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GREENSBORO — In far more innocent days, high school football players competed for their neighborhood schools. Teams were made up of best buddies and neighbors. They grew up together and dreamed of this time of year — the state playoffs — when autumn Friday nights would belong to them.


What now? Enforce the rule? Rescind the restrictions on athletes? Do nothing? Join the discussion at the new Debatables blog.


Today, things are different.


Today, James Scales III, once a promising freshman wide receiver at Northeast Guilford, is a promising sophomore receiver at Grimsley. Today, Dennis Jenkins, a three-year starter at Southern Guilford, is playing his final year of high school football at Dudley.


Sidney Baker would have been Jenkins' teammate this year at Dudley had he not transferred to Grimsley in August. These days he plays alongside Stefan Shepard, who played at Page for three years before transferring to Grimsley this summer.


On and on it goes in Guilford County, where high school students are transferring in record numbers — more than 4,800 this year alone. Most are for legitimate reasons, but frustrated coaches say school attendance rules are increasingly being manipulated by parents and players. They say the lure of a college scholarship or simply a starting position has fostered an era of free agency never seen before in Guilford County Schools.


Can't find a loophole to slip through? No problem. Just find a relative who lives within your desired attendance zone. If that doesn't work you can always rent a second house. Or sign over legal custody of your child to another family.


"It's out of control," said Jon Oakley, Smith's football coach. "Things have gotten so that the rich schools get richer and the rest of us can only stand by and watch."


Superintendent Terry Grier, a former varsity baseball coach, acknowledged the problem exists, but said improper transfers remain a small percentage of the school system's overall population.


"You know it happens," Grier said. "I know some coaches are worried and understandably frustrated, but the question I have for them is, 'What can we do about it?' "


Good intentions


Like most ideas gone bad, this one was paved with the best of intentions. Since 1993, Guilford County Schools has allowed students greater access to schools beyond their traditional boundaries as part of its school-choice policy.


Students interested in a rigorous academic program can apply to Grimsley, High Point Central, Smith or Page, all of which offer International Baccalaureate programs, or to the Dudley Academy, a similar college-prep program. Students also can transfer to another county school if that school offers an academic course or program unavailable at the student's former school.


The policy, said Doyle Craven, director of school assignment, allows families to pursue the best possible education.


Students are prohibited from transferring to another school for athletics, but coaches and school administrators say a growing number of families are doing just that.


Two years ago, Grimsley senior Zach Maynard decided he no longer wanted to play football at Eastern Guilford, whose program has struggled in recent years.


"Things had gotten bad there," Maynard said. "It didn't look like anyone was really trying to turn it around. I wanted to play for a winner."


The solution: Maynard applied and was accepted last year to Grimsley's IB program. In addition to taking the challenging course load, he played football for the Whirlies.


Maynard said he dropped out of the school's IB program for this, his senior season, and is taking a regular class load. He's still part of the football program as the Whirlies starting quarterback.


Grier said student reassignment guidelines require transfer students who withdraw from an IB program to return to their old school.


Grimsley athletics director Lewis Newman on Saturday declined to comment.


Scott Lang, Maynard's father, said football was not a factor in his son's transfer. "I did it because Eastern Guilford didn't have the curriculum I felt my kids needed for college," he said.


Maynard, one of the Triad's top quarterbacks, said he's getting letters and attention from college recruiters — interest, he believes, he never would have received had he remained at Eastern Guilford.


"I'm a better player after coming here," he said. "Transferring was the right decision."


Oakley said one reason Smith's football team has struggled — the Eagles have won three games in four years — is because the school loses many of the top middle school players in its attendance zone to the Dudley Academy, a complaint several coaches expressed.


Smith draws heavily from nearby Allen and Jackson middle schools. But Oakley said many of those student athletes who live within Smith's attendance boundaries end up enrolling at Dudley through its academy program.


"They all seem to end up at the (Dudley) Academy," he said. "We could compete if we were given a fighting chance."


The choice is academic


Exactly how many Guilford County Schools students are transferring based on athletics is unclear. School officials deny transfer requests they believe are motivated by athletics, according to Herb Goins, athletics director for the district.


"The problem is it's not always clear-cut," Goins said. "You have to deal with the (reassignment) application before you, and that doesn't address any athletic issues. Do I know it's happening? I'm sure it is, but proving it is another matter."


Craven said the school system did its best to screen this year's 6,158 high school transfer applications. Indeed, 1,335 transfer applicants were either rejected or did not enroll this year.


