Sports recruitment for high school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse isn't, and probably never will be, equal to baseball. More kids play baseball, more colleges have programs, etc. It is also a more affordable game for kids to play. Don't confuse the lunatic following lacrosse has spread over a few dozen prep schools with something that is a real national scope game.

In this area, lacrosse is the premium spring sport at privates in dc/baltimore. A big bonus for the high schools is that the college programs are disproportionately at elite schools. You seem stuck in the 80's.

No, you seek stuck in the lax cheerleader section. What I wrote is lacrosse is a sport taken too seriously for what it is at a couple dozen prep schools. In the DMV + Baltimore you see that. Go 100 miles west or 100 miles south and you don't see that. Baseball is huge in every corner and county of America. Yes, some good academic colleges have lacrosse. But every one of those colleges has baseball and baseball goes hundreds of more colleges deep in the sport. In this area prep school lacrosse is the world to those idiot parents. But then there's the other 99% that doesn't care about it.

So your opinion is that one percent of the dc/Baltimore private school parents care about lax? My son actually plays baseball but nearly ninety percent of the sporty boys at his school play lax. So, no, not buying your numbers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse isn't, and probably never will be, equal to baseball. More kids play baseball, more colleges have programs, etc. It is also a more affordable game for kids to play. Don't confuse the lunatic following lacrosse has spread over a few dozen prep schools with something that is a real national scope game.

In this area, lacrosse is the premium spring sport at privates in dc/baltimore. A big bonus for the high schools is that the college programs are disproportionately at elite schools. You seem stuck in the 80's.

No, you seek stuck in the lax cheerleader section. What I wrote is lacrosse is a sport taken too seriously for what it is at a couple dozen prep schools. In the DMV + Baltimore you see that. Go 100 miles west or 100 miles south and you don't see that. Baseball is huge in every corner and county of America. Yes, some good academic colleges have lacrosse. But every one of those colleges has baseball and baseball goes hundreds of more colleges deep in the sport. In this area prep school lacrosse is the world to those idiot parents. But then there's the other 99% that doesn't care about it.

So your opinion is that one percent of the dc/Baltimore private school parents care about lax? My son actually plays baseball but nearly ninety percent of the sporty boys at his school play lax. So, no, not buying your numbers.

I read the post to say that this area (defined as DC/Baltimore) is extremely focused on lacrosse, but overall in the rest of the country baseball is bigger. So I don't think you are in disagreement with that poster. He might be exaggerating somewhat -- generally it is reported that there are about 500,000 high school baseball players, and the participation numbers for boys' high school lacrosse range from about 110,000 to 165,000, depending on the source. In terms of numbers of programs, the National HS Sports Federation reports about 2600 boys' lacrosse programs and almost 16,000 boys HS baseball programs. Lacrosse is definitely fast-growing whereas baseball is probably more static in terms of participation numbers. But nationally baseball still far more prevalent.

[Anonymous]

Yes, baseball is still quite a bit more prevalent but the lead is shrinking at every level of the sport. Even though lax is largely regional, its penetration of the regions in which players have access can't be dismissed. Some thoughts to consider:

Participation in youth lacrosse (ages 6 through 13) nationwide has doubled over the last ten years from 220,000 athletes to 440,000. Over this same period, baseball has lost 1.0 million players and is now hovering at about 4 million. About a 10:1 ratio.

At the Division I college level there are 170, and growing, total lacrosse programs when you combine the men's and women's game. That same statistic for baseball plus softball is 600 programs, so less than a 4:1 ratio. The average lacrosse program will carry more athletes and the lacrosse programs are concentrated at some of the best academic institutions.

At the Division III college level lacrosse is even stronger in terms of its profile. 400 programs combined w+m, and concentrated at the most highly rated colleges in the country.

I am not suggesting that you should play a sport strictly because it may be a path to college. That said, the attention that lacrosse gets from the better colleges is disproportionate, and especially worthy of note when compared to baseball and its declining trends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse isn't, and probably never will be, equal to baseball. More kids play baseball, more colleges have programs, etc. It is also a more affordable game for kids to play. Don't confuse the lunatic following lacrosse has spread over a few dozen prep schools with something that is a real national scope game.

In this area, lacrosse is the premium spring sport at privates in dc/baltimore. A big bonus for the high schools is that the college programs are disproportionately at elite schools. You seem stuck in the 80's.

