Athletic culture at area privates

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here—I should have stated the sports that my twins play. DS: basketball and baseball, DD: Field hockey is her primary but she’s interested in trying another sport (or two) in HS if that’s an option. Has expressed interest in volleyball and tennis.

The break down from PP with info about various leagues is a good one. I guess I’m looking for more about how those tiers translates re overall culture at the school. Like for a school that plays in the IAC, does the school feel driven by sports or are there a fair number of kids who are less sporty and/or trying a new sport there. DS is a very good athlete but he’s on the smaller side so not going to knock anyone’s socks off. Trying to find options where he could potentially play his preferred sports but also has solid backup options if it doesn’t work out. DD is a very good athlete too, but doesn’t have the same issue with size being a barrier and I think she will likely be on a varsity track even at the more competitive schools.

Re potentially splitting them up—we were thinking if we did that they would have to be relatively close geographically. Like maybe GPrep and SR/AHC or Landon/Holton. We are most interested in schools in Bethesda/Potomac area as we live in Chevy Chase.

If your son likes basketball, he should try Paul VI, they have a great program.

PVI recruits nationally for basketball. It’s not just for kids who like basketball. Plus, not very practical from Chevy Chase (unless the kid really is at the PVI star recruitment level then I suppose the world is their oyster).

Prep and Bullis both just beat PVI over the weekend at DMV Live. PVI isn’t a national powerhouse this year. Last year that may have been true, but not now. Still a great program though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP said her DS won’t make varsity or maybe even jv at the competitive schools.

NP, and I think this is a good reason not to rule out PVAC schools. Unless you're aiming for D1 recruitment, why not go to a HS where you get real playing time?

(That said, it's a misconception that these schools let everyone play in every game. Even less competitive schools will have competitive teams and there's no guarantee you make varsity, let alone get put in during a close game.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, it sounds like your son wants to prioritize baseball but play basketball at least for a bit.

IMO, if your kids can get in,Sidwell would offer the best opportunity for your daughter to play multiple sports and try new sports while maximizing baseball and at least JV/Freshman basketball. Additionally, other than basketball, literally any other sport would offer the ability for your son to try out, play on JV and work through to Varsity.

I don’t know about Sidwell being the best bet. I have a daughter that goes to one of the all girls Catholics and plays three sports. If your daughter is moderately athletic, tries, and cares, she can play 3 varsity sports by junior year at just about any of the private schools in the dc area.

It’s the boy that is going to be a challenge. You give good advice. Find a mid level school and have him work through a program. You’re not just going to show up at Gonzaga and make the basketball team if you don’t play year round.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here—I think DS could make JV at maybe all but the top schools, but whether he’d be able to level up to varsity after that and actually play is the issue. Weighing whether it’s better to play all four years in a less competitive league vs tap out by sophomore or junior year. He’s a strong athlete and has played travel/done extra training for a long time, but at his current size he will not be recruited. DH and I are not small, but DS has not really started puberty. Seems crazy that we are making hs decisions when so much could change physically with DS in the next 6 months to a year.

He could also look into sports like wrestling where one can start as a freshman and have success over the course of 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP said her DS won’t make varsity or maybe even jv at the competitive schools.

NP, and I think this is a good reason not to rule out PVAC schools. Unless you're aiming for D1 recruitment, why not go to a HS where you get real playing time?

(That said, it's a misconception that these schools let everyone play in every game. Even less competitive schools will have competitive teams and there's no guarantee you make varsity, let alone get put in during a close game.)

True, plus your kid just might end up being captain of two championship teams, which looks awesome on the resume for a non-recruited athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is PVAC a step down from MAC?

Yes.

WCAC
IAC



MAC















PVAC

In boys basketball, the WCAC and IAC
can’t be that much better than MAC (Sidwell) because Sidwell has beaten all of the WCAC and IAC teams for the past 3 years straight to win double championship titles.

WCAC and IAC are stronger top to bottom and for nearly every sport. Basketball, with its small rosters can be an exception (but aside from Sidwell, who in the MAC is likely to be competitive against the IAC and WCAC, in basketball). What was the last MAC team to beat an IAC or WCAC team at football or lacrosse?

[Anonymous]

Saint Andrew’s and Maret usually have good basketball teams. Flint Hill just beat Good Counsel and lost via buzzer beater to Saint Mary’s Ryken at DMV Live.
Right now Sidwell has a better basketball program than anything in the IAC and you could argue he same about the WCAC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is PVAC a step down from MAC?

Yes.

