Pay-to-Play Sport at Private HS employing club coach - what's normal?

[Anonymous]

In my experience, this seems to be the current business model in many sports. So you could name lots of sports and schools. It is the same educational/business conflict that affects college sports, but now it is prevalent in high schools. And it sucks for kids and families.

[Anonymous]

This is the first I've heard about this going on in St. Johns' soccer program but it doesn't surprise me. We were consideing St. Johns for our son who is a baseball player. St. Johns has a reputation as the best baseball program around- they have won the wcac for the last 5 or 6 years. Their head coach and his brother who is an assistant run a private travel program called Diamond Skills. Diamond Skills also runs baseball camps at St. Johns. If you look on their site the camps are $400 or $500 a week. But here's where it’s worse than with soccer- we heard you HAVE TO play for Diamond Skills or you are not allowed to play baseball at St. Johns. We heard a few players were kicked out of the program this summer because they played for other travel programs and not Diamond Skills. Two of them are in 10th grade and are verbally committed to ACC schools. The other is in 11th grade and is committed to an SEC school. Why does the school let them do it? I think it's just wrong and don't really understand it. I also think it's ironic that this is a Catholic school- nice values you're teaching the kids. Our son plays for a very good travel program and isn't considering St. Johns anymore.

[Anonymous]

Any chance the club kids play more because they are better, practice more, etc? Just wondering if there us more yo it then nepotism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the first I've heard about this going on in St. Johns' soccer program but it doesn't surprise me. We were consideing St. Johns for our son who is a baseball player. St. Johns has a reputation as the best baseball program around- they have won the wcac for the last 5 or 6 years. Their head coach and his brother who is an assistant run a private travel program called Diamond Skills. Diamond Skills also runs baseball camps at St. Johns. If you look on their site the camps are $400 or $500 a week. But here's where it’s worse than with soccer- we heard you HAVE TO play for Diamond Skills or you are not allowed to play baseball at St. Johns. We heard a few players were kicked out of the program this summer because they played for other travel programs and not Diamond Skills. Two of them are in 10th grade and are verbally committed to ACC schools. The other is in 11th grade and is committed to an SEC school. Why does the school let them do it? I think it's just wrong and don't really understand it. I also think it's ironic that this is a Catholic school- nice values you're teaching the kids. Our son plays for a very good travel program and isn't considering St. Johns anymore.

I suspect the school let's them do it because they keep winning the WCAC and because the baseball coach is also head of development at SJC and is probably doing well at his job/s. But it is leading to a loss of top players to other schools. Prep seems to be the main beneficiary.

[Anonymous]

I'm confused. Kids who play in this soccer league are transferring to private school just to play soccer there? Why?

[Anonymous]

I'm a Bullis parent whose kids play on varsity teams for each season in different sports. I can tell you that there aren't any coaches or sports who are doing what the OP described at Bullis. Also, could people please just stop randomly stop slamming Bullis when it's not even being discussed? THere's already a 30+ page thread full of nonsense and half truths. It's tiresome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Kids who play in this soccer league are transferring to private school just to play soccer there? Why?

I don't know enough about high school soccer but other kids go to St Johns and other WCAC schools because it is one of the best athletic conferences in the country. Kids who play there get noticed and get athletic scholarships to college. And like I said I don't know enough about soccer, but top football and basketball (maybe baseball, lax and other sports) players can get full athletic scholarships to go to St Johns. Football doesn't have travel teams and I don't think the St Johns basketball coach has an AAU team. So those kids can go to high school for free and then go to college for free. I don't know how this works for soccer and other sports, but if they are getting scholarships at St Johns and then getting college scholarships, maybe its worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Kids who play in this soccer league are transferring to private school just to play soccer there? Why?

I don't know enough about high school soccer but other kids go to St Johns and other WCAC schools because it is one of the best athletic conferences in the country. Kids who play there get noticed and get athletic scholarships to college. And like I said I don't know enough about soccer, but top football and basketball (maybe baseball, lax and other sports) players can get full athletic scholarships to go to St Johns. Football doesn't have travel teams and I don't think the St Johns basketball coach has an AAU team. So those kids can go to high school for free and then go to college for free. I don't know how this works for soccer and other sports, but if they are getting scholarships at St Johns and then getting college scholarships, maybe its worth it.

