Are the most competitive student-athletes nerolled in WCAC school.

[Anonymous]

DC is enjoys sports but after several tours and discussions with several coaches, I get the sense that the athletics (outside of lacrosse at GP and Landon) are extremely overrated. Is there a top independent school that is strong in football, basketball, soccer, etc.? If you are e a serious athlete in one of the above sports and want to compete at the highest level while also preparing for entry into a top university, aren't Dematha, Gonzaga and Good Counsel better options than the independent school route?

[Anonymous]

WCAC schools are stronger in pretty much most sports except for lacrosse. They are much bigger schools in terms of enrollment, they recruit a lot harder than the most of the independent schools, and more importantly their academic standards are not even close with most of the IAC and MAC schools. From an economic standpoint, all of the WCAC are at least half in tuition compared to the IAC and MAC schools however the facilities at few of the independent are on scale with D3 colleges.

The WCAC is in a league of their own when it comes to football and basketball. When it comes to ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, baseball, the IAC & MAC schools hold their own and even beat some of the WCAC schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is enjoys sports but after several tours and discussions with several coaches, I get the sense that the athletics (outside of lacrosse at GP and Landon) are extremely overrated. Is there a top independent school that is strong in football, basketball, soccer, etc.? If you are e a serious athlete in one of the above sports and want to compete at the highest level while also preparing for entry into a top university, aren't Dematha, Gonzaga and Good Counsel better options than the independent school route?

If you are a great athlete that "projects" to be a college player, colleges will find you and you will be "recruited".

I don't know if "overrated" is the right word to describe the IAC programs. "Small Time" or "Smaller Time" might be a better descriptor.

The level of competition, the intensity of the individual programs and the coaching at these WCAC schools is much better than anything you will find in the IAC currently. This combination of factors helps develop players. You will rarely see multi-sport athletes in the WCAC schools since the pace and demands of these programs demand almost total dedication. While you don't see DeMatha or Gonzaga football players playing basketball, you might easily see that in the IAC. There's even more lacrosse and football players.

College recruiters look first at the WCAC schools for basketball and football players. DeMatha, for example, had 13 senior football players get Division I scholarships a few years ago. When IAC athletes do go off to play in college it's generally at the non-scholarship level.

Gonzaga has sent a lot of players to the top athletic schools and the top academic schools, especially the Ivies. The current Stanford QB is a Gonzaga grad. Gonzaga academics are felt to be better than the other WCAC schools.

[Anonymous]

Other than football and basketball -- most of the top athletes play club sports at the elite level so it doesn't really matter which high school you choose. If you want to be recruited for men's football/basketball...go public or to a big school like DeMatha. Otherwise, don't sweat the school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WCAC schools are stronger in pretty much most sports except for lacrosse. They are much bigger schools in terms of enrollment, they recruit a lot harder than the most of the independent schools, and more importantly their academic standards are not even close with most of the IAC and MAC schools. From an economic standpoint, all of the WCAC are at least half in tuition compared to the IAC and MAC schools however the facilities at few of the independent are on scale with D3 colleges.

The WCAC is in a league of their own when it comes to football and basketball. When it comes to ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, baseball, the IAC & MAC schools hold their own and even beat some of the WCAC schools.

The WCAC is top 3 lacrosse leagues in the country that produces top ranked programs every year.

[Anonymous]

Gonzaga has been a top lacrosse program in the DMV for a few years now, and until last year had a several year winning streak over Landon and had beaten other IAC teams. That league also has some schools that have been building a program. Agreed on the PP, take away this one sport and the WCAC is the main sports prep school conference in the area. Gonzaga also has top teams in some sports that are a lot less established in the area like rugby and water polo. Their rugby team hasn't lost in years.

[Anonymous]

With regard to facilities- has the PP been to some of the WCAC schools lately? They also look like D3 colleges (if not better than than some I've seen), especially DeMatha

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC is enjoys sports but after several tours and discussions with several coaches, I get the sense that the athletics (outside of lacrosse at GP and Landon) are extremely overrated. Is there a top independent school that is strong in football, basketball, soccer, etc.? If you are e a serious athlete in one of the above sports and want to compete at the highest level while also preparing for entry into a top university, aren't Dematha, Gonzaga and Good Counsel better options than the independent school route?

