Can a sporty kid find his/her way at Sidwell?

[Anonymous]

We know the academics are excellent. We know that the athletics are not at the same level, could could a kid who loves sports as much as she/he loves learning fit in, and be happy?

[Anonymous]

Sure! My son loves anything sports-related, and he loves the fact that he has an hour of PE every day, rotating through different sports. He is in middle school. He has a group of friends who similarly like to be active, and he plays basketball, capture the flag, soccer, or other sports-oriented activities with them during breaks at school. It is the kind of school where being good at sports is admired, but the kids respect their friends with different interests too. Many of the better athletes continue to play club/travel soccer, even as they join school teams, which isn't much different than anywhere else, including public schools.

[Anonymous]

This is a myth that Sidwell bashers like to perpetuate. Like most schools, Sidwell has certain sports in which it is strong. Boys and girls soccer are excellent. Boys basketball is strong as well. I don't have kids in the US so am unsure about other sports. The MS has just started hockey.
Athletes at SFS are embraced just like every other group. There are few kids there that are one dimensional defined by their athletic skills. These kids will also act in plays or be involved in other activities and of course be able to handle a rigorous curriculum.
Short answer is that a passion for sports is welcomed at Sidwell and will only add to, not detract from, the SFS experience.

[Anonymous]

It depends what you want from s sports program especially in HS and what sports. If your child is looking for a strong lacrosse, football, ice hockey school, probably not the right place.

Soccer, basketball, cross country, probably ok.

[Anonymous]

No. Must have inhibited motor function.

[Anonymous]

Yes. A dear friend has had several children attend Sidwell and go on to very successful Division I athletic careers at great academic colleges. They were well prepared for college athletically and (she and they agree) even more important, academically. (And these two things matter -- so many college athletes, even at an Ivy League school, are taken aback by the time commitment and how hard it can be to juggle the sports and school commitment. For the Sidwell kids, they've got the "juggling" down.) Both of the Sidwell grads are now in great graduate/professional programs.

Another point worth making is that in most sports, the center of gravity for recruiting is now the club program (e.g., boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer), because the coaches get more "bang for the buck" by seeing many athletes at showcase tournaments. And in those sports like football, if the athlete is good, the coaches will be there -- the recruiters make the rounds of all the independent school programs when there are prospects, and that includes Sidwell (I have some first-hand knowledge of this). Bottom line: if you like the school and you value the academics, don't be scared away by the fact that Sidwell is not a powerhouse athletic program with 20 Division I prospects every year. The kids love playing with their classmates/schoolmates, and stars will still shine no matter how many other bright lights there may or may not be around them.

[Anonymous]

Agree with above posters that for most sports, the athletic experience at Sidwell is just fine, and for some sports really tops (soccer, wrestling, track and field, boys basketball to name a few). 5 or so each year seem to go onto d1 careers in one sport or another (often at Ivys, also very smart kids and turn down less academic d1 programs to go to Ivys and play), probably another 10 or so play d3, maybe more, mostly at the top SLACs. There is quite a lot of school spirt, lots of kids come to cheer on the teams, particularly soccer and basketball, and particularly when playing ISL or MAC rivals (GDS, Maret, NCS). And while the teams provide part of a kids social network, it is nice that the school is not defined at all in our experience by jock "cliques, my very athletic kids had lots of friends that weren't athletes. Also because the school is small, an athletic kid can easily pick up a second or third sport such as lacrosse or volleyball or track or Xcountry or girls crew, and be welcomed onto the team and learn a new sport. In a few cases at least that i know of this openess has resulted in ending up playing the new sport in college (instead of soccer or whatever they played coming into Sidwell HS).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. A dear friend has had several children attend Sidwell and go on to very successful Division I athletic careers at great academic colleges. They were well prepared for college athletically and (she and they agree) even more important, academically. (And these two things matter -- so many college athletes, even at an Ivy League school, are taken aback by the time commitment and how hard it can be to juggle the sports and school commitment. For the Sidwell kids, they've got the "juggling" down.) Both of the Sidwell grads are now in great graduate/professional programs.

