Across Virginia, thousands of homeschooled students face a longstanding barrier: they are not allowed to compete on public school athletic teams. Now, one Northern Virginia program is offering an alternative combining football, faith, and education to give these athletes a chance to play.
“You can’t play public school sports while you’re homeschooled. You have to go to the public school. So, I couldn’t play football my freshman year, said player Joseph Alexander.
More than 66,000 children in Virginia are homeschooled, but the state’s high school athletic authority has barred them from competition since 1990. The rules require athletes to be enrolled in the school they represent, making Virginia one of fewer than 20 states that still prohibit homeschool participation in public school sports.
“It’s clear homeschoolers across Virginia are being denied because of Virginia’s exclusionary policy,” said Josh Hetzler of the Founding Freedoms Law Center.
That policy is now being challenged in court. One Virginia family has filed a lawsuit after their ninth-grade son was barred from running track.
“There doesn’t seem to be a good reason to keep me from participating just because my parents educate me at home,” said homeschool student Samuel Palmer at a recent press conference.
Critics of changing the rules argue that allowing homeschoolers to compete raises concerns about academic eligibility and oversight. State organizations, including the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals, say it is “imperative” that all students meet the same standards to ensure fairness.
Efforts to pass so-called “Tebow bills,” which are named after former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow, who was homeschooled, have repeatedly failed in Virginia. But some families are no longer waiting for legislation to catch up.
Harvest Covenant is a Purcellville-based program founded by former NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. Inspired by his wife’s suggestion, Alexander created a homeschool football and academic community from the ground up.
“My wife looked at me and was like, ‘What if you just built your own homeschool co-op and football community and you just build your own school?’ And I was like, ‘I’m interested’,” Alexander said.
Harvest Covenant operates independently of the Virginia High School League and focuses on developing student-athletes through both academics and athletics, with a strong emphasis on faith.
“My sophomore year, my dad started thinking about making a football team that was like, homeschool kids could play on. It would be like a club team basically,” said Joseph Alexander.
“I wanted this to be a disciple-making machine, like, kids come in, we don’t even care how you come in… But they’re willing to learn the ways of the Lord and they’re willing to be college-good at sports,” Alexander added.
In just its second varsity season, the program has grown to about 30 players.
“We want to build a culture that was faith-first and strong families. You know, we always say: extraordinary faith, thriving families, individualized academics, and dynamic sports,” Alexander said.
The program also includes staff like Tanner Cross, a former Loudoun County teacher who now serves as a coach and dean of students.
“I think they’re shutting us out because we won’t adhere or bend the knee to how we’re going to raise our kids,” Cross said. “There’s a lot of pressure in the public school systems, and you can see a lot of indoctrination.”
The Harvest Covenant Lions compete against other Christian schools as well as homeschool co-ops and participate in national events like the Homeschool Football Classic.
For many players, the program offers more than just a chance to play. It aligns athletics with their personal values.
“I played at a public high school in Loudoun County, but it didn’t meet my goals of the Christ aspect of football. So I love football, and I want to go far in football, but I also want to do it in the right way,” said player Hayden McCauley.
Others are experiencing the sport for the first time.
“I’d just been homeschooled my whole life. And there was never an opportunity for me to play tackle football until I heard about this. I got the ball first throw 30 yards at the sideline. Touchdown. Three touchdowns in all,” said player Kai Bomberger.
The opportunity is opening doors for athletes with big ambitions.
“I really just, I want to go D1 in football. I want to play at the next level. I really just want to, like, just see what God’s plan for me is by just showing off my talent on the field and stuff,” said Alexander.
“This is the perfect place for our young men to understand that they can be warriors in Christ and still love and support one each other and cultivate a good community of brotherhood under Christ and under godly men that are going to lead them,” Cross added.
As the debate over homeschool athletes’ access to public school sports continues, programs like Harvest Covenant are stepping in, giving players a chance to compete by creating opportunities of their own.
