[ HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS ]
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Making the right choice Audrey Ehrhorn's name doesn't show up on any high school all-star lists. Nor will it be mentioned among candidates for any other postseason honors.
Audrey Ehrhorn's decision to play
in a mainland tournament earns
her a college scholarshipBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.comBut her name will appear as a scholarship player on the George Washington University women's soccer roster in the fall.
Ehrhorn, a senior at Iolani, opted to play in a mainland tournament last fall that resulted in her receiving a scholarship to GWU. But it also cost her the opportunity to play for the Raiders this past season.
"Audrey's a great kid. She had to make a choice and this may have been the best choice for her," Iolani athletic director Carl Schroers said.
Ehrhorn's dilemma arose last fall as she prepared to play in the Surf Cup in San Diego over Thanksgiving weekend with the Honolulu Bulls Soccer Club.
She was informed that by playing in the tournament she would forfeit her Interscholastic League of Honolulu eligibility and would not be allowed to play her senior season at Iolani due to a league rule limiting outside participation.
"It really wasn't a decision," Ehrhorn said. "It was kind of forced on me. I didn't really think it was much of a choice."
Ehrhorn tried out for the Iolani squad, but eventually chose to play in the Surf Cup in hopes of catching the eye of one of the 100 college coaches in attendance.
"After she made the decision not to (play in) high school, I forced her to go back out there and try out anyway," said Phil Neddo, the Bulls' director of coaching. "She came back to me and said, 'Coach, I don't think I should do this. If I don't stand up for this, I'm not going to stand up for anything.' Audrey's a very politically opinionated young lady, and those are the people that rock our world."
After the Surf Cup, Ehrhorn received calls and letters from coaches representing seven colleges and took recruiting trips to Southern California and George Washington.
GWU coach Tanya Vogel offered Ehrhorn a partial scholarship and Ehrhorn closed the process by signing a letter of intent last month.
"I was so excited, because I always wanted to play soccer in college since I started playing when I was 5," Ehrhorn said. "And for that dream to come true was unbelievable."
Neddo said GWU will get one of the state's most tenacious players when Ehrhorn arrives on the Washington, D.C., campus.
"I force our girls at practice every now and then to just pick teams and scrimmage," he said. "When I name two captains ... the No. 1 player taken in those games is Audrey Ehrhorn. Why? Because they don't want to play against her."
Despite the joy of earning a college scholarship, the winter was tinged with disappointment as Ehrhorn watched the Iolani girls team fight for a state tournament berth from the sidelines.
"I really missed playing with my friends," she said. "They were really supportive. They said, 'You should do what you need to do.' "
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The rules regarding outside participation are covered in Article I, section 5 of the ILH by-laws. The section dealing with eligibility for girls basketball, canoe paddling, cross country, soccer, softball, water polo and wrestling forbids "outside participation commencing with the team's sports season."A team's sports season officially begins with the first day of practice. The first day ILH girls teams could start practice last season was Nov. 6.
"The entire rule is based on equity in competition," ILH executive director Clay Benham said. "We can't give any other school a slight edge by allowing them to participate with another team during the season. It's not fair to the others who are unable to do that. We have that rule for practically every sport."
Benham said the rule has been in effect for decades and Ehrhorn's complaint is not unusual. Exemptions may be requested by the schools for players participating in national or international competition and are subject to league approval.
A group of players -- primarily from Iolani, Punahou and Kamehameha -- were granted exemptions to play in the 2000 Surf Cup. But the resulting disruption to the teams caused the coaches and athletic directors to change their stance last year.
"It caused a lot of turmoil in these programs because all of a sudden, for a week, a bunch of kids were missing," Schroers said.
"We basically told these kids last year that if you're going to choose to go to the Surf Cup, we're not going to ask for the exemption.
"Exemptions have come up in the past, but not en masse. This was the first time big chunks of teams were going to be missing."
Ehrhorn's situation was brought to the attention of ILH president Tony Ramos, who sought Neddo's input in trying to address future situations similar to Ehrhorn's as players seek scholarship opportunities.
"We have that big river to cross and it is an enemy," Neddo said of the challenge local players face in getting noticed by college coaches. "We have to fight it together. We cannot do it all by ourselves."
Ehrhorn said she'll probably pursue a degree in political science at GWU, and she will enroll in a school already experienced in challenging the system and sticking to her convictions.
"She's probably upset she didn't get to play for Iolani, but decisions like this are good educational tools for kids," Schroers said.
"I think Audrey was very mature about it. She did what she thought was best for herself and it looks like it worked out. I'm happy for her."
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