Pembroke Academy

http://www.concordmonitor.com/sports/11603068-95/pembroke-academy-boys-basketball-faces-backlash-no-schedule

So what happens now?

Pembroke can't play teams with PG kids that is against NHIAA, unless Pembroke leaves NHIAA and starts playing their own schedule. Of course they can't go to the NHIAA tournament then.

Brady had a hard time getting games in the 90's for similar reasons. They went out of state to play teams. They had to get a minimum number of games min state to qualify for the tournament.

Not really fair to Pembroke to accept their petition to move up and then not give them a schedule.

There are many allegations of them recruiting through the AAU Raiders. Where Alosa is an assistant coach with his father. Alosa's full time job is to be an assistant coach to the Raiders organization - he is not a teacher, or employee of the district other than its basketball coach.

Div 1 coaches & athletic directors should not be boycotting PA's basketball team. I could see the Div 2 programs boycotting, if they were staying in Div 2, but the Div 1 organizations should be saying "Bring it on -- we'll kick your butts!"

I personally had no idea there was a subset organization made up of Division I AD's that could make decisions like this - or more accurately - band together and blackball a team in this fashion. Because lets face it, its not really a "decision" or "ruling" they basically have said - "nope, you can't play with us". Feels like the smart kid in elementary school who skips a grade, but when he goes out to recess with his new older and bigger classmates they won't let him play kickball with them. Weird all around.

I know that the AD's make the schedules but it seriously surprises me that the NHIAA, the body that manages our HS Sports rules and tournaments has zero say over schedule making - or are even involved in this D-I AD Association which can affect things like this. Pat Corbin basically said, "not my problem". I feel like the NHIAA needs to be at a minimum be an arbitrator in this.

Has any shred of real evidence been brought forth? The Division I schools are public institutions - if they're going to blackball a team from playing their regular season against them I sure as heck hope they have some hard evidence and are going to share it with the public. At the end of the day lets remember who this affects the most.......

Even more interesting is that there were Div I teams that agreed to play Pembroke but were bullied into going along with the charge against them, led by Bedford, Londonderry and Concord's AD's that if they didn't agree to the boycott, they would also find themselves without a DI schedule. Also, the fact that AD's can pick and choose who they play is disconcerting ... What's preventing them from padding their stats by only agreeing to play inferior teams...

Twenty two wrote:Even more interesting is that there were Div I teams that agreed to play Pembroke but were bullied into going along with the charge against them, led by Bedford, Londonderry and Concord's AD's that if they didn't agree to the boycott, they would also find themselves without a DI schedule. 

Is this a rumor or have you read this somewhere?

Another thought, where do the coaches play into this? At least 1 Division I Head Coach reached out to me recently and had some pretty choice words on the subject. He was not happy with how the PA staff is being treated in this situation. Sounds like they have little or no involvement in the AD's decision.

The other side of the story - from Dave Segal, coach for both the Raiders and Pembroke Academy.  

http://www.concordmonitor.com/home/11630731-95/my-turn-a-basketball-coachs-lament

Did the DI coach who reached out to you say he had no voice in his AD's decision? I find it E X T R E M E L Y hard to believe that the AD's aren't discussing this issue directly with their coaches and are instead, choosing to make a unilateral decision about such an important issue. If that DI coach isn't in agreement, why isn't he voicing his opinion in Pembroke's favor, all it will take is one or two coaches to start an open dialogue. It's a shameful example of jealous adults imposing their will on children who, for many years, have worked their asses off to be where they are. Why are they being punished? If the NHIAA is going to allow this to continue then they need to stop with their selective enforcement and make their ambiguous rules apply to EVERYBODY !

He didn't mention - I'm sure he's had conversations with the AD on the topic but I did not pry. I have to think most ADs have discussed with the Boys HC at their school, and visa versa.

It will be interesting how the new head of the NHIAA Jeff Collins attacks this situation and this type of of issue going forward.

I agree with your points - if you're going to assess this situation in this manner then you have to take a look at every single transfer going forward with the same fine toothed comb and investigate every coaching situation in the state to make sure there isn't any conflicts of interest.

It's a slippery slope...