WCAC
IAC



MAC















PVAC

In boys basketball, the WCAC and IAC
can’t be that much better than MAC (Sidwell) because Sidwell has beaten all of the WCAC and IAC teams for the past 3 years straight to win double championship titles.

WCAC and IAC are stronger top to bottom and for nearly every sport. Basketball, with its small rosters can be an exception (but aside from Sidwell, who in the MAC is likely to be competitive against the IAC and WCAC, in basketball). What was the last MAC team to beat an IAC or WCAC team at football or lacrosse?

In baseball, the other relevant sport to OP, Potomac (MAC) beat O’Connell (WCAC) and SSSAS (IAC) this year. There is overlap at the top and bottom of the conferences and kids can play at a high level at many area schools.

OP, choose the school first and just avoid the tippy top of the baseball and basketball programs, and your son should find a great home on both teams.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is PVAC a step down from MAC?

Yes.

WCAC
IAC



MAC















PVAC

In boys basketball, the WCAC and IAC
can’t be that much better than MAC (Sidwell) because Sidwell has beaten all of the WCAC and IAC teams for the past 3 years straight to win double championship titles.

WCAC and IAC are stronger top to bottom and for nearly every sport. Basketball, with its small rosters can be an exception (but aside from Sidwell, who in the MAC is likely to be competitive against the IAC and WCAC, in basketball). What was the last MAC team to beat an IAC or WCAC team at football or lacrosse?

In baseball, the other relevant sport to OP, Potomac (MAC) beat O’Connell (WCAC) and SSSAS (IAC) this year. There is overlap at the top and bottom of the conferences and kids can play at a high level at many area schools.

OP, choose the school first and just avoid the tippy top of the baseball and basketball programs, and your son should find a great home on both teams.

The MAC definitely fields some competitive athletic teams. Some of these posters just don’t know what they are talking about.

[Anonymous]

Bad take. Maret absolutely crushed St. Stephen’s in football last season. St. Andrew’s beat St. Albans in lacrosse this season.

[Anonymous]

Your kid won’t play

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Saint Andrew’s and Maret usually have good basketball teams. Flint Hill just beat Good Counsel and lost via buzzer beater to Saint Mary’s Ryken at DMV Live.
Right now Sidwell has a better basketball program than anything in the IAC and you could argue he same about the WCAC.

Bullis beat Sidwell at the MAC IAC challenge last season - the only time they have played recently I believe.

[Anonymous]

If OP is interested in sending both twins to same school, a school in the MAC or PVAC leagues is the best option. First, there are more schools that are coed in those leagues and they offer less competitive team options for DS. Sounds like OP’s DD would have more options because of the differences in numbers of kids trying out/caliber of players between boys and girls sports, but DS despite being a strong athlete will have an uphill fight to earn a spot on the bench.

Personally I’m not sure why people get so hung up on which school has the best teams. OP’s original post sounded like they were looking for balance and trying to figure out if there is a school that would work for both twins. We don’t have twins but have had several DCs go through area schools and all participated in a sports team in some way or another. No one was going to play in college so we focused on finding a school with the best balance of academics and sport of DC’s choice. For all DCs this meant a school where that sport was middle to bottom of the pack rankings wise and at the end of the day DCs had a great hs experience because they got to play all four years, were prepared for college, and not one has ever looked back with regret that they didn’t pursue a “higher level” sport X school.

[Anonymous]

Winning teams is just part of “athletic culture” at a school.

Winning teams are frequently found at schools with a significant athletic culture, but they can be present when the school, the students and the alumni have little interest in Athletics when compared to other schools. (One or two winning teams don’t necessarily reflect a strong athletic culture.)

In local schools with a stronger athletic culture, student and alumni interest is high, crowds at important games are large, athletes have “stature” at the school, coaching staffs are held to high expectations and Admissions gives significant weight to athletic talent particularly in the sports the school prioritizes. The Administration recognizes the importance sports has to the alumni and as a way to bind the whole enterprise together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is PVAC a step down from MAC?

Yes.

WCAC
IAC



MAC















PVAC

In boys basketball, the WCAC and IAC
can’t be that much better than MAC (Sidwell) because Sidwell has beaten all of the WCAC and IAC teams for the past 3 years straight to win double championship titles.

WCAC and IAC are stronger top to bottom and for nearly every sport. Basketball, with its small rosters can be an exception (but aside from Sidwell, who in the MAC is likely to be competitive against the IAC and WCAC, in basketball). What was the last MAC team to beat an IAC or WCAC team at football or lacrosse?

But football and lax are generally irrelevant unless one is going to be a D1/D3 recruit. Even Sidwell generates those every year.