freeagent
Six-man pro
LC_Lion 8":1zyuqhtb said:
Private schools are always in a bit of flux -- enrollment can vary widely from year to year; perhaps one or two years the kindergarten class was really small or all girls and it didn't change much all the way to 12th grade;
Some home schools organize so that a few home schooled friends can play together. When they grow up and there isn't the next group behind them ... or the dads to coach them, the team disbands.
At least one of these schools is more interested in soccer (TAPPS does play a fall soccer season as well as a traditional winter schedule; however, a school cannot play both fall and winter soccer) and often times, some of the private schools rely on volunteer and part-time coaches -- and if the coach isn't available, there isn't a team.
Also, it's more likely for some of the sixman programs, especially in metro areas, to be a stepping stone to an 11-man program. Midland Christian and Austin Regents are the folks that have been successful in making the transition and I expect Dallas Covenant and Boerne Geneva to follow suit. I believe at least two of the current TAPPS sixman programs to move into 11 man in the next 1-3 years.
Home Schools and Charter Schools have been a major factor in the growth; part of that is the continued acceptance of home schooling and the abundance of charter schools operating in the state and their interest in providing a full program including competitive athletics. Most of those schools are not electing to join UIL because of the attendance zone and full time coaches rules and there have been some private school leagues (other than TAPPS) that have welcomed those schools and organizations as members.
Private school six man has had quite a growth spurt over the last few years; I thought it might be very possible that we would have more sixman games played by private schools than public schools (UIL) by 2016, and it still may happen, but it will be a few more years.