No, you seek stuck in the lax cheerleader section. What I wrote is lacrosse is a sport taken too seriously for what it is at a couple dozen prep schools. In the DMV + Baltimore you see that. Go 100 miles west or 100 miles south and you don't see that. Baseball is huge in every corner and county of America. Yes, some good academic colleges have lacrosse. But every one of those colleges has baseball and baseball goes hundreds of more colleges deep in the sport. In this area prep school lacrosse is the world to those idiot parents. But then there's the other 99% that doesn't care about it.

So your opinion is that one percent of the dc/Baltimore private school parents care about lax? My son actually plays baseball but nearly ninety percent of the sporty boys at his school play lax. So, no, not buying your numbers.

I read the post to say that this area (defined as DC/Baltimore) is extremely focused on lacrosse, but overall in the rest of the country baseball is bigger. So I don't think you are in disagreement with that poster. He might be exaggerating somewhat -- generally it is reported that there are about 500,000 high school baseball players, and the participation numbers for boys' high school lacrosse range from about 110,000 to 165,000, depending on the source. In terms of numbers of programs, the National HS Sports Federation reports about 2600 boys' lacrosse programs and almost 16,000 boys HS baseball programs. Lacrosse is definitely fast-growing whereas baseball is probably more static in terms of participation numbers. But nationally baseball still far more prevalent.

If his talking about nationally, how is that relevant? My point is that most local privates are more willing to focus resources on lacrosse than baseball.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse isn't, and probably never will be, equal to baseball. More kids play baseball, more colleges have programs, etc. It is also a more affordable game for kids to play. Don't confuse the lunatic following lacrosse has spread over a few dozen prep schools with something that is a real national scope game.

In this area, lacrosse is the premium spring sport at privates in dc/baltimore. A big bonus for the high schools is that the college programs are disproportionately at elite schools. You seem stuck in the 80's.

No, you seek stuck in the lax cheerleader section. What I wrote is lacrosse is a sport taken too seriously for what it is at a couple dozen prep schools. In the DMV + Baltimore you see that. Go 100 miles west or 100 miles south and you don't see that. Baseball is huge in every corner and county of America. Yes, some good academic colleges have lacrosse. But every one of those colleges has baseball and baseball goes hundreds of more colleges deep in the sport. In this area prep school lacrosse is the world to those idiot parents. But then there's the other 99% that doesn't care about it.

So your opinion is that one percent of the dc/Baltimore private school parents care about lax? My son actually plays baseball but nearly ninety percent of the sporty boys at his school play lax. So, no, not buying your numbers.

I read the post to say that this area (defined as DC/Baltimore) is extremely focused on lacrosse, but overall in the rest of the country baseball is bigger. So I don't think you are in disagreement with that poster. He might be exaggerating somewhat -- generally it is reported that there are about 500,000 high school baseball players, and the participation numbers for boys' high school lacrosse range from about 110,000 to 165,000, depending on the source. In terms of numbers of programs, the National HS Sports Federation reports about 2600 boys' lacrosse programs and almost 16,000 boys HS baseball programs. Lacrosse is definitely fast-growing whereas baseball is probably more static in terms of participation numbers. But nationally baseball still far more prevalent.

If his talking about nationally, how is that relevant? My point is that most local privates are more willing to focus resources on lacrosse than baseball.

Which is why, if you go back to the first few, that posters offered some schools (St. John's, Georgetown Prep, St. Albans) that are still very interested in fielding good baseball teams. The original poster has a kid who plays baseball. I don't think there's any reason this needs to be "lacrosse vs. baseball" when people are offering specific suggestions of schools interested in good baseball players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse isn't, and probably never will be, equal to baseball. More kids play baseball, more colleges have programs, etc. It is also a more affordable game for kids to play. Don't confuse the lunatic following lacrosse has spread over a few dozen prep schools with something that is a real national scope game.

In this area, lacrosse is the premium spring sport at privates in dc/baltimore. A big bonus for the high schools is that the college programs are disproportionately at elite schools. You seem stuck in the 80's.

No, you seek stuck in the lax cheerleader section. What I wrote is lacrosse is a sport taken too seriously for what it is at a couple dozen prep schools. In the DMV + Baltimore you see that. Go 100 miles west or 100 miles south and you don't see that. Baseball is huge in every corner and county of America. Yes, some good academic colleges have lacrosse. But every one of those colleges has baseball and baseball goes hundreds of more colleges deep in the sport. In this area prep school lacrosse is the world to those idiot parents. But then there's the other 99% that doesn't care about it.

So your opinion is that one percent of the dc/Baltimore private school parents care about lax? My son actually plays baseball but nearly ninety percent of the sporty boys at his school play lax. So, no, not buying your numbers.

