Sidwell football article in post....what are the parents saying?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell has a great soccer team and several other teams are good. No quibble with cancelling a game because injuries would force kids on the field who might get seriously hurt. But you have to blame the school (and the culture of the school) if there aren't enough kids to field even a JV team.

There is something systemic within Sidwell where they can never field a competitive football or lacrosse team. They should either support the program sufficiently or throw in the towel like GDS.

How is it the school's fault that kids prefer other sports or non-sports activities? That just doesn't make any sense.

[Anonymous]

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Many kids who have a strong interest in athletics (as well as academics) aren't interested in Sidwell's weak sports program. Meanwhile, the lack of better athletes prevents Sidwell from fielding stronger teams. If the school tried harder to be an attractive option to scholar/athletes, hired better coaches, etc., perhaps they could reverse this trend.

It's an awesome school with a terrific college placement record. Just not the school if athletics interest your child.

[Anonymous]

You people need to get a life or a hobby - this is way too much discussion on this subject. Since very few of you have the slightest idea of what is going on with the football team, you are speculating with very few facts to base your comments on. Give the boys a break and quit obsessing about this. All sports teams have good years and bad years. Get over it. The boys will and in the process will have made life-long friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Who said otherwise? If sports can help you gain admission to the college of your choice and/or you want to play collegiate sports, that's great. That wasn't the point. The point is that the Sidwell parents who think their children are getting a great exposure to sports are mistaken. It's a fantastic school, for sure.

I am confused by this. The school offers both interscholastic and physical education opportunities for all of its students. Just because varsity football players are not sharing the field with future NFL Hall of Famers does not mean that students are not getting the important aspects of the athletic experience: teamwork, learning how to win and how to lose, etc.

I would be interested in what the PP believes "great exposure" to sports means for kids at this level, particularly for the 97% who are not getting a scholarship or the 99.75% who are not going to become professional athletes.

These boys are not getting a normal high school football experience compared to other local schools. The NFL has nothing to do with this. Sidwell professes to have the varsity football team and has games scheduled when it really does not have a functioning team. Just why do some people think Sidwell is so special or unique that male students at the school are too good for football? Too upper class? But it's fine to have other sports. It is highly unusual for a school to have had a normal football program for years and then to be in Sidwell's position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You people need to get a life or a hobby - this is way too much discussion on this subject. Since very few of you have the slightest idea of what is going on with the football team, you are speculating with very few facts to base your comments on. Give the boys a break and quit obsessing about this. All sports teams have good years and bad years. Get over it. The boys will and in the process will have made life-long friends.

Please name the last time Sidwell had a good year in football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people need to get a life or a hobby - this is way too much discussion on this subject. Since very few of you have the slightest idea of what is going on with the football team, you are speculating with very few facts to base your comments on. Give the boys a break and quit obsessing about this. All sports teams have good years and bad years. Get over it. The boys will and in the process will have made life-long friends.

Please name the last time Sidwell had a good year in football.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Atlantic_Athletic_Conference
Apparently 2004-05 and 2005-06 weren't too bad since they won the conference those years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really, it is a relative non-issue.

Not to the Sidwell children/parents affiliated with the football program who want to compete every week on the field. They know now (if they didn't previously) that sports at Sidwell is an afterthought.

This is harsh--but those kids are obviously not good athletes. That's why they lose by humongous margins. Not one current player would get playing time at, say, Landon or STA, and the IAC is no great shakes in the wider football universe. If the school brought in better players, they'd ride the pine. The whining is mind-boggling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You people need to get a life or a hobby - this is way too much discussion on this subject. Since very few of you have the slightest idea of what is going on with the football team, you are speculating with very few facts to base your comments on. Give the boys a break and quit obsessing about this. All sports teams have good years and bad years. Get over it. The boys will and in the process will have made life-long friends.

Please name the last time Sidwell had a good year in football.

sidwell won at least 5 conference titles this decade. Beat St. albans in 2002 or 2003.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's see where the school is 5 years from now, since the multi-million dollar new gym is open.

Such hysteria!

Good word choice. whiniest parents in DC, with least cause.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
It's an awesome school with a terrific college placement record. Just not the school if athletics interest your child.

Unless you run cross-country (boys or girls); play soccer (boys or girls); play basketball (boys or girls); wrestle; run track; or play girls' lacrosse. They produce lots of college athletes for a school their size.

[Anonymous]

Hey, if you want a meathead school, head to Landon.

[Anonymous]

Mark my words, Sidwell will become an athletic powerhouse in the next 25 years. Mark my words.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Many kids who have a strong interest in athletics (as well as academics) aren't interested in Sidwell's weak sports program. Meanwhile, the lack of better athletes prevents Sidwell from fielding stronger teams. If the school tried harder to be an attractive option to scholar/athletes, hired better coaches, etc., perhaps they could reverse this trend.

It's an awesome school with a terrific college placement record. Just not the school if athletics interest your child.

You'd be hard put to find better XC coaches than Sidwell's. All competed at a high level themselves, are knowledgeable coaches, and -- most important -- genuinely care about the kids, whether they're among the top runners or novices. I'd say they're running a pretty awesome program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey, if you want a meathead school, head to Landon.

Landon does a great job with intelligent athletes. The school provides tremendous support for them in college admissions if they are capable. I wish my DS had gone to Landon.

[Anonymous]

PP, if you want your DS to attend Landon, there are plenty of openings. You are right, the school goes all out to support athletes.