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From the Rock Hill Herald:
http://www.buzzfans.com/sports/story/5524916p-4976755c.html

Eligibility of Trojans' standout questioned

By Barry Byers The Herald
(Published February 14‚ 2006)

The eligibility of Northwestern High School soccer standout Nathan Arroyo, the top senior soccer player in the state, has come into question and his career could be over unless the school gets a favorable ruling from the South Carolina High School League.

High school athletes in South Carolina are allowed eight straight semesters of eligibility once they reach the ninth grade. In question is a year Arroyo spent at a private school in Atlanta, where he did not participate in athletics.

While checking Arroyo's transfer transcripts on Friday, Northwestern athletics director Jimmy Wallace discovered there could be a problem.

"We missed catching the extra year because of a clerical error,'' Wallace said Monday. "The league rules state that once you enter the ninth grade, you have eight straight semesters to complete your eligibility. Because Nathan attended a private school for a year, then transferred to a public school and repeated the grade, he's in his 10th semester right now.

"But this isn't over. I've talked to the high school league and they told me that our principal needed to send a letter of explanation. We will draft the letter this afternoon and get it to them right away. They will make a decision on the rules that define eligibility and will get back with us as soon as possible with their decision.''

Arroyo's transcripts show that he started high school in 2002, which would make him eligible. While going over the papers during the process of doing eligibility forms for the school's soccer players, Wallace saw the word "transfer" next to several classes.

Talking with Arroyo, Wallace learned of the year in private school.

Arroyo, who moved to Rock Hill from Atlanta before the 2004-05 school year, was named Class AAAA Player of the Year last season, after scoring 46 goals and piling up 122 points.

The Trojans finished 25-2 and were ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA all but one week during the regular season. They were ranked No. 1 nationally for four weeks by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Northwestern is ranked No. 1 heading into this season, which starts in March.

Former Northwestern soccer coach Nick Finotti said last spring that several Division I schools were prepared to offer Arroyo a scholarship.

Arroyo was the punter for Northwestern's football team in the fall after Bart Blanchard went down with an injury in the season opener. If the high school league rules Arroyo ineligible, Wallace said the Trojans could end up forfeiting the four football games they won.

According to Wallace, Arroyo will be allowed to practice with the soccer team but will not be allowed to compete in scrimmages or games.

Roger Hazel of the SCHSL said the situation would be discussed once the letter arrives from Northwestern. If a hardship that would allow Arroyo to play is asked for, it would be considered before a ruling is made.

If the ruling goes against Arroyo, Hazel said, Northwestern can file an appeal for a hearing before the high school league's executive committee. Hazel said the group's next meeting is scheduled for April.

Stacy Winne, Arroyo's stepfather, said his son did not play sports at the private school, but went there to improve his grades. Because his grades did not improve, he and his wife moved Arroyo back to a public school the following year to repeat the ninth grade.

"All we want for Nathan is for him to play so he can enjoy the sport he loves so much," Winne said. "He wants to play soccer at a big college and to do that you have to play and be seen.

"We can understand why the rule is in place, to keep schools from holding a kid back a year so he can get bigger and stronger. But that is not the case here. What we did in Atlanta was based on grades, and Nathan has worked hard to improve his GPA in his two years at Northwestern."

Barry Byers • 329-4099

bbyers@heraldonline.com

Unfortunate for Nathan, I feel bad for him. I'm very surprised that this wasn't detected back in the fall.....can't believe that Northwestern would jeopardize their football season.

Nothing "dirty" here on the part of the Trojans. Nathan first enrolled last year, it's not like he's been in the district all his life. No one purposely "red-shirted" him, besides, everyone knows that you do that in 8th grade, you don't wait until 9th.

The school's administration should have evaluated his eligibility as soon as he transferred to NW. The rule is very straightforward and it's hard to see how they can argue for a hardship case.

You're right, they should have. Obviously they didn't because you would have figured two things would have happened:

1. They would have "tipped off" Nathan last season that this could possibly be his last year.
2. They would have never let him on the football field in the fall.

This is a very unfortunate situation for Nathan Arroyo and the Northwestern HS boys soccer team.

However, this really makes you wonder about the role of the Guidance Department upon Arroyo's transfer to NHS and how the Athletics Department didn't notice this last year.

One comment from Barry Byers' story "Northwestern is ranked No. 1 heading into this season, which starts in March." -- actually, Dutch Fork is #1 in Class 4A entering this weekend's preseason tournaments (which do count on overall records).

That would really be unfortunate if he can't play. I agree, NW should have caught this earlier.

This obviously hurts NW some, but they are so deep in talent this year that they will still be very good. I'm not sure that they are going to be my "win all" pick now.