I hate to break the news to you but your kid probably won't make the team at one of these top sports high schools. Just "enjoying" sports is not enough these days. Your kid will either have to play on the elite club circuit or be recruited by one of these schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WCAC schools are stronger in pretty much most sports except for lacrosse. They are much bigger schools in terms of enrollment, they recruit a lot harder than the most of the independent schools, and more importantly their academic standards are not even close with most of the IAC and MAC schools. From an economic standpoint, all of the WCAC are at least half in tuition compared to the IAC and MAC schools however the facilities at few of the independent are on scale with D3 colleges.

The WCAC is in a league of their own when it comes to football and basketball. When it comes to ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, baseball, the IAC & MAC schools hold their own and even beat some of the WCAC schools.

The WCAC is top 3 lacrosse leagues in the country that produces top ranked programs every year.

That is funny. Gonzaga has been a top team for several years, but the rest of the WCAC was pretty down last year. Even in their best years, they are behind the MIAA and IAC locally. There are other leagues in the country consistently stronger than the WCAC, including the PA IAC and others. WCAC is not consider one of the best 3 lax leagues.

[Anonymous]

No argument here that the MIAA and IAC have more depth as lacrosse leagues, but Gonzaga is as good as any team in either league despite being in a weaker conference for lacrosse. The overall picture is no debate; the WCAC wipes out all others in terms of depth and quality in every other sport. You won't be seeing the Landon vs GP football or basketball game on television anytime soon, or be debating what that means in the local rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No argument here that the MIAA and IAC have more depth as lacrosse leagues, but Gonzaga is as good as any team in either league despite being in a weaker conference for lacrosse. The overall picture is no debate; the WCAC wipes out all others in terms of depth and quality in every other sport. You won't be seeing the Landon vs GP football or basketball game on television anytime soon, or be debating what that means in the local rankings.

Because the WCAC is focused first and foremost on athletics. The other schools in conferences in this area care about much more about academics to varying individual degrees. The WCAC is cheaper and has a lower academic bar, so of course they are going to be better for football and basketball, in particular.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Your non-Catholic boy may be happier at Gonzaga, Prep or St Johns. Prep is a very good choice for football and baseball. My kid plays both plus one other sport and what I like is that he is supported as a multi-sport athlete by the coaches. The academics are good (nor as good as Sidwell or STA) but on par with Bullis, Landon or Potomac. My advice is to ignore DCUM. Take your kid to visit, apply, shadow, and then let him choose among the schools where he feels happiest. My kid chose Prep over a Big 3 because of sports.

[Anonymous]

Agree with others that if your kid "enjoys" sports, he will likely not make these HS teams unless the school fields a freshmen team. My DS was an all-star/travel soccer player and did not make Varsity soccer at Gonzaga. Many others have had similar experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WCAC schools are stronger in pretty much most sports except for lacrosse. They are much bigger schools in terms of enrollment, they recruit a lot harder than the most of the independent schools, and more importantly their academic standards are not even close with most of the IAC and MAC schools. From an economic standpoint, all of the WCAC are at least half in tuition compared to the IAC and MAC schools however the facilities at few of the independent are on scale with D3 colleges.

The WCAC is in a league of their own when it comes to football and basketball. When it comes to ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, baseball, the IAC & MAC schools hold their own and even beat some of the WCAC schools.

The WCAC is top 3 lacrosse leagues in the country that produces top ranked programs every year.

That is funny. Gonzaga has been a top team for several years, but the rest of the WCAC was pretty down last year. Even in their best years, they are behind the MIAA and IAC locally. There are other leagues in the country consistently stronger than the WCAC, including the PA IAC and others. WCAC is not consider one of the best 3 lax leagues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. Your non-Catholic boy may be happier at Gonzaga, Prep or St Johns. Prep is a very good choice for football and baseball. My kid plays both plus one other sport and what I like is that he is supported as a multi-sport athlete by the coaches. The academics are good (nor as good as Sidwell or STA) but on par with Bullis, Landon or Potomac. My advice is to ignore DCUM. Take your kid to visit, apply, shadow, and then let him choose among the schools where he feels happiest. My kid chose Prep over a Big 3 because of sports.

Sorry, academics aren't on par with any IAC or MAC school.
WCAC are athletic factories. They are also catholic schools with a specific type of education that works for some families. But if you are a non catholic student athlete, you will find a more academically rich experience outside of the WCAC.