Can a normal athletic kid play high school sports at most privates?

[Anonymous]

I have two athletic boys. They are average height and weight and good at skill sports like tennis and golf. They are also good at sports like soccer and basketball but we are not a sports obsessed family so have not invested so much in time in developing skills and joining travel teams.

Do normal athletic kids make the sports teams at private schools?

[Anonymous]

Maybe. It depends on both the school and the sport. And also what you mean by “play”. What are your expectations?

The sport makes a big difference. Basketball has far fewer players than does soccer, for instance and a depends upon not only size, but a highly developed skill set.

The conference frequently matters with the WCAC schools usually at the top of the pyramid. There are exceptions to this as some of the schools in the “lower” conferences sometimes have teams that can play at a high level.

Size, speed, and athleticism will eventually plays a role in high school athletic careers.

I’ve seen lots of kids who were good, even very good, in middle school fall behind and fail to make the Varsity as juniors or seniors. But our experience was in football, basketball and lacrosse. Soccer and other sports may be different.

Looking at your kids and making a clear eyed assessment of what their athletic potential is is a very hard thing for parents to do.

[Anonymous]

Yes! College is when the weeding out happens, not high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! College is when the weeding out happens, not high school.

Not true. Listen to 14:14. OP, for the most part, you can play on JV by being a good athlete. If you're not playing on travel/club teams, you'd be hard pressed to play varsity level sports at any school, regardless of school or conference. Even a school like GDS varsity bball players will play club level. They're not playing Durant for basketball but they're playing mid level club.

[Anonymous]

Agree this is very school, sport and JV vs varsity specific. At my kids school, varsity soccer, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball teams are generally composed of kids who also play (and likely prioritize) travel. But solid athletes can play JV.

[Anonymous]

It really depends on the year. My son plays baseball and at his school there are years when there are longtime travel players on the JV bench. There are years when former little leaguers can get playing time. It all depends on the current cohort of kids.

In general the varsity teams around here are composed of all longterm travel players.

[Anonymous]

Agree. At my son’s school, I think the answer would be no to varsity in all four sports.

[Anonymous]

If the OP believes that most private school teams are weaker than public school ones that’s not correct.

Our experience is that generally private school athletic programs and teams are stronger than public school teams.

Locally teams from Landon, Prep and Bullis would dominate teams from the so-called W high schools. That’s been born out by the infrequent games between these schools over the years. When they’ve played, the games haven’t been close.

Part of the reason for this is that in our experience, wanting to play on better teams and get better coaching is one of the reasons parents of boys with athletic talent choose private schools.

[Anonymous]

Could anyone share how hard is it to play football if you are a dedicated but average player?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could anyone share how hard is it to play football if you are a dedicated but average player?

It really depends on the school. Places like STA and Sidwell---not hard. Probably much harder at Gonzaga or similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could anyone share how hard is it to play football if you are a dedicated but average player?

Problem with football is being on the team vs getting playtime. Many on that team don’t get much time in the games because the teams have a lot of kids. So you may have no issue being on varsity football yet find it had to get in the game.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could anyone share how hard is it to play football if you are a dedicated but average player?

Problem with football is being on the team vs getting playtime. Many on that team don’t get much time in the games because the teams have a lot of kids. So you may have no issue being on varsity football yet find it had to get in the game.

This is really true with all varsity sports. baseball at our school will take 20-30 but play the same 8 kids on the field for all games and just alternate pitchers. There are lots of kids "on the team" who never play. These teams play to win at the varsity level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Could anyone share how hard is it to play football if you are a dedicated but average player?

Since you said he was an average player, I assume that means he has played youth football.

If that’s true, and he is “average” at that level he might be able to play in high school. That youth experience is a significant benefit. But then there is the height, weight, speed and strength required by football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree. At my son’s school, I think the answer would be no to varsity in all four sports.

And at our sons' school the answer would be yes to varsity in all four sports.

[Anonymous]

Your kids may get on bigger team (football, soccer) but probably won’t play much