What's up with youth sports in DC? Janney ES?

[Anonymous]

Issue is never the kids. Always the parents/adults. I have only seen issues with the adults from that school.

[Anonymous]

Mr. Coleman's comment above is exactly why Janney has the reputation it has
"Just weird for parents of children in elementary school to literally be able to see the other schools in warmups and go “Yeah we’re going to blow them out that’s a good idea I’m a great coach”.

To the clown that said its not Janney's fault the clock runs when blowing a team out...... I was a coach for 4 years in DCPS and they created those rules because of the crap schools like Janney do. It should be common sense to NOT full court press up 20 in ES with your starters OR to put in your subs when up 20. DCIAA created these rules because of the lack of common sense of the coaches.

It is 100% within your control of blowing a team out 44-0. I'm not saying the kids shouldn't be trying to score but maybe put your bench in earlier OR dont trap or try a new defense, put in passing rules.

The Clock running sucks for everyone. The games are already short as it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve taught and coached for over ten years in DCPS and have whooped Janney and been whooped my Janney. It’s Janney lol. I’ve specifically had to reach out to the head of the athletics department of DCIAA because they are the saddest example of sportsmanship yearly. It’s notoriously a tryhard parents proud to show their child they’re a good bball coach lol. It’s insanity.

Privileged and oblivious is an easy way to understand the mindset.

Different parents volunteering over the years and it’s the same mindset so it’s a culture problem.

Their former athletic director was their PE teacher and he couldn’t care about how well they perform he’s great and is a good friend. That said it’s an odd thing, but it’s Janney not getting it.

Just weird for parents of children in elementary school to literally be able to see the other schools in warmups and go “Yeah we’re going to blow them out that’s a good idea I’m a great coach”

I’m gone from DCPS but when I heard Janney was Janneying I had to come handout in this rumor mill.

Would love to support you in fixing it because it’s lowkey embarrassing for them, but doesn’t sound like they feel it’s a problem. Keep winning lmao

Sincerely,

Hunter Coleman, former PE teacher in DCPS, Athletic Director in DCPS, and most important for some of you weirdos in here multiple ES Basketball DCIAA City Champion

Anonymous wrote:
We just recently moved to the area and I have had some odd experiences in youth sports in the past few weeks....in particular with girls youth sports. Most recently I had an unpleasant experience watching a Janney Elementary game where sportsmanship just seemed to be completely non existent. Like it seemed the goal was to humiliate the other (much weaker) team. Is this normal in DC youth sports? My daughter was really into competitive sports back in New York but I'm not sure I want her to be part of this. I guess they all need to learn how to lose at some point (I'm not in favor of "everyone gets a trophy" mentality) but it just seems a little overkill.

Lol I loved this. Hunter's up in Massachusetts and doesn't have to deal with these competitive nut jobs down here any more. Good on you, coach!

[Anonymous]

My kids went to Janney and then on to Big3 private schools.

We and fellow Janney alums now have kids at St. Albans and Sidwell and GDS and Gonzaga and Georgetown Prep (etc)--surrounded by fellow parents who are household names with 7 or 8 figure salaries and/or the CEOs of major corporations but rarely if ever does anyone we meet have have the hubris and weird intensity of the Janney crowd. Janney is basically the absolute worse DC striver culture. The parents are surrounded by money and prestige (in life and in career) but they're not quite there so boy do they strive in big and small ways.

It's remarkable. I've never encountered anything like it before or since.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to Janney and then on to Big3 private schools.

We and fellow Janney alums now have kids at St. Albans and Sidwell and GDS and Gonzaga and Georgetown Prep (etc)--surrounded by fellow parents who are household names with 7 or 8 figure salaries and/or the CEOs of major corporations but rarely if ever does anyone we meet have have the hubris and weird intensity of the Janney crowd. Janney is basically the absolute worse DC striver culture. The parents are surrounded by money and prestige (in life and in career) but they're not quite there so boy do they strive in big and small ways.

It's remarkable. I've never encountered anything like it before or since.