Another point worth making is that in most sports, the center of gravity for recruiting is now the club program (e.g., boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer), because the coaches get more "bang for the buck" by seeing many athletes at showcase tournaments. And in those sports like football, if the athlete is good, the coaches will be there -- the recruiters make the rounds of all the independent school programs when there are prospects, and that includes Sidwell (I have some first-hand knowledge of this). Bottom line: if you like the school and you value the academics, don't be scared away by the fact that Sidwell is not a powerhouse athletic program with 20 Division I prospects every year. The kids love playing with their classmates/schoolmates, and stars will still shine no matter how many other bright lights there may or may not be around them.

And how many football recruits have come out of Sidwell in the last few years? With football, it is about the level of competition you are playing at. Yes lots of recruiting going on through club. But the level the team is playing at for HS helps the coaches get those kids into recruiting camps where they do not go with their club teams.

It's great the kids love playing together and Sidwell is a great academic institution. But if you want football, Dematha, Gonzaga, Good Counsel, Prep are the places, hockey-Landon, Gonzaga and Prep.maybe Bullis. Lacrosse, Gonzaga, Landon, Prep, St Stephens. Sidwell is no way will compete athletically with these schools for those sports for kids who want to play at the top level.

[Anonymous]

Aside from Dematha and Good Counsel, no private schools in the area are considered rich in football talent for the D1 level. D1 football is an extremely competitive market in which DC is at best second to PA, FL, CA, TX etc. Few people have their kids at local schools with a goal of playing D1 football.
Hockey? yes there are some schools which now dominate the area. But they cannot compete with New England and Canada.
Lacrosse? Schools still like to recruit from this area but it is more about performance at camps than the school.
Bottom line, don't pick your school based on a dream of playing one sport at the next level. Odds are low no matter what, and there is increasing physical and mental burnout by adolescents. Your question is will my child who loves sports as much as learning fit in. The answer is yes. I don't know if you have a boy or girl, but aside from the catholic schools which don't pursue the same degree of open minded critical thinking and academic rigor, a child with a love for sports and academics is going to be happy anywhere. I suspect you're question is more "will my child feel ostracized as an athlete at SFS". No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree with above posters that for most sports, the athletic experience at Sidwell is just fine, and for some sports really tops (soccer, wrestling, track and field, boys basketball to name a few). 5 or so each year seem to go onto d1 careers in one sport or another (often at Ivys, also very smart kids and turn down less academic d1 programs to go to Ivys and play), probably another 10 or so play d3, maybe more, mostly at the top SLACs. There is quite a lot of school spirt, lots of kids come to cheer on the teams, particularly soccer and basketball, and particularly when playing ISL or MAC rivals (GDS, Maret, NCS). And while the teams provide part of a kids social network, it is nice that the school is not defined at all in our experience by jock "cliques, my very athletic kids had lots of friends that weren't athletes. Also because the school is small, an athletic kid can easily pick up a second or third sport such as lacrosse or volleyball or track or Xcountry or girls crew, and be welcomed onto the team and learn a new sport. In a few cases at least that i know of this openess has resulted in ending up playing the new sport in college (instead of soccer or whatever they played coming into Sidwell HS).

+1 -- This is a good summary of the SFS sports program. Just a couple of added notes: 1) tennis is also very strong; and, 2) the participation rate in sports is pretty high -- in recent years about 25% of the graduating seniors have earned 6 varsity letters or more during their high school years. For my kids who love learning and love sports and who are/were varsity athletes in high school and college, it was great to be at a school where you can be an athlete and a let your nerd flag fly too. Go Quakers!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. A dear friend has had several children attend Sidwell and go on to very successful Division I athletic careers at great academic colleges. They were well prepared for college athletically and (she and they agree) even more important, academically. (And these two things matter -- so many college athletes, even at an Ivy League school, are taken aback by the time commitment and how hard it can be to juggle the sports and school commitment. For the Sidwell kids, they've got the "juggling" down.) Both of the Sidwell grads are now in great graduate/professional programs.