Good Counsel and soccer doing same thing. And their soccer is a joke

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Between this and the college admissions scandal with fake athletic admits, who knew HS and college athletics were so damn shady? Adults always ruin things for good natured kids

Most things in the world are shady. You've lived a good life if you have been unaware all along.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Kids who play in this soccer league are transferring to private school just to play soccer there? Why?

I don't know enough about high school soccer but other kids go to St Johns and other WCAC schools because it is one of the best athletic conferences in the country. Kids who play there get noticed and get athletic scholarships to college. And like I said I don't know enough about soccer, but top football and basketball (maybe baseball, lax and other sports) players can get full athletic scholarships to go to St Johns. Football doesn't have travel teams and I don't think the St Johns basketball coach has an AAU team. So those kids can go to high school for free and then go to college for free. I don't know how this works for soccer and other sports, but if they are getting scholarships at St Johns and then getting college scholarships, maybe its worth it.

It doesn't work this way for soccer. At all. I'm sure there are some kids on merit aid at SJC, but that's about it. And no one is going on to D1 Scholarships. A few kids into DIII, but there are no athletic scholarships in that. One student from SJC is playing in D1 that I know of, and he never set foot on an SJC field due to Development Academy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Kids who play in this soccer league are transferring to private school just to play soccer there? Why?

I don't know enough about high school soccer but other kids go to St Johns and other WCAC schools because it is one of the best athletic conferences in the country. Kids who play there get noticed and get athletic scholarships to college. And like I said I don't know enough about soccer, but top football and basketball (maybe baseball, lax and other sports) players can get full athletic scholarships to go to St Johns. Football doesn't have travel teams and I don't think the St Johns basketball coach has an AAU team. So those kids can go to high school for free and then go to college for free. I don't know how this works for soccer and other sports, but if they are getting scholarships at St Johns and then getting college scholarships, maybe its worth it.

It doesn't work this way for soccer. At all. I'm sure there are some kids on merit aid at SJC, but that's about it. And no one is going on to D1 Scholarships. A few kids into DIII, but there are no athletic scholarships in that. One student from SJC is playing in D1 that I know of, and he never set foot on an SJC field due to Development Academy.

These coaches are in it for the money. They don’t care about d1 recruits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm confused. Kids who play in this soccer league are transferring to private school just to play soccer there? Why?

I don't know enough about high school soccer but other kids go to St Johns and other WCAC schools because it is one of the best athletic conferences in the country. Kids who play there get noticed and get athletic scholarships to college. And like I said I don't know enough about soccer, but top football and basketball (maybe baseball, lax and other sports) players can get full athletic scholarships to go to St Johns. Football doesn't have travel teams and I don't think the St Johns basketball coach has an AAU team. So those kids can go to high school for free and then go to college for free. I don't know how this works for soccer and other sports, but if they are getting scholarships at St Johns and then getting college scholarships, maybe its worth it.

It doesn't work this way for soccer. At all. I'm sure there are some kids on merit aid at SJC, but that's about it. And no one is going on to D1 Scholarships. A few kids into DIII, but there are no athletic scholarships in that. One student from SJC is playing in D1 that I know of, and he never set foot on an SJC field due to Development Academy.

Soccer is so different than basketball in terms of the role of high school teams.

[Anonymous]

This is very common in swimming as well. At both clubs my kid swam, coaches only promoted those who also swam on their side gigs like summer leagues, clinics, took private lessons. I guess all sorts are money making machines now. It is very hard to find training environment where promotion is always directly related to performance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is very common in swimming as well. At both clubs my kid swam, coaches only promoted those who also swam on their side gigs like summer leagues, clinics, took private lessons. I guess all sorts are money making machines now. It is very hard to find training environment where promotion is always directly related to performance.

I think it’s a little bit different when you’re talking about kids paying tens of thousands of dollars to go to private schools, and then the coaches at those schools require the kids to pay them extra thousands out of season. Criminal.

[Anonymous]

The beauty of unregulated capitalism, right?