This is almost perfectly put. I also had a kid at Janney for 3 years and the 2nd-hand embarrassment I experienced was like no other. I eventually got her into another school and I can attest to the person that started this thread that this is not indicative of all DC or NW DC schools! Welcome to the neighborhood!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to Janney and then on to Big3 private schools.

We and fellow Janney alums now have kids at St. Albans and Sidwell and GDS and Gonzaga and Georgetown Prep (etc)--surrounded by fellow parents who are household names with 7 or 8 figure salaries and/or the CEOs of major corporations but rarely if ever does anyone we meet have have the hubris and weird intensity of the Janney crowd. Janney is basically the absolute worse DC striver culture. The parents are surrounded by money and prestige (in life and in career) but they're not quite there so boy do they strive in big and small ways.

It's remarkable. I've never encountered anything like it before or since.

This is almost perfectly put. I also had a kid at Janney for 3 years and the 2nd-hand embarrassment I experienced was like no other. I eventually got her into another school and I can attest to the person that started this thread that this is not indicative of all DC or NW DC schools! Welcome to the neighborhood!

I live in a totally different city and if you replaced Janney with one of our local school names it would be the same situation. Just like this description, our version of Janney is full of rich-ish aggressive strivers who are painfully intense. I grew up in an environment where the richer/more privileged you were, the more you played it cool and faded into the background. Not this school. At one point one of thEmma picked a fight with a fellow parent and now-famous CEO and they were both thrown out of a gym. That was 15 years ago and way before I had kids and people in the CEO’s industry still talk about it.

They do quiet down once they start mixing with others in prestigious high schools but they don’t seem to gain a lot of self-awareness along the way. It’s really weird to get that worked up about 9 year olds playing basketball or soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taunting is not an issue at Janney ES. We should not punish students for being good at the sport. Sport teams are made to compete. That’s why there are playoffs and championships. There are all types of leagues that students can join outside of DCPS basketball if this is an issue. Also, other schools can simply coach better. Janney also has a reputation as back-to-back champions. To be the best you have to beat the best.

These are elementary school kids! No one is that good. Even if there are one or two kids with real talent this isn’t going to make a difference to them.

I think a lot of parents think their kid is better than they are and don’t want “slow” kids on their future D1 player’s team. So then you get parent volunteers thinking they Bill Belichick and not following the rules about playing everyone.

They are children. It’s about exercise, learning to work as a team and for fun. They are playing a game with two sides and only one side can win. But parents who take this serious at this age are a joke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids went to Janney and then on to Big3 private schools.

We and fellow Janney alums now have kids at St. Albans and Sidwell and GDS and Gonzaga and Georgetown Prep (etc)--surrounded by fellow parents who are household names with 7 or 8 figure salaries and/or the CEOs of major corporations but rarely if ever does anyone we meet have have the hubris and weird intensity of the Janney crowd. Janney is basically the absolute worse DC striver culture. The parents are surrounded by money and prestige (in life and in career) but they're not quite there so boy do they strive in big and small ways.

It's remarkable. I've never encountered anything like it before or since.

This is almost perfectly put. I also had a kid at Janney for 3 years and the 2nd-hand embarrassment I experienced was like no other. I eventually got her into another school and I can attest to the person that started this thread that this is not indicative of all DC or NW DC schools! Welcome to the neighborhood!

I live in a totally different city and if you replaced Janney with one of our local school names it would be the same situation. Just like this description, our version of Janney is full of rich-ish aggressive strivers who are painfully intense. I grew up in an environment where the richer/more privileged you were, the more you played it cool and faded into the background. Not this school. At one point one of thEmma picked a fight with a fellow parent and now-famous CEO and they were both thrown out of a gym. That was 15 years ago and way before I had kids and people in the CEO’s industry still talk about it.

They do quiet down once they start mixing with others in prestigious high schools but they don’t seem to gain a lot of self-awareness along the way. It’s really weird to get that worked up about 9 year olds playing basketball or soccer.