Another point worth making is that in most sports, the center of gravity for recruiting is now the club program (e.g., boys and girls lacrosse, boys and girls soccer), because the coaches get more "bang for the buck" by seeing many athletes at showcase tournaments. And in those sports like football, if the athlete is good, the coaches will be there -- the recruiters make the rounds of all the independent school programs when there are prospects, and that includes Sidwell (I have some first-hand knowledge of this). Bottom line: if you like the school and you value the academics, don't be scared away by the fact that Sidwell is not a powerhouse athletic program with 20 Division I prospects every year. The kids love playing with their classmates/schoolmates, and stars will still shine no matter how many other bright lights there may or may not be around them.

And how many football recruits have come out of Sidwell in the last few years? With football, it is about the level of competition you are playing at. Yes lots of recruiting going on through club. But the level the team is playing at for HS helps the coaches get those kids into recruiting camps where they do not go with their club teams.

It's great the kids love playing together and Sidwell is a great academic institution. But if you want football, Dematha, Gonzaga, Good Counsel, Prep are the places, hockey-Landon, Gonzaga and Prep.maybe Bullis. Lacrosse, Gonzaga, Landon, Prep, St Stephens. Sidwell is no way will compete athletically with these schools for those sports for kids who want to play at the top level.

I'm a big fan of St. Albans, and think highly of their overall sports program, but even they have not had many Division I football players in the past five years (and kudos to them, they've still won the league a few times in that timespan, mainly with great lacrosse and baseball players who embraced the multisport ethic). I can think of two walk-ons who played one year of Division I football, and there have been a few "FBS" (the old Division IAA) at Ivies over the past 5 years, but that's about it. So it's not a great metric. I also believe that football, because of the resources and money in recruiting, is a place where talent gets identified even if the team is not strong. Finally, football coaches look for potential -- they will take the talent that is a little unpolished over the polished gem who has reached his limit (talk to a coach sometime, it's interesting to hear their perspective).

For hockey, if you're in this area it's all about club -- if you want meaningful high school competition you have to go the NE boarding school route. For lacrosse, it is also all about club at this point -- witness all the players who have not dressed as varsity players at a school like Prep or Boys Latin in Baltimore who have commitments from top DI programs.

If a student wants the emphasis and to be part of a big winning program in high school in such sports, I agree with your list (with the exception of hockey, as noted above -- Landon, Gonzaga, Prep would all lose by ten goals to a team like Avon Old Farms in CT), but being on a mediocre or sub-par high school team is not going to hold them back in my experience.

[Anonymous]

But, IF your child is an outstanding athlete in one or more sports, it is much more rewarding to attend a school where he/she will have a decent team to play on in school. My kids looked for schools that could support both their academic curiosity and desire for challenge as well as a school that offered them the opportunity to play with peers at a high level. It makes ones highschool experience much richer. Sidwell was not a school that they would even consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:But, IF your child is an outstanding athlete in one or more sports, it is much more rewarding to attend a school where he/she will have a decent team to play on in school. My kids looked for schools that could support both their academic curiosity and desire for challenge as well as a school that offered them the opportunity to play with peers at a high level. It makes ones highschool experience much richer. Sidwell was not a school that they would even consider.

That's fine, not everyone rolls that way, but that's certainly a reasonable approach. (And as far as I can tell, if the sport is basketball or wrestling or soccer, and probably some others I'm not thinking of, Sidwell works fine by your standards too.) My kids played on relatively mediocre teams at Sidwell but achieved at a high athletic level in college (very good teams, if not national championship caliber, and good individual accomplishments), and it worked great for them. (Among other things, we and they liked that their inner circle of friends were not only other athletes; I'm not suggesting that's the case for your kids, just saying we liked that element of the experience). There's a good range of private schools in this area, fortunately, so people can pick and choose what's important to them.

[Anonymous]

Everyone is talking about boys schools vs Sidwell, just to be clear. In that context, currently if you play soccer or basketball Sidwell is superior to the IAC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everyone is talking about boys schools vs Sidwell, just to be clear. In that context, currently if you play soccer or basketball Sidwell is superior to the IAC schools.

I was talking about boys and girls athletics, actually (one of the former parents posting). And while generally in the past decade Sidwell boys soccer has been one of the best teams in the area, if one is being totally current they had a bit of a down year last year that coincided with a great year for St. Albans, which won the first DC City title. Sidwell girls soccer has won the last two ISL AA soccer championships, though. (The original poster seemed interested in both boys and girls sports.)