Sidwell Friends Boys Soccer

[Anonymous]

How is the girls sports program at Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

The girls sports program is not quite as strong as the boys program. That being said, there are quite a few exceptional female athletes at Sidwell each year, and like the boys, two or three girls sports teams excel. The girls soccer program is strong, the basketball team has been powerful in the last decade, and the lacrosse program is on the rise. Cross country is strong as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell's soccer success is not the result of recruiting. It's good coaching along with some luck. A lot of kids at Sidwell have done well with club soccer and been able to bring that experience to the school.

Are there soccer clubs in the DC region with reputations as "feeders" into high school soccer at Sidwell or elsewhere? Bethesda? Others? Any in DC or NOVA? Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Not at Sidwell because it doesn't recruit for athletics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sidwell's soccer success is not the result of recruiting. It's good coaching along with some luck. A lot of kids at Sidwell have done well with club soccer and been able to bring that experience to the school.

Are there soccer clubs in the DC region with reputations as "feeders" into high school soccer at Sidwell or elsewhere? Bethesda? Others? Any in DC or NOVA? Thanks!

There is no recruitment at Sidwell so there is no real "feeder" club. However, most of the Sidwell guys play for top clubs such as Potomac, Pachuca, Bethesda or Reston. These clubs usually field very strong/nationally competitive teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Given Sidwell's size, it should do very well in the MAC. The wrestling program is all about the coach. He really is outstanding. The soccer program may have peaked, the incoming senior class doesn't have as many strong players. And there is a lot of unhappiness among football team parents because it really isn't competitive at any level. In an extraordinary letter, the school AD said she was committed to football and would take steps to help the program improve. The parents felt that the school had basically turned its back on football. Previous HM master never came to a single game etc.

That may explain why my soccer playing son was rejected for 9th grade. Although the AD is a he isn't he (at least that's what he looked like when we met him, and his name was Josh which isn't typically one of those crossover names).

[Anonymous]

The AD at Sidwell is a female.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Sidwell's size, it should do very well in the MAC. The wrestling program is all about the coach. He really is outstanding. The soccer program may have peaked, the incoming senior class doesn't have as many strong players. And there is a lot of unhappiness among football team parents because it really isn't competitive at any level. In an extraordinary letter, the school AD said she was committed to football and would take steps to help the program improve. The parents felt that the school had basically turned its back on football. Previous HM master never came to a single game etc.

That may explain why my soccer playing son was rejected for 9th grade. Although the AD is a he isn't he (at least that's what he looked like when we met him, and his name was Josh which isn't typically one of those crossover names).

NP here.
Still trying to decipher your post...I can't tell if you're bitter about your son's rejection or if you're just a horrible person who boosts his/her self esteem by jabbing at the appearance of others. In any case, believe me, Sidwell would love to have some good soccer players come into 9th grade, as it has been years since a good soccer player has entered in 9th. People need to understand that Sidwell's talented soccer players have been at Sidwell since middle school and some since lower school.
Maybe your son was rejected because, uh, let's see, Sidwell admissions is one of the most competitive in the nation..?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The AD at Sidwell is a female.

I think you're mistaken. The AD is Josh Wolman (http://www.sidwell.edu/admissions/index.aspx). There are assistant ADs for the lower and upper school who are female, so perhaps that's what confused you.

[Anonymous]

All are correct! There is a male Admissions Director ("AD" in DCUM-speak) and a woman Athletic Director ("AD" in everywhere-else speak). I know they're interested in having good athletes apply there but, yeah, it is super competitive in terms of the number.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Sidwell's size, it should do very well in the MAC. The wrestling program is all about the coach. He really is outstanding. The soccer program may have peaked, the incoming senior class doesn't have as many strong players. And there is a lot of unhappiness among football team parents because it really isn't competitive at any level. In an extraordinary letter, the school AD said she was committed to football and would take steps to help the program improve. The parents felt that the school had basically turned its back on football. Previous HM master never came to a single game etc.

That may explain why my soccer playing son was rejected for 9th grade. Although the AD is a he isn't he (at least that's what he looked like when we met him, and his name was Josh which isn't typically one of those crossover names).

NP here.
Still trying to decipher your post...I can't tell if you're bitter about your son's rejection or if you're just a horrible person who boosts his/her self esteem by jabbing at the appearance of others. In any case, believe me, Sidwell would love to have some good soccer players come into 9th grade, as it has been years since a good soccer player has entered in 9th. People need to understand that Sidwell's talented soccer players have been at Sidwell since middle school and some since lower school.
Maybe your son was rejected because, uh, let's see, Sidwell admissions is one of the most competitive in the nation..?

I assumed AD meant Admissions Director - this is DCUM after all. Yes I am in fact bitter about my sons rejection, for a number of other reasons.

[Anonymous]

It's definitely hard when a child is rejected, no doubt about it--as a public school product, I had to wait for college applications to get that particular smack in the teeth. Sorry to hear it PP and I hope your son ends up at a great school with which your family is very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The girls sports program is not quite as strong as the boys program. That being said, there are quite a few exceptional female athletes at Sidwell each year, and like the boys, two or three girls sports teams excel. The girls soccer program is strong, the basketball team has been powerful in the last decade, and the lacrosse program is on the rise. Cross country is strong as well.

It is worth noting that the girls' league--ISL--is much larger (10 to 14 teams, depending on the sport) than the boys' league, so the girls to an extent have tougher competition to bring home championships (banners). In sports where there are two ISL divisions, A and AA, Sidwell's been pretty successful at winning its share in the lower division. Again, the single-sex schools in the ISL have a big advantage because of their numbers. Let's say Sidwell has approximately 240 girls in the upper school; Georgetown Visitation has double that number. They also admit 100% of their class in 9th grade so they can talent spot for athletics--even devoting 10% of their incoming class to athletic stars brings in 45 a year! Visitation, Holton, NCS, Stone Ridge, Madeira, and Holy Child are all single-sex, and if you look at the winners of the Lewis Cup (top ISL sports school for a given year), girls' schools now dominate. Of course, it's not ALL about single-sex schools; Madeira struggles in most sports other than swimming (very good equestrian program though). Looking at the boys' side of the equation, there are no all-boys schools in the boys' conference, the MAC.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, in my Visi example above I meant 45 great athletes for any given year of competition, not 45 great athletes out of an entering graduation class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Given Sidwell's size, it should do very well in the MAC. The wrestling program is all about the coach. He really is outstanding. The soccer program may have peaked, the incoming senior class doesn't have as many strong players. And there is a lot of unhappiness among football team parents because it really isn't competitive at any level. In an extraordinary letter, the school AD said she was committed to football and would take steps to help the program improve. The parents felt that the school had basically turned its back on football. Previous HM master never came to a single game etc.

That may explain why my soccer playing son was rejected for 9th grade. Although the AD is a he isn't he (at least that's what he looked like when we met him, and his name was Josh which isn't typically one of those crossover names).

There are a lot of strong soccer players in the current ninth grade, and at least some in the current eighth, so soccer probably wouldn't be seen as a major need. A lot of admissions is a matter of luck: does your DC's skill set match what they're looking for, especially at 7th and 9th.