Cody Kemp of Hot Springs has a sobering perspective on high school tournament bass fishing.
Kemp is the newest owner of the Mr. Bass of Arkansas Pro-Am circuit. It is one of the most storied local bass circuits in existence, and was considered a breeding ground for champions in the 1970s and 80s. Back then it was the state's largest and most influential bass fishing circuit. If you could be competitive in Mr. Bass of Arkansas, you could compete nationally, and many of its alumni did.
There's a lot more competition now, and the sheer number of tournaments fragments the available pool of anglers. Each circuit has to be creative to attract the best and most reputable competitors.
A growing stream of talented and experienced high school anglers might could be a an inexhaustible pipeline of talent for tournament organizers. Ultimately, perhaps, but right now high school fishing is in a precarious spot, Kemp said.
There's no disputing that young anglers are better than older generations were at the same age. They have access to so much more information from so many different sources and media. Their mastery of technological elements, especially electronics, is unrivaled.
On the other hand, high school fishing is a wide-open, unregulated scene that Kemp calls the "wild, wild West." The many high-school circuits have no consistent rules or standards, Kemp said. It's also an inverted model that focuses more on equipment than on fundamentals.
Fishing equipment manufacturers certainly see the potential benefits in making special accommodations to young anglers, Kemp said, and older anglers resent that they are not offered equal incentives or discounts on the latest gear.
Manufacturers offer these incentives to build brand loyalty among the next generation of tournament competitors from the national circuits down to local weekend anglers.
It creates unrealistic expectations that will ultimately hurt equipment manufacturers, Kemp said, because school-age anglers know what equipment actually costs. For the overwhelming majority of kids that won't fish professionally, those incentives will end when they graduate. Nevertheless, Kemp said, they know a Brand X fishing reel costs $100.
"They're not going to pay $300 for it," Kemp said.
Older anglers don't like student anglers getting preferential treatment, but they also resent the feeling of being taken advantage of, and being taken for granted.
Manufacturers know who the up-and-comers are, and they court them unequally, Kemp said, creating a have versus have-not system in the high school ranks. Some kids get the best of everything while others use what they can afford.
You might say that's just life. A star quarterback is treated differently than a third-string lineman. Every sport is that way.
"In football you've got different talent levels on a team, but everybody uses the same helmets, same pads and same ball," Kemp said.
Expanding the football analogy Kemp said that in traditional sports, students are under the direction of and accountable to a coaching staff that articulate a team goal and expectations for its individual members.
"Take a school that has four teams. That's eight kids and four adult captains," Kemp said. "They don't communicate with each other. They all do their own thing, and they compete against each other as much as they compete against the other schools."
Athletes in sanctioned school sports compete for trophies and titles. High school anglers often compete for cash and merchandise. The mercenary and disorganized nature of high school fishing will prevent the Arkansas Activities Association is from sanctioning high school bass fishing, Kemp said.
Lack of sanctioned standards might put traditional ball sports athletes at risk that compete on their high school fishing teams. If a football, basketball or baseball college prospect wins money or merchandise while representing his or her school in a bass tournament, would that affect his or her college eligibility?
Coincidentally, these are similar concerns that many people have about extracurricular high school and junior high basketball leagues.
Kemp said he supports high school fishing, but in its current state, he said it is one big scandal away from irreparable harm.
Sports on 05/06/2018