Athletes that have transferred from West to East have made the switch in search of a different sports culture. Some student athletes said they left West to pursue other opportunities.

“I went to West my freshman and sophomore year and played basketball, but after then I decided to transfer to East,” junior Tre Norman said.

Norman said he transferred in hopes of receiving more opportunities for his basketball career. He said while he missed some of his old teammates this season, he was excited to start off the season with new ones.

“I think it was a good move for me just because I could show my skills better through this team,” Norman said.

Similarly, junior Kendall Mercer said he transferred for the same reasoning, but for baseball. The juniors said they wanted to shine more in the sports they love to do. Mercer played baseball for the Thunderbirds until he decided to transfer to East for his junior season.

“I am excited for a new chance to play on a different team and to see how this season goes,” Mercer said. “I definitely get along better with my teammates and coaches here.”

In regards to the process of transferring, students must acquire a transfer form from the Welcome Center and give a description of why they want to transfer. Students then wait to hear back in the form of a letter to know whether or not their transfer has been accepted.

“I wanted to transfer for my own reasons; no one really pushed me to transfer,” Norman said. “Another reason to transfer was to be able to get to school easier than before.”

Students cannot put on the form that they want to transfer for athletic reasons and after transferring are not eligible to play a varsity sport for 90 school days. Activities Director Chad Holtz said the attendance border closed and the transfer of students without hardships decreased.

“Now that the district has closed the attendance boundaries, if you’re zoned for East you go to East, if you’re zoned for West you go to West,” Holtz said.

Holtz said to determine where the student wants to go for sports initially, coaches will promote their programs to prospective 8th grade athletes. In cases like Norman and Mercer, athletes may choose to transfer in their high school career. Holtz said coaches may promise unrealistic plans for an athlete.

“I think there is a right and wrong way to promote your program,” Holtz said. “I don’t think I would ever talk to a kid about playing time because you can’t really guarantee that when they’re in 8th grade. So really you need to promote the benefits of being in your program, but not necessarily saying, ‘Well if you come here you’ll be a starter on varsity’ because you can’t really predict that.”

Norman and Mercer said that neither were promised such, but that they didn’t believe they were awarded the opportunities they hoped for.

“I want both schools to do their best,” Norman said. “I just think it was better for me personally to come to East and this past season showed that. We didn’t do as good as we should have, but we are a strong team no matter what.”