I would just like to say, that these powers that be are violating the rights of these kids based on rumor and allegations. Some of these kids have potential to go on and play college ball. If they are deprived of next years playing season this could jeopardize their chances. These d1 coaches are taking out there grudges on innocent kids, and should they get their way, I hope they are held accountable for the damage they have done.And to rolltide above, the key word in your narrative is allegations.

tom2 wrote:These d1 coaches are taking out there grudges on innocent kids, and should they get their way, I hope they are held accountable for the damage they have done.

Just to clarify its the AD's not the Coaches.

okay, but I'm not sure it's some of both. But let's just imagine the player who is there legitimately,who loves to play, has potential to play in collegeand now may not be able to even play his senior year in high school. What could the justice be in that.And one thing I am certain of is a player like this does exist.

I'm not arguing you here.  All I'm saying is the body that decided that D-I schools wouldn't schedule Pembroke was made up of AD's not Coaches.  I've heard from at least 1 Coach who thinks its complete BS that this is happening - there are others that have talked to Dave about the issue but not me personally.  I'm sure there are some on the other side of the fence too but generally the HS Basketball Coaches in NH are a pretty tight group.

There is certainly no justice if PA doesn't have a season.  Its early though, lots to play out before next hoops season.

Well written by Mr. Segal.

Ultimately there is much we don't know. The reasons that they are being boycotted has to be more than recruiting because Trinity and Guertin get a full schedule every year. Of course, players from those two schools don't have to lie, pretend, and live in two different places to attend school. I don't think it is fear of competing either as Trinity and Guertin are two of the toughest teams.

I am sure there are other reasons, whether they are petty or not we may never know.

Why does every Pembroke hater out there so vehemently believe these transfers could only have been "recruited"? Do any of them have physical proof they can bring forward to end this once and for all? An audio or video tape of the coaches asking a player/parent to uproot their families and move to Pembroke NH? A text? An email? ANYTHING at all to substantiate the "allegations" they've been accused and found guilty of without a shred of proof? Why is so freakin hard to believe that they may have actually moved to Pembroke of their OWN volition? Next to Matt Bonner, Matt Alosa is arguably the most successful basketball player to come out of NH, and what young man, who's serious about basketball, wouldn't want to play for someone who, by example has walked the walk? And really, how many of these transfers are even rated (Jeremy Leveille's list for example) as a top player in the state? Nobody is going to the NBA here.

If it's only AD's perpetrating this violation against these children why aren't all these Div I coaches, who claim to be disgusted by what's happening, speaking out? So you are telling me 20 AD's are, remarkably, completely unanimous (how is that even possible) in their decision to boycott PA, yet the 20 Div I coaches oppose the choice of their AD's? That is not statistically possible.

Well put twenty two!

I have no idea if they're "decision" was based on a unanimous vote or not, like you said, I doubt that would be feasible.

Lets for arguments sake say a family did move to a particular district so their son/daughter would have the opportunity to play for a better athletics program. Is that illegal? I'm not familiar with the rules enough to know.

Lets not forget that some school districts are in fact rated higher from and educational perspective which, if you're a parent with any kind or parenting skills should be the #1 priority. My wife and I are currently looking at moving since our 3 year-old will be moving into the public schools system in 2-3 years and our current district doesn't meet our standards. Not anybody else's - their opinion is irrelevant. Guess what - I'm not going to ignore the fact that some districts support for their athletics programs are better than others but first and foremost my concern is the education system and community support (she's 3 after all she might be in the chess and math club for all I know which would be fine with me).

Twenty two wrote: So you are telling me 20 AD's are, remarkably, completely unanimous (how is that even possible) in their decision to boycott PA, yet the 20 Div I coaches oppose the choice of their AD's? That is not statistically possible.

BTW I don't believe I've read that written anywhere (especially by me) so no...nobody is telling you that.

Why do you Pembroke apologists/fans think everyone out there who has followed the situation are stupid if they think Pembroke is guilty? How many schools have two 6'7 transfers suddenly decide to move to Allenstown, NH and play for the AAU team in question? I'm sure that is common.... come on.
Obviously there is proof of wrong doing as two boys had to sit out. From what has been on these boards Pembroke appealed a couple times and each time the authority found that Pembroke was guilty. SO, yes- there has been proof brought forward to find them guilty. AND you can't lay it on the "NHIAA is the evil empire" altar. These boys have lawyers, and they couldn't get the ruling overturned. When lawyers get involved the NHIAA had better make sure they have all their ducks in a row because that could be damaging if they don't. Everyone has the right to disagree/argue. But don't put fanboy falsehoods out there. YES: there was proof brought forward and the penalty was applied.
Should Pembroke be allowed to participate when they have been found guilty, that isn't up to me. I would say it isn't right for the boys, but coaches of Pembroke made the decisions that put them in this position and shame on them. If I'm a D1 AD then I could easily justify not wanting to play a convicted recruiting school.

