Illinois’ ‘Right to Play’ law is a double-edged sword for high school athletes
Depending on one’s point of view, high school athletics in Illinois will soon suffer more from ever-encroaching private sports interests or benefit from a new “Right to Play” law struck between the Illinois state legislature and the Illinois High School Athletics Association.
The new law, expected to go into effect in January, requires high school teams to allow players to participate in private club games or events simultaneously during their high school season. Previously, athletes who participated in private club events during the season could be ruled ineligible to play for their high school teams.
While the new law likely won’t impact high school football or basketball programs, high school teams in sports such as soccer, softball, baseball, and some others could see their best players suddenly become unavailable for games or practices because of a club event scheduled at the same time.
While that aspect alone worries coaches such as Belleville East softball coach Natalie Peters, she is more concerned about increased workloads on already over-stressed athletes.
“I 100% worry about the kids and how hard it would be on them, both physically and mentally,” Peters said. “If the kids are playing on two teams at the same time, I think many problems will arise. Many of these athletes are already over training and playing 11-12 months a year in one sport, which has led to a significant increase in injuries and burnout. Now, many of them will feel pressure to play on two teams at the same time and try to balance dedication to both teams.”
On the other hand, kids who want to play for their high school teams can now do so without worry of being ruled ineligible for playing, say, a private all-star game, the kinds of which draw attention from college recruiters.
The sad fact is, many colleges don’t scout players much anymore from high schools in several sports. One such sport is soccer, where the very best players usually play in private club leagues. While it’s true that those top players can now also play for their high school teams, most of them probably won’t because recruiters won’t be watching. They only want to see the best play against the best.
“My two best players last year didn’t play for us,” Belleville East boys soccer coach Ronald English said. “College coaches don’t watch high school games anymore. I might have only five good players, and the rest are complementary players. They work their butts off and are great kids. But I come from the club side, so I’m probably a little bit different in how I feel than other coaches. I’ve always felt that kids should be on the highest possible platforms to get to the next level. Am I here to win games? Yes. But am I here to win games at the cost of athletes’ best interests? No.”
High school soccer schedules alone already burn out players, English said.
“We play too many games. We’ve had seasons where we went to six or seven double-overtime games with (penalty kicks). I’ve had players that were just so exhausted, they couldn’t get off the bench,” English said.
What English doesn’t like about the club teams is recruiters who make promises to kids and their parents that they don’t keep, all in the name of trying to make more money for themselves.
“Some of them will promise kids that they are the easiest way to get to college and other things, then just treat them like a number once they’re there,” English said.
Being treated as cogs in the financial wheel of private interests is what will rob high school athletes the most, Peters says. In their schools are where kids socialize the most together. When players suddenly take off for a club team game or event, the valuable lessons of camaraderie will be lost.
“Even though I played (softball) at the highest collegiate level possible and got a lot of exposure through my summer select team, my core memories and most valuable life lessons came through high school sports,” said Peters, a former infielder at Florida State University. “Let’s also not forget that they are student athletes and, as an educator, I wonder how they could possibly balance two teams and academics.”
This story was originally published June 1, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Illinois’ ‘Right to Play’ law is a double-edged sword for high school athletes."
