Non-Catholic schools with good basketball teams

[Anonymous]

I have a DD in the 6th grade and DS in the 8th grade, both whom eat, breathe, and sleep basketball. DD also plays softball and loves the arts(very into visual arts and plays piano and flute). DS plays soccer in addition to basketball, but doesn't have any other extracurricular interests outside of sports. We are in an awesome private now(in a totally different area), but will relocate to either DC or Baltimore next school year. From my research, it seems like most of the Catholic schools meet our requirements, but I'm not looking for a school with a religious aspect. Also DD is a way stronger student than DS, so I don't think that she'll have an issue getting into the top schools. So I'm finding it difficult to pick a school that fits both of their needs. DH and I like what we've heard about GDS so far and possibly Holton and Landon. We haven't looked much into the Baltimore schools, however we would like settle on one in the Roland Park area. Any other suggestions?

[Anonymous]

GDS is a great school, although not sports crazy. But if you're looking for next year, you better get moving! The application deadline for GDS is in three weeks, with most others roughly in the same timeframe.

[Anonymous]

I only know about boys basketball. Both GDS and Landon are awful at basketball.

The Catholic schools are definitely have the best boys teams. Sidwell is pretty good this year, but that is primarily due to one player who will graduate this year. Josh Hart, player of the year candidate at Villanova, also went to Sitwelll.

Maret has had some good teams recently.

[Anonymous]

How good is your kid adult basketball? Catholics are pretty great. None of the independents can match therm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a DD in the 6th grade and DS in the 8th grade, both whom eat, breathe, and sleep basketball. DD also plays softball and loves the arts(very into visual arts and plays piano and flute). DS plays soccer in addition to basketball, but doesn't have any other extracurricular interests outside of sports. We are in an awesome private now(in a totally different area), but will relocate to either DC or Baltimore next school year. From my research, it seems like most of the Catholic schools meet our requirements, but I'm not looking for a school with a religious aspect. Also DD is a way stronger student than DS, so I don't think that she'll have an issue getting into the top schools. So I'm finding it difficult to pick a school that fits both of their needs. DH and I like what we've heard about GDS so far and possibly Holton and Landon. We haven't looked much into the Baltimore schools, however we would like settle on one in the Roland Park area. Any other suggestions?

Sidwell Friends school has good girls' and boys' basketball programs. Very strong academically but also selective -- a lot of applications. If you're open to single-sex, you might look at NCS (girls) and St. Albans (boys), which share a campus. Both schools have solid basketball programs and are excellent academically. Although NCS isn't a powerhouse, if you're a great player at a school like NCS (or Sidwell) you will absolutely get noticed -- the Josh Hart example from Sidwell (helped lead Villanova to a National Championship last year and is a dominant force this year) and two recent NCS grads who are playing at Stanford and Princeton demonstrate that.

I don't know as much about Baltimore -- I went to college with some great women who went to Roland Park Country School and their brothers went to Gilman, so that's a pairing you'll often find, I think.

Good luck with your move.

[Anonymous]

St Stephens St Agnes

[Anonymous]

You
Might reconsider Catholic schools. my kids who are good athletes begged to go to Catholic schools because of the sports programs. The Catholic schools in the DC area have quite a few non Catholic kids. The best Catholics can meet the needs of a top student but will also have kids of average abilities too.
Schools like Sidwell and GDS may be academically stressful for your son. HoltonLandon might work too but I am
Not sure about their basketball
Programs. But both schools value athletes. Holton seems stronger academically than Landon. I personally felt
More comfortable with the Jesuit schools because of their philosophies of developing the whole
Person. And a serious commitment to community service. We
Looked at Holton and Landon but didn't
Like the
Vibe. They seemed too waspy and a little superficial to us. Especially Landon. In the end we sent our son to a Catholic and our daughter to Sidwell. Both are happy. Sidwell has good girls basketball and top
Notch academics. It can be stressful because of the amount of homework but my daughter was
Both have had truly inspirational teachers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You
Might reconsider Catholic schools. my kids who are good athletes begged to go to Catholic schools because of the sports programs. The Catholic schools in the DC area have quite a few non Catholic kids. The best Catholics can meet the needs of a top student but will also have kids of average abilities too.
Schools like Sidwell and GDS may be academically stressful for your son. HoltonLandon might work too but I am
Not sure about their basketball
Programs. But both schools value athletes. Holton seems stronger academically than Landon. I personally felt
More comfortable with the Jesuit schools because of their philosophies of developing the whole
Person. And a serious commitment to community service. We
Looked at Holton and Landon but didn't
Like the
Vibe. They seemed too waspy and a little superficial to us. Especially Landon. In the end we sent our son to a Catholic and our daughter to Sidwell. Both are happy. Sidwell has good girls basketball and top
Notch academics. It can be stressful because of the amount of homework but my daughter was
Both have had truly inspirational teachers.

