Not all of the elite athletes are fleeing the City Section

In fact, many are transferring in to join those who are staying at current schools.

Students are fleeing high schools in the City Section, supposedly for greener pastures.

There’s an exodus underway at Hawkins, where most of the school’s top football players have left or will be leaving after the dismissal of their coaches in February. Players have landed at Long Beach Poly, L.A. Cathedral and Santa Clarita Golden Valley, among others.

At Dorsey, Kayvon Thibodeaux, a sophomore defensive end rated among the best players in the nation for his age, participated in spring practice on a Monday, then checked out of school on a Wednesday.

He’s now enrolled at Westlake Village Oaks Christian.

Antwan January, a 6foot-9 center in basketball, has left Woodland Hills Taft. Brandon Jordan, a standout sophomore running back at Garfield, is now at Cathedral.

Rather than dwell on those deciding to leave the Los Angeles Unified School District for what they think will be better opportunities (wink wink), let me point out that others are choosing to stay or even move into the district.

At Thursday’s City Section track and field championships at El Camino College, sophomore Trevor Gill of San Fernando is an athlete to watch. He was a three-sport athlete at Encino Crespi with his twin brother, Trenton, until enrolling at San Fernando for the spring semester.

“In our old neighborhood, there was a heroin problem,” their father, Steve, said. “On the front lawn, there were needles on it. I moved.”

The twins could have stayed at Crespi but the move made them eligible immediately at San Fernando and offered a different challenge, attending a large public school.

“I like it a lot,” Trevor said.

Trevor won a City Section wrestling championship at 152 pounds. Trenton is recovering from offseason surgery. Trevor is in Thursday’s 400-meter track final and figures to be a top running back in the fall for San Fernando, which could have the best City Section football team in the San Fernando Valley.

“It was surprising at first,’’ football coach Robert Garcia said of Gill’s arrival. “He’s pushing the rest of the kids to be better.”

Then there’s Kaelin Roberts. She’s a two-time state track champion in the 400 meters. She started her prep career at Long Beach Poly, then left after a coaching change. She said she was a little uncertain how she would be welcomed at Carson.

“I honestly feel it worked out well,” Roberts said.

She has a scholarship waiting for her at USC and should be seeking a third state title June 2-3 in Clovis.

“I’m happy,” Roberts said. “I take all AP classes. The team is good.”

Parents have to weigh lots of factors in school choices. In the old days, it was about academics and safety. In 2017, sports has become a decisive factor, along with shoe choices, playing time, exposure, transportation and housing costs.

LAUSD schools are at a disadvantage. Enrollment is dropping as charter schools multiply. Walk-on coaches are increasing, hurting stability of programs. Specialty coaches are disappearing, leaving students and their parents at the mercy of private coaches and growing costs.

There are still schools, programs and coaches refusing to wave the white flag of surrender. Every day, they overcome adversity and ignore negativity. Every day, they pick themselves off the floor and start a new day determined to make a difference and help someone seeking to improve. And when success happens, life is good.