I have read many of the comments here and I would like to put my two cents in and try to do so as unbiased as possible.
Pros for HS - it fits the sense community, it is socially important to be recognized as a member of the squad, it allows the player to enjoy participating with his life long friends
Cons for HS - most schools cannot provide acceptable coaching, most schools facilities are not suitable, most schools pay minimal stipend to coaches who have to spend the same amount of time as other sports, most school cannot field highly competitive teams ( this is the reason why the same schools are talked about year after year), every year the roster makeup changes, Not all states play the same season
Pros for DA - Highly structured, competitive games, competitive teammates, qualified "highly" compensated coaches, team "stability" every year
Cons for DA - playing Costs (paid by player),travel costs (paid by player), and I am sure plenty of others
The article states the demand for the 10 month season was brought up by the clubs... these are the same group of people who "benefit" from the ruling would they have voted against it?
On the other hand many of the arguments made for HS goes clearly against what HS do today
Billy and johnny go to the same school but they are "segregated" because of their academic abilities. Billy takes AP classes Johnny takes normal classes. Therefore HS recognize that learning is dependent on the individual's ability to grasp the requirements ... would this not be the same argument for different levels in a sport?
HS cannot do development of players to the extent that is discussed here. Most know that players develop most of their technical capabilities by around 14 at which time it tilts toward tactical development. You cannot develop players that are not all on the same page (see Billy and Johnny above)
And lastly...It is a shame that participating in a socially important time of one's life is reduced to having to make a choice at 14 (as many DA are moving in this direction). Perhaps it would have been easier to work with if the whole country played HS at the same time. I can agree with many of the comments about the feeling that players get with HS sport... In the end they are two separate issues
I am afraid there are no simple answers one way or the other