It's time to rethink things a bit...

It is beyond me how a high school would allow such a great athlete in their doors without knowing what his/her eligibilty standings were!!!

i remember a few years ago at Ben lippen we had a player who was a few days too old. and had to forfit every game that he played in, luckily he was suspended a few games and we caught the error before the season ended so we still made the playoffs. Kinda sucks for arroyo. I guess he wont be playing soccer this year.

Arroyo has been ruled ineligable by the SCHSL. NW's only other option is to file a hardship appeal that would be heard Feb 22.


Northwestern Punter ruled ineligble, Trojans forfeit 2005 football victories
Barry Byers, The Herald
February 14, 2006


The South Carolina High School League ruled Tuesday that Northwestern’s High School’s Nathan Arroyo has completed his eligibility and will not be allowed to play soccer for the Trojans this season.Northwestern will also forfeit the four football games it won last fall. Arroyo was the backup punter, but became the starter the second game in place of injured Bart Blanchard.

Jerome Singleton, the league’s executive secretary, said league rules state that once a student-athlete reaches the ninth grade, he or she has eight straight semesters to complete his or her high school athletic eligibility.

“We received the information Northwestern supplied and according to our rules, he is ineligible,’’ Singleton said. “The next step, if Northwestern decides to take it, is to file a hardship appeal. If they do, it would be heard before our executive committee, which meets on Feb. 22.’’

The 16-member executive committee meets and rules on appeals and was not scheduled to meet again until April. Singleton said a tentative meeting was scheduled for February, and because several cases have come up since the January meeting, the league decided Tuesday morning to call a meeting next Wednesday.

Northwestern principal James Blake said he and Jimmy Wallace, the school's athletics director, would meet later in the aftrernoon and decide if an appeal will be made.

Arroyo moved to Rock Hill from Atlanta last year and his transcripts showed he entered the ninth-grade in 2002. The transcript didn’t show that he had actually begun the ninth grade at private church school. It was missed before football season but caught when spring sports eligibilty forms were being completed.

Stacy Winne, Arroyo’s stepfather, said Monday that Arroyo went to the private school to improve his grades and did not compete in sports. After a year, Arroyo returned to the public school system and repeated the ninth grade. He played soccer in the spring.

Arroyo was named Class AAAA Player of the Year last season, after scoring 46 goals and piling up 122 points. The Trojans finished 25-2 and were ranked No. 1 in Class AAAA all but one week during the regular season. They were ranked No. 1 nationally for four weeks by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.

Folks,

If you do not think there is a hardship case here.
Let me tell you a few things.

Nathan has been playing soccer since he was 5. He comes from a broken family where his mother basically did everything she could to support and afford his soccer through the early years.

I have had the fortunate responsibility of raising this child through the years and spending any monies it took so that he could play year around, over seas, camps, travel and guest teams, you name it.

Most of you know that is take 1000's of dollars a year to truly play where the action is. This includes forfeiting our honey-moon a couple years ago.

I have poured my heart and soul into this child to do what is right academically and athletically.

He has been in 4 schools in that last 4 years. He has been an ambassador of the sport at school.
He wanted to play football partially to be around the kids that he normally did not have a chance to meet.

Most colleges have never heard of Nathan before he came here. His last year was a result of very hard work, a great coaching staff and a team that instantly surrounded him like a brotherhood.
Most folks would think he grew up here for how fast the relationships grew.

Not in any way shape or form were we knowledgeable of the rules or to even think about them, seriously. He has only played 3 years of soccer to date also. I could see if he had contributed 4.

This year is a vital year for him for there are several college coaches that need to see him play as for a possible shot at a scholarship.

Nathan has also been battling the 1.14 GPA the private school left him. He has been working to achieve at least a 3.0 for admissions purposes.

If the football team takes a hit, it’s exactly that, because of a mistake in error with the Athletic Dept. Understand also that this was and easy mistake for I had to visit the office several times and call repeatedly to his past schools to get his transcripts updated. Nathan wasn't even sure he was taking the proper classes his first semester at the school because of this and it wasn't until this past fall they were proper, so error is to be human.

Its tough enough to have high hopes and dreams, work your tale off, to think you could be the first of the 4 in the family to be successful and go on to college possibly playing for a team you have hoped for, just to have it taken away because you did not succeed in a private school 4 years ago.

This ruling is only hurting the child, nothing more. It is prohibiting the possible success of a student athlete that has broken no rules.

Folks, you read some of the sarcasm I do on this board once in a while. Nothing is taken negatively or personally. Sorry if I have used this board to vent a tad.

Understand one thing... You’re getting information about one boy, a day in the life. Could happen anywhere.

I can't have another boy like this. There isn't many who can.