Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve only ever been for swim practice and meets as part of a non-St. James club, so there’s always a parent there the whole time, but the security thing seems major to me. If I were the parent of a teen girl athlete in particular, I’d be really uncomfortable with random adult men being able to watch, say, her gymnastics or volleyball practice at close range.

I don't get this. What stops anyone from watching any practices on fields in the middle of cities? Which is where most practices occur, right? Why the outsized fear of sexual predators?

Yeah I grew up doing my sport at a large university rec center building. The way all these big buildings are set up there are basically observation areas overlooking where kids practice, because that’s the setup you need when there are competitions where spectators come watch. You can’t really prevent someone who is a creep from taking advantage of that setup unfortunately. Even if only members are allowed/need to sign in at a front desk, one of the members can just as easily be a creep as some random non member.

the academy is not my thing but I see why it appeals to families- it is not like FCPS or FCPS coaches are worth anything. if you have a talented athlete in FCPS- you have a whole system working against you.

The Academy charges $35k for online public school with a couple hours of training. Like someone said, there is nothing special about it. They may say they are trying to be like an IMG, trying being the key word. Not to mention anyone could walk in and mix in with the students in bathrooms, locker rooms, public areas.

Anonymous wrote:We’ve only ever been for swim practice and meets as part of a non-St. James club, so there’s always a parent there the whole time, but the security thing seems major to me. If I were the parent of a teen girl athlete in particular, I’d be really uncomfortable with random adult men being able to watch, say, her gymnastics or volleyball practice at close range.

I don't get this. What stops anyone from watching any practices on fields in the middle of cities? Which is where most practices occur, right? Why the outsized fear of sexual predators?

The Club Hockey program is really good. Great coaches and pretty nice families. A much better hockey program than some of the others in the area. They really focus on player development.