Whether it’s Girls Tennis or Boys Basketball, Latin versus Parker games usually end with a Latin victory.

Almost four pages of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Official handbook, including thirty question and answer illustrations, are solely about limiting athletic recruitment.

According IHSA Official handbook sections 3.071, 3.072, and 3.073  the “recruitment of students or attempted recruitment of students for athletic purposes is prohibited,” and “It shall be a violation of this rule for any student athlete to receive or be offered any remunerations of any kind or to receive or be offered any special inducement of any kind.”

The IHSA Official handbook also states that “Schools are not prohibited from conducting academic recruitment programs, programs which may include information concerning the school’s extracurricular offerings. However, such recruitment programs must be designed to provide an overview of the academic and extracurricular programs offered by a school and are not to be used as a subterfuge for recruiting students for athletic purposes.”

Although Parker does not officially recruit athletes for High School teams, Athletic Director Bobby Starks can put in a good word to admissions. ‘If coaches or another Parker family know of a player who they think would be a good fit on one of our sports teams,” Starks said. “I will pass their recommendation on to the Admissions Department.”

Amelia Hoerr, a three sport athlete and Student Athletic Council representative, has never heard about the Athletic Department sending recommendations to the Admission Department. “I always thought that Parker did not recruit in any form,” Hoerr said, “but personally I think forwarding letters of recommendation for some student athletes is a form of recruitment in one way or another.”

“We are a school first, so academics is the core,” Starks said. “We value developing and mentoring the whole child from robotics, to athletics, clubs, drama, and arts as these extracurriculars are just as important in creating the learning experience we want for our students.”

Isabella Charfoos, a tenth grade Field Hockey player, as well as a participant in musicals, believes her experiences with extracurriculars and especially athletics have been influential. “I’ve learned so much during my time spent on the field,” Charfoos said, “I worry that if we started to recruit more, many students would not get as much playing time and wouldn’t be able to have the same positive experiences and learn the same important lessons.”

Rebecca Belick, a freshman and member of the Girls Tennis team believes that the Girls Tennis team has lots of room for improvement, especially regarding the teams’ overall record. “A lot of my tennis friends were recruited to play tennis at Whitney Young and St. Ignatius,” Belick said. “I think it could drastically improve our teams if Parker chose to recruit.”

Kate Swanson, a junior at St. Ignatius and a member of their Girls Tennis Team said that, “recruiting definitely occurs at Ignatius especially for our football and Girls Tennis Team.”

Hoerr, a member of Parker’s Girls Tennis Team, said that “it is quite clear that Ignatius recruits student athletes for tennis, because all of the girls on their varsity team are amazing and are drawn to the school to participate on the team.”

Starks firmly believes that it’s important for Parker to continue its tradition of not recruiting students for athletics. “My job with athletics is to ensure that our students are learning and growing through the lens of athletics,” Starks said. “That is what will continue to be at the forefront of my agenda as Athletic Director.”