‘You’re going to have kids come and go’

The Skinny: Jason Carrera took over the Meadowcreek football program in 2015 and competes in Class AAAAAAA Region 7 with some of Georgia's finest programs, Archer and Norcross. When Carrera took the helm, keeping the school's best athletes was already an issue. But he believes the transfer problem has become a part of high school sports.

“I definitely think it’s a problem,” said Carrera. “It’s a problem for people like me, who came into Meadowcreek High School knowing that holding onto athletes through graduation was already an issue.”

Carrera knows the key to keeping his players at Meadowcreek is building a successful culture.

Carrera: "Being in a transient area, you're going to have kids come and go. You won't be able to change a lot of things from that standpoint. But what you can do is make it good enough to where when mom and dad do have that conversation with their kid, 'Hey we're gonna move,' then that kid pleads his case on why he wants to stay because he likes it here so much. Then you don't lose them.

“You have to develop a relationship with each kid. If a kid does have an issue or something like that arises, he feels comfortable calling you and talking to you about it. You can be the person they go to when something like that does arise. I’ve always said that the kids at Meadowcreek deserve the same opportunities that the kids at other schools deserve. That comes from quality coaches, quality experience and other things that make it great for them while they enjoy their high school years. As long as you do that, if they go looking somewhere else, we’ve already got all of that.

“If a kid grows up playing in a youth park since he was 8-years-old and grows up in one school district, he needs to stay there until he graduates and do everything he can to get on the field. But if you have a guy who doesn’t have those ties to the community, and he’s a No. 2 or 3 and he knows he’s never going to play at that school or never get an opportunity but knows that there could be a chance to play in college if he goes and gets some film, then sometimes you have to make that decision. It’s all got to be legal. That’s the part that people don’t understand and where they get angry.

“When you get a kid who’s starting as a freshman or a sophomore in high school and he transfers just because he wants to go somewhere else where a bunch of other guys are going? No, that doesn’t make sense to me. Especially if he grew up in the area, played at the parks and was a part of that community and a part of that school.

“I’ve heard a lot of talk about if a guy transfers and makes a bona fide move, he has to sit out the first five games, or there has to be a transfer period, whatever that may be. I don’t have a problem with that; I think it could be a possibility. What I don’t understand about it is how you administer that when it’s a bona fide job change with mom or dad moving because of a family situation or money situation. To have to make a kid like that sit out, I have a problem with that.

“Georgia could have a transfer board and every student that transfers would have to go through that board. You would have to produce documentation as to why you are making the move. I think that would help if someone was willing to put the resources into it. Do I think someone may try to circumvent the system? Probably. It’s just unfortunate that’s sometimes how it is, but I think it would be incredibly helpful.”

AT ISSUE: High school transfers

• Robin Hines, GHSA executive director
• Brandon Lindsey, Johnson-Savannah girls basketball coach
• Jason Carrera, Meadowcreek football coach
• Daniel Brunner, Walton football coach
• Davis Russell, Bremen football coach
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