It’s getting worse. This past spring a brawl was recorded at a middle school basketball game. A bunch of old hippies in Vermont looking ridiculous swinging at each other. A 60 year old man died in the fight. A lot of parents get so upset about a referee call that they charge at the referee. The parents are too invested.

[Anonymous]

For anyone trying to say there isn't a cultural issue at the school in question, I have seen over the years (had multiple kids through DCPS in NW):

1. Janney Full court pressing up 20 in the 4th quarter with all of their starters vs the bench of the other team. Every additional basket they scored, the parents cheered so loud it was like they won a gold medal with each shot. Like cheering on gladiators 🤣. Embarrassing

2. The PARENTS taunting and making noise by yelling and kicking the bleachers when a girl from the opposing team was taking a free throw in a close game

3. The PARENTS loudly booing an opposing coach who was trying to get a clarification on the court.

There's plenty more gems where those came from

I agree what a previous poster that it's definitely not the kids. But at some point the kids will start mimicking the behavior....maybe not at 10....but soon. Then you basically got the current generation of Karens raising the next generation!

[Anonymous]

Just chiming in to say- I have had various roles in youth sports in this city and everything people are saying about Janney (the parents) checks out on my end. They have a reputation and it’s the one school that gets the most eye rolls from other people when it comes to sports. Very entitled.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yeah, I think I see this here and there but not rampant "win at all costs" throughout NW. That school is a nightmare sports-mentality-wise. I have a friend who has kids there. Horror show. They apparently beat a team 44-0 in ES basketball this week according to the DC sports website.........that takes a real effort to do.

So what do you propose? They stop the game entirely, so as not to create a massive blowout? This is not the way sports work. I assume Janney’s non-starters were better than the other team’s starters as well. You can’t stop scoring if the clock is running just to make the other team feel good. Taunting is one thing, but the score is what it is. A team shouldn’t try to lose to make sure the score is close.

Last year (CA) my daughter was in a school coed ymca team. 75% of the team was girls and all the players has never played basketball. We played teams that were 100% all boys. Some teams decimated us. I do however remember one coach who made his players pass the ball 5 times before they could take a shot. This was after the score was 20-0. This allowed them to work on passing skills without being a blood bath 🤷🏻‍♀️

+1. You use the opportunity to work on other skills. Also make sure every player has a chance to play. How can an elementary team have so many good players? Where are the kids who have never played basketball before?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taunting is not an issue at Janney ES. We should not punish students for being good at the sport. Sport teams are made to compete. That’s why there are playoffs and championships. There are all types of leagues that students can join outside of DCPS basketball if this is an issue. Also, other schools can simply coach better. Janney also has a reputation as back-to-back champions. To be the best you have to beat the best.

This response perfectly illustrates the issues with Janney parents.

[Anonymous]

So many haters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So many haters.

No...... It's just many people think there is something as "winning with class" and others think it's "win at all costs" in elementary school. It's good that it isn't the kids though. I have seen some wild stuff even at younger ages in terms of bad sportsmanship

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For anyone trying to say there isn't a cultural issue at the school in question, I have seen over the years (had multiple kids through DCPS in NW):

1. Janney Full court pressing up 20 in the 4th quarter with all of their starters vs the bench of the other team. Every additional basket they scored, the parents cheered so loud it was like they won a gold medal with each shot. Like cheering on gladiators 🤣. Embarrassing

2. The PARENTS taunting and making noise by yelling and kicking the bleachers when a girl from the opposing team was taking a free throw in a close game

3. The PARENTS loudly booing an opposing coach who was trying to get a clarification on the court.

There's plenty more gems where those came from

I agree what a previous poster that it's definitely not the kids. But at some point the kids will start mimicking the behavior....maybe not at 10....but soon. Then you basically got the current generation of Karens raising the next generation!

I know someone at DCIAA and #1 above is exactly why they had to create a rule a year or so ago that there is no full court press is allowed once up 20. It is insane they actually had to create that rule.....because of Adults. No common sense