I read the post to say that this area (defined as DC/Baltimore) is extremely focused on lacrosse, but overall in the rest of the country baseball is bigger. So I don't think you are in disagreement with that poster. He might be exaggerating somewhat -- generally it is reported that there are about 500,000 high school baseball players, and the participation numbers for boys' high school lacrosse range from about 110,000 to 165,000, depending on the source. In terms of numbers of programs, the National HS Sports Federation reports about 2600 boys' lacrosse programs and almost 16,000 boys HS baseball programs. Lacrosse is definitely fast-growing whereas baseball is probably more static in terms of participation numbers. But nationally baseball still far more prevalent.

If his talking about nationally, how is that relevant? My point is that most local privates are more willing to focus resources on lacrosse than baseball.

Yeah, and even if he is talking nationally, he still seems stuck in the 1980s. Lacrosse participation at the HS level is up over 300K with 170K+ males playing the game per US Lacrosse. And the growth of the sport is insane (10+ annually from 2004-2014, 3-4% annually since). Baseball is somewhat popular in every corner of America but its popularity is declining (as is participation in the sport). Title IX (which I support fully) is killing off baseball but new men's D1 lax programs are starting to pop up. Frankly, baseball is almost as expensive lacrosse, with decent bats costing 150 and gloves 200+. Can get a stick, helmet, and pad starter set for 250 all-in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lacrosse isn't, and probably never will be, equal to baseball. More kids play baseball, more colleges have programs, etc. It is also a more affordable game for kids to play. Don't confuse the lunatic following lacrosse has spread over a few dozen prep schools with something that is a real national scope game.

In this area, lacrosse is the premium spring sport at privates in dc/baltimore. A big bonus for the high schools is that the college programs are disproportionately at elite schools. You seem stuck in the 80's.

No, you seek stuck in the lax cheerleader section. What I wrote is lacrosse is a sport taken too seriously for what it is at a couple dozen prep schools. In the DMV + Baltimore you see that. Go 100 miles west or 100 miles south and you don't see that. Baseball is huge in every corner and county of America. Yes, some good academic colleges have lacrosse. But every one of those colleges has baseball and baseball goes hundreds of more colleges deep in the sport. In this area prep school lacrosse is the world to those idiot parents. But then there's the other 99% that doesn't care about it.

So your opinion is that one percent of the dc/Baltimore private school parents care about lax? My son actually plays baseball but nearly ninety percent of the sporty boys at his school play lax. So, no, not buying your numbers.

I read the post to say that this area (defined as DC/Baltimore) is extremely focused on lacrosse, but overall in the rest of the country baseball is bigger. So I don't think you are in disagreement with that poster. He might be exaggerating somewhat -- generally it is reported that there are about 500,000 high school baseball players, and the participation numbers for boys' high school lacrosse range from about 110,000 to 165,000, depending on the source. In terms of numbers of programs, the National HS Sports Federation reports about 2600 boys' lacrosse programs and almost 16,000 boys HS baseball programs. Lacrosse is definitely fast-growing whereas baseball is probably more static in terms of participation numbers. But nationally baseball still far more prevalent.

If his talking about nationally, how is that relevant? My point is that most local privates are more willing to focus resources on lacrosse than baseball.

Yeah, and even if he is talking nationally, he still seems stuck in the 1980s. Lacrosse participation at the HS level is up over 300K with 170K+ males playing the game per US Lacrosse. And the growth of the sport is insane (10+ annually from 2004-2014, 3-4% annually since). Baseball is somewhat popular in every corner of America but its popularity is declining (as is participation in the sport). Title IX (which I support fully) is killing off baseball but new men's D1 lax programs are starting to pop up. Frankly, baseball is almost as expensive lacrosse, with decent bats costing 150 and gloves 200+. Can get a stick, helmet, and pad starter set for 250 all-in.

This thread was started by someone asking about baseball. It's a useful question precisely because lacrosse does tend to be higher profile at the local private schools.

It's not in dispute that (a) lacrosse is fast-growing at the youth and HS level; and (b) for now, baseball is still played by many more boys. I'm a former Division I lacrosse player, by the way -- love the game of lacrosse but am a huge fan of the history of baseball and enjoy watching a youth or HS baseball game too. Different kids with different skill sets can also excel. Somebody who can't hit a curve might be fleet afoot and a dynamic lacrosse player. A kid without foot speed but with a live arm can make his mark in baseball. Let's not forget that it's great to have options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if your son is as gifted as you say, apply to both STA and SJC. With your HHI, and what your son can contribute to the school, both will make it financially workable.