"But if a parent or student wants to hide their true intentions, they can," he said.


Privacy laws prohibit schools from releasing the names of transfer students, but one thing is certain: The number of high school transfers in the county has spiked — nearly 78 percent since 2003. And anecdotal evidence from coaches and athletics directors suggests that many students are doing so entirely for athletics.


Stefan Shepard said he is one of them. Shepard was Page's kicker and punter in 2005, but lost the job last season to another player. Not wanting to give up on football, Shepard said he applied and was accepted this year into Grimsley's IB program. He's still part of the IB program and is the Whirlies kicker.


Shepard said it was difficult leaving Page to attend a new school for his senior year — especially when that school is Grimsley, Page's biggest rival.


"But I felt, 'Why should I have to give up football?' " Shepard said. "I still wanted to play. I couldn't play at Page, so why not Grimsley?"


Shepard's father, Bruce Shepard, said football was "a very small" factor in his son's transfer. He said his son had exhausted the advanced courses he could take at Page and that Grimsley offered more.


"I was very clear with the (school system) that Stefan's transfer had nothing to do with sports," Bruce Shepard said.


Page athletics director Rusty Lee refuted Bruce Shepard's claims. "I can tell you unequivocally (Shepard) did not leave because of academics," said Lee, who declined to elaborate.


Another option


Not everyone uses academic reasons to transfer. Parents and players desperate to play at a school outside their district sometimes use another tactic. They move. At least on paper.


As a junior last year, Dennis Jenkins was Southern Guilford's starting quarterback. But Jenkins felt his talents were going unnoticed at the largely rural school. This year, hoping to give himself more exposure to college recruiters, Jenkins transferred to Dudley, perennially one of Guilford County's top football programs.


Jenkins said he talked with his parents about transferring.


"I didn't want them to have to pay for my college education, so I thought that playing (at Dudley) might get me more exposure to schools," he said.


Jenkins said his parents, who did not return several phone calls, were reluctant to let him transfer, but eventually agreed. Jenkins said his family used the address of an aunt, who lives within Dudley's attendance zone, to enable the transfer. He said he spends most weeks living with the aunt, but occasionally lives with his parents.


When three Southeast High School baseball players became disillusioned with the Falcons' baseball program in 2005, their parents rented a two-bedroom apartment across the street from Grimsley in hopes their sons could play for the Whirlies.


When Southeast officials complained to the school system, Lester Rivenbark Jr., the father of one of the students, said school officials initially balked at allowing the transfer.


Rivenbark and the other parents hired attorneys to fight the decision.


After absorbing more than $7,000 in legal fees, Rivenbark said the school system granted his request only after Rivenbark agreed to file legal separation papers from his wife and move into an apartment with his son, Lester Rivenbark III.


The two other players, Dusty Shutt and Clint Moore, also eventually were allowed to attend Grimsley.


Danny and Cynthia Shutt signed over legal custody of their son to a family within Grimsley's district, according to court records. The Shutts agreed to pay the family $300 a month to cover their son's living expenses.


Grier said the school system tried its best to deter the families. "It's frustrating to deal with these types of extreme cases, but as long as they are staying within the guidelines of the school system there's nothing you can do," he said.


Shutt's parents did not return phone calls; Moore's parents could not be reached.


Lester Rivenbark Jr. acknowledged the three families "took the (transfer) rule and bent it."


"Other kids can transfer for a supposedly better academic program," Rivenbark Jr. said. "If my child wants to go to a school with a better athletics program and I'm willing to pay the money and make the sacrifice, what's wrong with that?"


Coaches said the number of student athletes who transfer will grow because more parents and children are becoming fixated on joining a high-profile program to compete for college recruiter's attention.


At Northeast Guilford, football coach Tommy Pursley said he routinely loses middle school student athletes to the Dudley Academy.


"The best way we can show those kids we're just as good at Dudley is by beating them," Pursley said. "My coaches think of the Dudley game as bigger than homecoming because we have to prove ourselves to kids who might be thinking about transferring."


Northeast has won 10 of the last 13 football games against Dudley, but even Pursley acknowledges that may not be enough to sway parents and students.


"When they have it in their mind to go somewhere or do something, they're going to do it," Pursley said. "We're trying to teach a team sport, a sport that requires unselfish players, to selfish people."

Contact Robert Bell at 373-7055 or rbell@news-record.com