Get your facts straight, they WERE NOT convicted of recruiting! Those two students transferred in of their own volition and that is not illegal. The NHIAA had no physical documentation proving recruitment they chose not to let those two boys play because in the NHIAA's "opinion" the boys transferred in for sports.

Twenty two you are right. There was no proof, it is just that the NHIAA has no governing board above them to answer to. even if those boys families moved into Pembroke to play ball, that is certainly not the coaches fault and most importantly not the fault of all the other innocent players. the future of a whole lot more than just two boys are at stake here.the above writer is misinformed. there could be many reasons to move to Pembroke, perhaps you live in a town where they don't have a high school and your contract with Manchester High School is in conflict, there's one reason but guess what I'm sure there are many reasons that the above writer is unaware of.

Here are the facts. The two transfers were denied because the NHIAA has bylaws that require AD's and Principals to sign off on the transfer from BOTH schools, the school the transfer is leaving and the school they are planning to attend. In the case of these two RAIDER players, their schools they were leaving did not sign off on the transfer citing athletic transfer as the reason. Thus, according to the NHIAA rules, one sits out this season and can play next season the other who was a senior could not play. The NHIAA does not allow for transfer between schools for athletic reasons as the primary factor. Sorry, but Pembroke is not known state wide for their amazing academics.

Second, the NHIAA and the NHADA do reserve the right to not schedule a team or school based on criteria set forth in the Competition bylaws. This is why they had the meeting with the DI AD's and Principals. PA had the chance to provide evidence and a plan to prevent this from happening. It was unsatisfactory.

Bottom line is this is recruiting. The NHIAA has no reason not to promote one of the most celebrated basketball players in NH history. he is at his alma mater and in the community. There needs to be a level playing field - they are not playing within the rules.

Lastly, I can tell you for fact that if PA attempts to return to DII, the AD's and the Principals will NOT schedule PA either. They were already talking about it in November of 2013 as a course of action if PA continued to recruit.

The NH basketball community is not stupid.

Maybe all these Pembroke boys should just transfer into Trinity, like 4 of their top players were allowed to do these past three years without any penalization. Unless you have inside information and know these transfers families personally, you just ASSUME that these boys could ONLY have been recruited and for some reason refuse to accept the FACT FACT FACT these families, who I obviously know personally, WERE NOT ASKED BY ANYONE to relocate!!!!! How sad that back in November these shameful, jealous "adults" were already thinking up ways to screw the futures of these children over. Karma reared it's head at them though didn't it when Pembroke went on to win back to back championships despite the many efforts made to prevent that from happening. So now, all these "adults" are continuing on their path of revenge to win a war against a bunch of teenage boys.

One important fact you are overlooking and many who are supporting PA is the reason why the two transfers were not allowed by the NHIAA. In addition, PA is a public school, not private. Trinity is private and so the transfers are the norm. None of the kids, athletes or not, are supposed to be there. They are all transfers into a PRIVATE Catholic school. Pembroke is a public school. You cant keep treating the NH basketball community like a bunch of fools. Coach Alosa's picture and name is all over the Raiders website. His father runs the Raiders. Several Raiders players have transferred into Pembroke. Two were denied their transfers. Over 40 AD's and Principals gave PA the opportunity to plead their case and submit a plan. There was lengthy dialogue between PA and those DI reps. After all that, the DI schools said no. Yes, the DII ADs and principals were ready to do the same thing and will. There needs to be a set of rules that everybody plays by. Right now PA is clearly not playing by those rules. In addition, interscholastic sports are a privilege, not a right. There are checks and balances for a reason. This is why.

Coach Alosa has been almost silent on this. He has been given plenty of opportunity to be involved. He did not attend that meeting at the NHIAA. He has denied comment to many media requests. How is it that someone who is under constant "attack" is so quiet? Why won't he defend the program and clear the air by telling people the details. A simple interview with the papers could clear this whole mess up. But he remains quiet and hangs the AD and Principal out to fight the battle for him. Curious.