see you succeed,” Sarem said.

Although the switch from Cathedral to Carlsbad was not for a sport’s benefit, both players have been pleasantly surprised by the coaching staff and teams at Carlsbad.

“Carlsbad seems like they have a stronger team bond and they make it more fun to play football,” Crowley said. “The coaches want you to be successful in football and your football careers.”