"Camp"less

I've got some rather personal thoughts on education and my current frustrations with "the system."  This includes the public, private and homeschool "systems."
We're in a bit of a odd position this year.  Elijah is homeschooling for 7th grade, Autumn is attending 5th grade at a public school, Cory is homeschooling 2nd grade, and Caleb will be doing some Kindergarten stuff at home.  We've had a mix like this for the past several years and its worked so far.  But what it doesn't afford us is a "camp" to settle in.

I didn't know this until the past few weeks, but with Elijah doing online school, we are not "homeschoolers."  Who'd a' thought!?!  And, even though his online school is a "public" school, we're also not "public schoolers."  We are apparently not welcome in either camp from an activities standpoint.
This all came about in trying to find a place Elijah could play basketball this winter.  Middle school won't allow it because he's not a student in the building and homeschool groups won't allow it because the schooling we are doing is from a public source.  Needless to say, I'm super frustrated with the whole stupid thing.  It comes down to a money trail, a fight for fairness by organizations, a "definition" of education, and where that takes place and apparently we fit nowhere.
It makes me crazy, if I'm honest with myself, because it's my kid that is getting the shaft.  It's my kid that is selflessly giving up something he LOVES because he understands the importance of a good education.  One he was not getting at the middle school and one I cannot give him without some help from an online "public" school.  He is mature beyond his years and he'll be ok.  And we know it's just basketball, but he has big dreams and goals in the classroom and on the court and I will not be the one to stand in the way of either of those things. 
So for now, we wait.  We wait and watch and research.  We may fight for it next year in one arena or the other.  What I find so painfully frustrating is that we have to fight for this in the first place.  When did public education lay down with athletics to the point that they are inseparable?  When did the definition of "homeschooling" become so convoluted?  When did they put themselves on opposite sides of the fence, rather than seeing themselves on the same side?  If I've learned anything through having kids in different school settings is that everyone really is trying to do their best.  Schools are trying to do the best they can with the mess they have.  Parents who homeschool are just trying to do their best with the messes they have. 
It's not simple, but it doesn't have to be so complicated.