Illinois House committee approves bill giving student-athletes the right to participate in club and school sports

MUNDELEIN, Ill. (WLS) — Several high school athletes in Illinois have been deemed ineligible for their sports seasons due to their involvement in non-school sports.

A group of state lawmakers is now trying to change that rule.

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Libby Magnone, a junior at Carmel Catholic, has been playing soccer since the age of 3. However, she only recently got the opportunity to participate in a game for her school team.

For the past two seasons, she was barred from playing for the school team because she took part in club soccer competitions that garnered interest from college scouts. In an attempt to revise this regulation, she presented her case to the House Education Committee last week.

“Really not a lot of coaches come to see you play at the high school. So going to those big events, which is what made me ineligible, those are where you’re going to get scouted,” Magnone said.

Naperville-area state Rep. Janet Yang Rohr is sponsoring a bill that would allow student-athletes to play both club and high school sports during the same season. She says she’s heard from constituents from a number of different sports, from cross country to soccer to volleyball.

“Just seeing, learning more about it, it became clear how absurd these rules were,” said Yang Rohr, a Democrat who represents the 41st District.

The Illinois High School Association enforces the rule, and strongly opposes changing it to allow athletes like Magnone to play club and high school sports at the same time.

In a statement, they say, “If it were to pass, for-profit travel sports would quickly become a year-round business, essentially limiting sports participation only to those who can afford it.”

Joe Trost runs a large high school soccer tournament.

“Is this to benefit kids or is this about adults not able to work together and trying to control something? I tend to think it’s the latter,” Trost said.

Magnone said she needs to play where she has the best chance to be seen by college coaches.

And, for sports like soccer, that’s at the club level.

“It’s a little odd the best players in Illinois who want to play in college can’t play for the high school team,” Magnone said.

The so-called “right to play” bill has already passed a House committee easily.

It is expected to go before the full House in the next week or so.