St. John’s Open House On Sunday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing a non tryout sport and is having the time of their life, after doing nearly no sports in elementary school. lots of options for sports other than the big ones.

Is your child at SJC?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone care about academics at SJC? The administrators talk a good talk - we heard the pitch at the open house- but it seems like a sports factory. My 8th grader is not an athlete but seems to be interested in the school.

Yes. My sophomore is doing well, has made some nice friends and is working very hard at SJC. Scholars program is good but anyone can take the honors and AP course track. 99% on the HSPT. SJC was first choice and we have been very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone care about academics at SJC? The administrators talk a good talk - we heard the pitch at the open house- but it seems like a sports factory. My 8th grader is not an athlete but seems to be interested in the school.

Yes. My sophomore is doing well, has made some nice friends and is working very hard at SJC. Scholars program is good but anyone can take the honors and AP course track. 99% on the HSPT. SJC was first choice and we have been very happy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If they haven’t been recruited, doubtful they will make team.

True, except those sports that have a freshman team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really does depend on the sport. The big sports are recruited but plenty of kids do track, equestrian, tennis, Xcountry, crew, golf, hockey, rugby, etc. Many without much previous experience.

My kids were in baseball and soccer. When they got to SJC they decided to mix it up. One went with a different sport and one theater. Both have had great experiences.

I really doubt you could do mens varsity ice hockey without being recruited-girls yes, but not boys. Crew and rugby without prior experience, yes, the others I think no. Still for crew and rugby, you'd have to be a good athlete otherwise they won't put you in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

Yes, but even if your kid does not make the scholars program, they still get an education. If your kid does not make the basketball team, they don't play basketball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

Yes, but even if your kid does not make the scholars program, they still get an education. If your kid does not make the basketball team, they don't play basketball.

But they still get an education, right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

Yes, but even if your kid does not make the scholars program, they still get an education. If your kid does not make the basketball team, they don't play basketball.

But they still get an education, right?

All of the private schools in the DC area is providing a sound education, that's not the issue. Well at least SJC offers a freshman, JV and V team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

The scholars program is really just a specifically designed schedule consisting of all honors and AP courses. Anyone who goes to SJC can sign up for these courses and essentially get the same education as those in the scholars program. I think they go on a couple of trips and get a dedicated college counselor. Beyond that the only other perk is a small scholarship. We turned it down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

The scholars program is really just a specifically designed schedule consisting of all honors and AP courses. Anyone who goes to SJC can sign up for these courses and essentially get the same education as those in the scholars program. I think they go on a couple of trips and get a dedicated college counselor. Beyond that the only other perk is a small scholarship. We turned it down.

By the way, did anyone get a list of schools to which recent grads matriculated? This still seems to be a mystery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

The scholars program is really just a specifically designed schedule consisting of all honors and AP courses. Anyone who goes to SJC can sign up for these courses and essentially get the same education as those in the scholars program. I think they go on a couple of trips and get a dedicated college counselor. Beyond that the only other perk is a small scholarship. We turned it down.

By the way, did anyone get a list of schools to which recent grads matriculated? This still seems to be a mystery.

Yes, it was in the folder however it covers a span of years.