Anonymous wrote:If someone is trying to get serious recruiting attention for athletics, why on earth would any parent send them to either GDS or Sidwell?

You obviously need to be informed about the realities of recruiting; virtually ALL (besides football) recruiting is done outside of school. For soccer, it's all about club teams, for lacrosse it's about recruiting camps and events and tournaments, tennis is about tournaments and rankings etc.....
You don't go to a high school so you can be recruited directly from it by a college. Granted, you may want to choose a school that fosters a more competitive athletic environment, but speaking strictly of recruiting, it doesn't matter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Literally zero of the 7 or 8 Sidwell kids from the last two years (who now play in college) played for the Bethesda Soccer Club. So clearly you have some sort of axe to grind. When one says "Sidwell sends", one doesn't necessarily Sidwell is solely responsible for the success of these athletes; it simply refers to the matriculation. Jesus, go to the other Sidwell-bashing thread. Also, get your facts straight: Bethesda Soccer Club is hardly a power anymore among DC/Maryland/Virginia club soccer teams.

Not a Sidwell person here, but the thrust of the original post was that the poster was worried that her son wouldn't get recruited if he went to an independent school. In that sense, it doesn't really matter what club the sidwell grads playing Ivy League soccer played for--it shows at a minimum that playing for a club and an independent school (here, Sidwell) doesn't hurt the ability to get recruited. I would also argue that coming from an academically well-regarded school such as Sidwell (or STA or Exeter or Roxbury Latin or Lawrenceville or what have you) may well ease the atlete's path at admissions, because the school's rigor is well-established.

I am the poster of the post you quoted. I agree with your post. That's kind of what I was trying to get at, so thanks for clearing it up.

11:35, That's because rich white kids play soccer in this area, and rich white kids are the majority at most private non-Catholic schools in this area. One downside of club sports is that it is another means by which affluent kids have opportunities others don't. And understanding the money factor in club sports is alSo why college coaches still watch film--to be able to get the kids without the $$$$ or parental support to do club, who might otherwise fall through the cracks. But I don't disagree that for a sport like soccer, the recruiting is overwhelmingly via the club route. The mix is different for other sports, however.

10:47 Maybe you think so but 85% of the players on my son's club soccer team attend private school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is BS. If OP's son is playing for a club team then he is likely playing year round. He is getting practical game experience on a regular basis with and against players who are as good as he is. Even students from GDS have gone on to play sports in college because these days recruitment is club driven, not school driven.

PP here. $32, 675 should result in a parent not having to pay outside organizations for sports. Unless the sport doesn't exist at the school. Plus the student has travel team and in-school sports time.

http://www.gds.org/podium/default.aspx?t=122750

You seem confused. Travel team=club team=outside organization for sports. I a kid is playin travel then they're using an outside org. You also seem to be confused about the realities of athletic recruiting. Whether you pay 32K or send your DC to public the chances of being recruited from your school team alone are extremely slim. The recruiting happens through the club organizations and to suggest that paying 32K should in any way guarantee that your child is recruited is a bit ridiculous. It takes a lot of time, practice and hard work to get a student to that point and that's not going to happen at school.

If someone is trying to get serious recruiting attention for athletics, why on earth would any parent send them to either GDS or Sidwell?

Anonymous wrote:This is BS. If OP's son is playing for a club team then he is likely playing year round. He is getting practical game experience on a regular basis with and against players who are as good as he is. Even students from GDS have gone on to play sports in college because these days recruitment is club driven, not school driven.

PP here. $32, 675 should result in a parent not having to pay outside organizations for sports. Unless the sport doesn't exist at the school. Plus the student has travel team and in-school sports time.

http://www.gds.org/podium/default.aspx?t=122750

This is BS. If OP's son is playing for a club team then he is likely playing year round. He is getting practical game experience on a regular basis with and against players who are as good as he is. Even students from GDS have gone on to play sports in college because these days recruitment is club driven, not school driven.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Literally zero of the 7 or 8 Sidwell kids from the last two years (who now play in college) played for the Bethesda Soccer Club. So clearly you have some sort of axe to grind. When one says "Sidwell sends", one doesn't necessarily Sidwell is solely responsible for the success of these athletes; it simply refers to the matriculation. Jesus, go to the other Sidwell-bashing thread. Also, get your facts straight: Bethesda Soccer Club is hardly a power anymore among DC/Maryland/Virginia club soccer teams.

Not a Sidwell person here, but the thrust of the original post was that the poster was worried that her son wouldn't get recruited if he went to an independent school. In that sense, it doesn't really matter what club the sidwell grads playing Ivy League soccer played for--it shows at a minimum that playing for a club and an independent school (here, Sidwell) doesn't hurt the ability to get recruited. I would also argue that coming from an academically well-regarded school such as Sidwell (or STA or Exeter or Roxbury Latin or Lawrenceville or what have you) may well ease the atlete's path at admissions, because the school's rigor is well-established.

If the school doesn't have a team [or a normal team] then the student is not getting practical game experience for the next level. The OP's son is in grade 8 at a Big 3 as defined by DCUM: STA, GDS, Sidwell. At STA [IAC] a HS varsity player can have a complete experience. Sidwell has some standard teams for it's league [MAC]. Admissions offices and coaches know what they are getting.