I don't think SJC would offer $$$ to a family of three or even four making $160k. However, StA and Prep might. OP, please be aware last year's admissions were brutal. Don't assume your son will get in. Make sure he preps hard for the admissions tests.

I think 160k easily gets FA for a recruited athlete at any of those schools.

What about if the kid isn't recruited for baseball after all, but still wants to attend? Do they award financial aid to families at that income level? I know StA would, but what about the others mentioned?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if your son is as gifted as you say, apply to both STA and SJC. With your HHI, and what your son can contribute to the school, both will make it financially workable.

I don't think SJC would offer $$$ to a family of three or even four making $160k. However, StA and Prep might. OP, please be aware last year's admissions were brutal. Don't assume your son will get in. Make sure he preps hard for the admissions tests.

I think 160k easily gets FA for a recruited athlete at any of those schools.

What about if the kid isn't recruited for baseball after all, but still wants to attend? Do they award financial aid to families at that income level? I know StA would, but what about the others mentioned?

The vast majority of aid at SJC is directed at their athletes, specifically football/basketball (girls and boys), but to a lesser extent baseball and girls soccer. Frankly, having witnessed the aid determination process first hand at the school I found it to be beyond unseemly and not at all inline w the Catholic virtues they claim to embrace. Cannot speak to Prep.

[Anonymous]

The vast majority of aid at SJC is directed at their athletes, specifically football/basketball (girls and boys), but to a lesser extent baseball and girls soccer. Frankly, having witnessed the aid determination process first hand at the school I found it to be beyond unseemly and not at all inline w the Catholic virtues they claim to embrace.

A signal example of how to use statistics in a fundamentally misleading way. First, roughly 3/4 of the SJC student body plays a sport, so by definition FA would be going to athletes if it is broadly spread. Second, an enormous percentage of SJC tuition-offset money goes to Scholars, musicians, etc. as merit-based grants. I assume you are excluding that pool of money from your "vast majority." Third,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: The vast majority of aid at SJC is directed at their athletes, specifically football/basketball (girls and boys), but to a lesser extent baseball and girls soccer. Frankly, having witnessed the aid determination process first hand at the school I found it to be beyond unseemly and not at all inline w the Catholic virtues they claim to embrace.

A signal example of how to use statistics in a fundamentally misleading way. First, roughly 3/4 of the SJC student body plays a sport, so by definition FA would be going to athletes if it is broadly spread. Second, an enormous percentage of SJC tuition-offset money goes to Scholars, musicians, etc. as merit-based grants. I assume you are excluding that pool of money from your "vast majority." Third,

Oh the irony in that sentence in bold.

[Anonymous]

My son keeps getting messages from a recruiting site called CaptainU for Lax. Has anyone ever heard of them or used them? He signed up with a tournament and we never went beyond the initial trial period. Is it a gimmick?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son keeps getting messages from a recruiting site called CaptainU for Lax. Has anyone ever heard of them or used them? He signed up with a tournament and we never went beyond the initial trial period. Is it a gimmick?

Yes, it's a gimmick. The same thing happened after our daughter played in a soccer tournament.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: The vast majority of aid at SJC is directed at their athletes, specifically football/basketball (girls and boys), but to a lesser extent baseball and girls soccer. Frankly, having witnessed the aid determination process first hand at the school I found it to be beyond unseemly and not at all inline w the Catholic virtues they claim to embrace.

A signal example of how to use statistics in a fundamentally misleading way. First, roughly 3/4 of the SJC student body plays a sport, so by definition FA would be going to athletes if it is broadly spread. Second, an enormous percentage of SJC tuition-offset money goes to Scholars, musicians, etc. as merit-based grants. I assume you are excluding that pool of money from your "vast majority." Third,

Oh the irony in that sentence in bold.

Very disappointing this is the case at local preps. It does not serve the institutions well in the long term.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if your son is as gifted as you say, apply to both STA and SJC. With your HHI, and what your son can contribute to the school, both will make it financially workable.

I don't think SJC would offer $$$ to a family of three or even four making $160k. However, StA and Prep might. OP, please be aware last year's admissions were brutal. Don't assume your son will get in. Make sure he preps hard for the admissions tests.

I think 160k easily gets FA for a recruited athlete at any of those schools.

What about if the kid isn't recruited for baseball after all, but still wants to attend? Do they award financial aid to families at that income level? I know StA would, but what about the others mentioned?

SJC will reject you if you ask for a certain amount of aid and you don't qualify for it. These schools do not practice need-blind admissions. (I use qualify here loosely as other PP's have mentioned about how they allocate)