Alief coaches ride luck of draw
Placing students in three schools through lottery offers challenges
The only colors Kingsley Ejiofor cared about were crimson, navy and white.
The senior offensive tackle is the second youngest of seven with four sisters and two brothers who all passed through Alief Taylor High School. One of those brothers is current Houston Texan Duke Ejiofor, Class of 2013.
Seeing Duke’s accomplishments is enough motivation to try to follow in his footsteps. But even without it, Taylor was home. It’s all Kingsley knew.
“I had no other choice,” Kingsley said with a light chuckle.
The luck of the draw wasn’t so lucky for Kingsley, though. Through Alief ISD’s draw process, he was assigned to Hastings High School coming out of junior high.
No worries, though. The sibling connection to Taylor allowed him to request and receive a switch to that school. He’d also be eligible to do so if he had a Taylor graduate for a parent.
So, there isn’t any sweating over where his younger sister is headed. “She’s going to go to Taylor, too,” said Kingsley without a doubt in his voice.
It’s just customary if you hail from this southwest slice of Houston. Alief ISD’s student draw is going on its fifth decade and stands as one of the state’s most unique ways to build a district and its high school athletics programs.
In the spring, seventh graders from the district’s six middle schools are randomly drawn to one of the three high schools — Hastings, Elsik and Taylor — that have athletic programs. It works in a 4-4-2 manner, meaning four students each are drawn to Hastings and Elsik and two to Taylor repeatedly until every student is assigned. Hastings and Elsik, which are literally neighbors, have ninth-grade centers on campus and are able to hold more students than
Taylor, which does not.
It dates back to former superintendent John Bowser instituting the system from Wisconsin after Elsik opened in 1975 and is intended to keep enrollment balanced. Taylor opened in 2001.
The day of the draw is treated like a celebration, almost, with cheerleaders in tow at the administration building. Alief ISD graduates always remember which school they drew.
“They’re waiting to see where they’re going to go,” Alief ISD athletics director Scott Moehlig said. “Whereas in small town Texas, a kid grows up, he knows he’s going to be a Cougar or whatever. They grow up knowing that.”
Considering the unpredictability, it’s the ultimate curveball for a high school athletic program. Just a half decade ago, the draw took place for eighth graders, making it even more of a challenge for high school coaches to know who and what they’re getting.
Switching it to seventh graders provides some leeway but does not eradicate the unique challenges — like forming relationships with future talent.
Once the draw takes place and the high school coach knows who is incoming, it’s on to the junior high basketball games, track and field meets and everything in between to scout and build relationships.
It’s difficult to do it at any other time. There are no athletic periods in Alief middle schools. No offseason programs, either. Practice is after school.
Hastings football coach David Martel mentions having to re-teach incoming freshmen how to lift weights properly. Taylor football coach Brian Randle also notes having to go over the basics once fresh faces hit the program, perhaps more than another program that might have a middle school zoned to it.
It can be difficult sticking to a particular style that a high school team wants to use. As Martel said, “The pro is, you may get every athlete from the middle schools. The con is, you may not get all the athletes. In dealing with that as a head coach, you build your program with what you got.
“And every year, you know that you’re going to get something different.”
Martel said moving the draw back one year to the seventh-grade group helps. In football, high school coaches invite middle school coaches to help conduct practice, providing them with tools they can take back to use. There is a manual with the basic skills, drills and fundamentals for middle school coaches to use as well.
Randle said the middle schools not having an athletic period is tough to overcome and there is also the challenge of keeping Alief talent in Alief.
For every athlete like Kingsley, there is a student who can’t be saved by the sibling or legacy outing. If they get drawn to a high school they do not want to attend, there isn’t much they can do.
Moehlig wishes more students would at least give the high school they are assigned to a try. They might end up liking it. Other times, families aren’t content.
“If you have the means, you leave the district,” Randle said. “Now you’ve got these good athletes going to make other people’s schools great. Because at the end of the day, you can be the greatest coach in the world, but if you don’t have the players that can execute, you’re spinning wheels.”
Martel said the draw has its detractors, of course. Zoning is just too difficult in Alief, due to factors like many students living in apartment complexes and two of the high schools sitting next door to each other.
There is something to be said for reveling the challenge, though. Randle believes, “If you can win football games in Alief, you can win anywhere.”