So I guess OP's kid is at GDS. Time to move on if the school doesn't offer EC's/sports programs that will benefit the DC. Tuition is high and at some colleges over 20% of students are on varsity athletic teams.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:let's get back to the topic here...OP has lamely failed to specify the sport.

The insistence and clever ways that you, on a number of pps, are trying to get the OP to reveal the sport at issue makes me wonder whether you are a coach at one of the Big 3s afraid that your star athlete is on the verge of getting plucked.

I find this thread interesting, and for my DD, possibly relevant. So anyone out there with helpful info., please do tell. And I will not be sharing the sport either, in my case precisely because I am wary of getting our school coach all spun up.

As for the rest of your post, I have a DD who attends a big 3. She and several friends are in the process of being recruited right now. The school has had nothing to do with it. It is all about their involvement with strong local clubs. This is where recruiters are looking for athletes and this is true for the majority of sports. Unless OP's son plays football her best bet is to get him on the strongest club team she can.

Agree with most of this--do pursue the strong club team--but I will also say college coaches will still often call the HS coach, sometimes to discuss things like temperament, ability to balance school and sports, or other issues where seeing the kid 5-6 days a week in a school setting can be helpful. Not to overemphasize this though; I agree with the quoted poster that for most sports the center of gravity for recruiting has shifted to the club scene.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:let's get back to the topic here...OP has lamely failed to specify the sport.

The insistence and clever ways that you, on a number of pps, are trying to get the OP to reveal the sport at issue makes me wonder whether you are a coach at one of the Big 3s afraid that your star athlete is on the verge of getting plucked.

I find this thread interesting, and for my DD, possibly relevant. So anyone out there with helpful info., please do tell. And I will not be sharing the sport either, in my case precisely because I am wary of getting our school coach all spun up.

Okay, clearly a fake original post. Sorry I wasted time reading it and trying to give a thoughtful/helpful reply. Live and learn.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:let's get back to the topic here...OP has lamely failed to specify the sport.

The insistence and clever ways that you, on a number of pps, are trying to get the OP to reveal the sport at issue makes me wonder whether you are a coach at one of the Big 3s afraid that your star athlete is on the verge of getting plucked.

I find this thread interesting, and for my DD, possibly relevant. So anyone out there with helpful info., please do tell. And I will not be sharing the sport either, in my case precisely because I am wary of getting our school coach all spun up.

I am one of the posters who would like to know the sport and it has nothing to do with kids getting plucked from our school. It has more to do with the fact that I think OP is a troll. For the majority of sports recruiting happens at the club level, through summer leagues, tournaments, regional and national leagues and AAU.

As for the rest of your post, I have a DD who attends a big 3. She and several friends are in the process of being recruited right now. The school has had nothing to do with it. It is all about their involvement with strong local clubs. This is where recruiters are looking for athletes and this is true for the majority of sports. Unless OP's son plays football her best bet is to get him on the strongest club team she can.

Anonymous wrote:Literally zero of the 7 or 8 Sidwell kids from the last two years (who now play in college) played for the Bethesda Soccer Club. So clearly you have some sort of axe to grind. When one says "Sidwell sends", one doesn't necessarily Sidwell is solely responsible for the success of these athletes; it simply refers to the matriculation. Jesus, go to the other Sidwell-bashing thread. Also, get your facts straight: Bethesda Soccer Club is hardly a power anymore among DC/Maryland/Virginia club soccer teams.

Not a Sidwell person here, but the thrust of the original post was that the poster was worried that her son wouldn't get recruited if he went to an independent school. In that sense, it doesn't really matter what club the sidwell grads playing Ivy League soccer played for--it shows at a minimum that playing for a club and an independent school (here, Sidwell) doesn't hurt the ability to get recruited. I would also argue that coming from an academically well-regarded school such as Sidwell (or STA or Exeter or Roxbury Latin or Lawrenceville or what have you) may well ease the atlete's path at admissions, because the school's rigor is well-established.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:let's get back to the topic here...OP has lamely failed to specify the sport.

The insistence and clever ways that you, on a number of pps, are trying to get the OP to reveal the sport at issue makes me wonder whether you are a coach at one of the Big 3s afraid that your star athlete is on the verge of getting plucked.

I find this thread interesting, and for my DD, possibly relevant. So anyone out there with helpful info., please do tell. And I will not be sharing the sport either, in my case precisely because I am wary of getting our school coach all spun up.

Yeah, some private MS coach is trolling this board to make sure his studs in MIDDLE SCHOOL don't leave.

Let's be honest - this entire topic is probably a fabrication. I mean, who brags about their son's MS exploits on the Internet?

Yes, this Board really should be reserved for what it does best - allowing striver mothers to brag about their 4-year olds WPPSI scores and other pre-school exploits . . .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:let's get back to the topic here...OP has lamely failed to specify the sport.

The insistence and clever ways that you, on a number of pps, are trying to get the OP to reveal the sport at issue makes me wonder whether you are a coach at one of the Big 3s afraid that your star athlete is on the verge of getting plucked.

I find this thread interesting, and for my DD, possibly relevant. So anyone out there with helpful info., please do tell. And I will not be sharing the sport either, in my case precisely because I am wary of getting our school coach all spun up.

Yeah, some private MS coach is trolling this board to make sure his studs in MIDDLE SCHOOL don't leave.

Let's be honest - this entire topic is probably a fabrication. I mean, who brags about their son's MS exploits on the Internet?