Two years ago when she was a senior at Butler, Xamiya Walton got what looked like the opportunity of a lifetime. The current Northwestern freshman was invited to a Nike basketball event at the Brooklyn Nets facility. She was part of an exclusive group, one of 24 players from the United States along with a few more from around the world. Her dad and the coach at Butler, Xaver Walton, reached out to the IHSA to see if attending the event in September — before girls basketball practice started — would be an issue. “The IHSA said if she participated, she would have jeopardized her senior eligibility,” Xaver Walton said. So his daughter had to turn down the invitation because the Nike event ran afoul of an IHSA by-law banning most all-star competition. That rule has since been changed and under the same scenario today, Walton would have been allowed to participate. The shift is part of a new wave in youth sports, which are operating in a far different environment today than when many IHSA by-laws and policies were adopted. More change is coming, as the IHSA announced last week that it will work with State Sen. Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago) and State Rep. Janet Yang Rohr (D-Naperville) to expand opportunities for athletes to compete in their sports on non-school teams. The Right to Play Act, sponsored by Villilamas and Yang Rohr specifically addresses the ability to take advantage of non-IHSA opportunities during an athlete’s season, such as distance runners competing in a 5K race in the fall. IHSA executive director Craig Anderson said the association decided to get in front of the issue after hearing feedback from member schools. A by-law proposal allowing athletes to compete in non-school activities is expected to be on the annual ballot this fall. The consensus, Anderson said, is “if we’re going to change the by-laws, it’s best to let the membership do that rather than if we’re forced to change.” The loosening of the all-star restrictions wasn’t forced on the IHSA, either, but came in the wake of concerns from the baseball community in particular. Under the proposed new Right to Play rules, for example, soccer players could be granted permission to finish up play with their club teams if the schedule overlaps with the start of the high school season. “What the new change is, [it] would allow for non-school competition opportunities,” Anderson said. “A limited number of times they’ll be permitted to do it.” Anderson believes it’s a reasonable compromise and would ease the IHSA’s concerns about athletes risking injury without having adequate recovery time. Xaver Walton is glad the IHSA is moving in the direction of more freedom for athletes to compete. “I think it should be a good first step,” he said. "(But) the IHSA still has to pass it so it could be effective Jan. 1, 2026.” Still, he remains unconvinced that a limit on outside events is necessary or fair. Walton pointed out that there are no such restrictions for high school students in other activities such as band or choir. Walton believes the decision on whether an athlete — or any other student — takes part in a non-school activity should rest with the athlete’s family. And as far as sports are concerned, Walton said change was needed to adjust to the new landscape for college recruiting with the rise of NIL deals and the transfer portal. “Stop acting like this is 1985,” Walton said. “It’s not. It’s 2025.”