Were your children in high school at over-lapping times and where did your son end up if your daughter was at Sidwell? We have struggled with this, too.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Sidwell is under consideration for DD and we know it's a long shot for DS. After having a talk with DS, he says that he doesn't care if he goes to Catholic school just as long as he gets to play sports and get into a good college. We were able to tour St. John's and we enjoyed the campus, it seems like a good fit. Although not for DD as she'll only be in 7th grade next year. I feel like putting her in public until high school may be feasible, but she is thriving in private so we are stuck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Sidwell is under consideration for DD and we know it's a long shot for DS. After having a talk with DS, he says that he doesn't care if he goes to Catholic school just as long as he gets to play sports and get into a good college. We were able to tour St. John's and we enjoyed the campus, it seems like a good fit. Although not for DD as she'll only be in 7th grade next year. I feel like putting her in public until high school may be feasible, but she is thriving in private so we are stuck.[/quote

You might check out St. Albans as well for your son. If he's a really strong basketball player as opposed to a modestly talented player who loves the game (not being dismissive, this would describe my family) then the basketball could help with admissions. They also really value multi-sport athletes (because the school is relatively small they need some good multi-sport athletes) so, for example, if he would also be willing to play football that could be a good angle. Another option would be Bullis. They've got a really strong basketball program (they recruit a lot and get transfers) so he'd have to be really good to play there, but that's also the case at a school like St. John's. People take their shots at Bullis (there's a lot of sniping that comes out of athletic rivalries) but the parents I've met with kids there have said the kids have had very good experiences. Bullis is about 8-9 miles away from the DC city line, in Potomac, MD.

For your daughter as well as your son, make sure to reach out to the coaches/athletic directors. Girls' basketball is definitely a sport that is given some weight in admissions.

You're not local and it may sound over the top but I might try to get some game tape of both your kids (easy enough to post privately on YouTube and send coaches a link). For area kids, girls and boys' basketball coaches definitely go watch them play in middle school so game tape is a substitute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Sidwell is under consideration for DD and we know it's a long shot for DS. After having a talk with DS, he says that he doesn't care if he goes to Catholic school just as long as he gets to play sports and get into a good college. We were able to tour St. John's and we enjoyed the campus, it seems like a good fit. Although not for DD as she'll only be in 7th grade next year. I feel like putting her in public until high school may be feasible, but she is thriving in private so we are stuck.

You might check out St. Albans as well for your son. If he's a really strong basketball player as opposed to a modestly talented player who loves the game (not being dismissive, this would describe my family) then the basketball could help with admissions. They also really value multi-sport athletes (because the school is relatively small they need some good multi-sport athletes) so, for example, if he would also be willing to play football that could be a good angle. Another option would be Bullis. They've got a really strong basketball program (they recruit a lot and get transfers) so he'd have to be really good to play there, but that's also the case at a school like St. John's. People take their shots at Bullis (there's a lot of sniping that comes out of athletic rivalries) but the parents I've met with kids there have said the kids have had very good experiences. Bullis is about 8-9 miles away from the DC city line, in Potomac, MD.

For your daughter as well as your son, make sure to reach out to the coaches/athletic directors. Girls' basketball is definitely a sport that is given some weight in admissions.

You're not local and it may sound over the top but I might try to get some game tape of both your kids (easy enough to post privately on YouTube and send coaches a link). For area kids, girls and boys' basketball coaches definitely go watch them play in middle school so game tape is a substitute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You
Might reconsider Catholic schools. my kids who are good athletes begged to go to Catholic schools because of the sports programs. The Catholic schools in the DC area have quite a few non Catholic kids. The best Catholics can meet the needs of a top student but will also have kids of average abilities too.
Schools like Sidwell and GDS may be academically stressful for your son. HoltonLandon might work too but I am
Not sure about their basketball
Programs. But both schools value athletes. Holton seems stronger academically than Landon. I personally felt
More comfortable with the Jesuit schools because of their philosophies of developing the whole
Person. And a serious commitment to community service. We
Looked at Holton and Landon but didn't
Like the
Vibe. They seemed too waspy and a little superficial to us. Especially Landon. In the end we sent our son to a Catholic and our daughter to Sidwell. Both are happy. Sidwell has good girls basketball and top
Notch academics. It can be stressful because of the amount of homework but my daughter was
Both have had truly inspirational teachers.

Were your children in high school at over-lapping times and where did your son end up if your daughter was at Sidwell? We have struggled with this, too.

. Yes they overlapped. He went to Zprep. Actually was fine except for different vacation schedule

On same Metro line.

[Anonymous]

Check out St. Andrew's--strong boys and girls basketball teams.

[Anonymous]

Key question is how good is your son at basketball? If he's a real talent, then a place like St. John's makes sense, as a big program. If he just kind to play a lot and is good enough to start for a middle school team, then any of the independents are fine. They take turns having a few good years in a row, usually due to getting lucky with a particularly good kid or two, but even the best independents usually fall to pretty average Catholics.
My suggestion is, if he's not a big talent, then go with the school that otherwise is the best fit, and not let one sport drive the whole decision. If Of course, if he is a big talent, then the big Catholic programs will doo the best job developing him as a player.

[Anonymous]

If your son is good enough, he will get noticed regardless of the high school.