IHSAA (Indiana High School Athletic Association) is a school sponsored organization where schools compete with each other in numerous athletic events. Club sports also referred to as Academy are non school related teams that compete against other club teams in numerous athletic events. Club sports are often seen on a higher level of difficulty and seriousness than the IHSAA.
IHSSA sets rules and guidelines for their association and oversees all events and practices. They claim to center themselves around education, prioritizing the student athletes schooling over sports.
“I think certain schools prioritize sports over education, but North Central does a pretty good job of it,” senior Kayley Spicer said.
Spicer participates in both club and high school swimming.
“I think high school (sports) puts education first,” sophomore Tessa Eynon said.
Eynon plays in both club and high school soccer.
Concerns over both IHSAA and club sports have been expressed. Many people are suspect of the activity in IHSAA, claiming they go against recruiting rules and have unfair punishments.
These concerns are not limited to IHSAA, club sports have been under scrutiny on apps like reddit, many anonymous sources claim to have witnessed or experienced unsettling behavior by coaches and others involved.
In Indiana specifically, transfer rules have become a challenge for many schools. Final Play, an article from INVESTIGATETV, goes into details about the problems with that. One Indiana coach interviewed in the article expressed his dislike for students who transfer schools just to find winning teams.
The differences and similarities is also something that is often discussed between IHSAA and club. The coaches and teammates are made up of kids from all over Indiana. This differs from high school where it’s limited to that school’s enrolled students.
“I think the environment is the most different,” Spicer said.
Other participants point out the time commitment. For most sports, club has a longer season than high school.
“High school takes up a lot more of my time,” Eynon said.
She also agrees the high school season has a stronger environment.
But both have a similar value of bringing student athletes together to be a part of a team and have opportunities with that sport.
Changes to IHSAA occur regularly. For example in 2022 Boys volleyball was added to the “Emerging Sport process” they officially became an IHSAA sport for the 2024-2025 school year.
“I would say five to six years ago, it got to be over 100 teams. And I think that was the big kick. We have over 100 teams in the state of Indiana,” boys volleyball coach Chelsea Peresie said.
Peresie talked about the growth in this sport for boys, saying teams were doubling in numbers, and spoke about the process of it becoming recognized by IHSAA. Many factors played into it like the partnering with girls wrestling and the funding.
“Some of them are getting full rides. Some of them are going D1 and their high school didn’t even have a team,” Peresie said.
When asked about resources that IHSAA has provided. Peresie explained what the athletic director Andy Elkins pays for.
“Andy Elkins is paying for jerseys, referees, and tournament trophies. So when you look at just moneywise his budget is substantial,” Peresie said.
She explained the growth has been substantial, saying she had to cut more boys than kept last year. And clubs have also seen more teams than ever before.
“We are unbelievably in a better place because we are IHSAA,” Peresie said.
