OP, there is a round trip bus to Prep from St. Luke's on Georgetown Pike in McLean, right off beltway. There is also bus service from Great Falls & Arlington.
http://www.gprep.org/page.cfm?p=1540

I'm a current parent and our smart sporty boy, who sounds similar to your son, loves Prep. There are many non-Catholic Christians at the school. We think Prep offers a great balance of academics, sports & other activities. A lot of smart, articulate, well-rounded young men of faith & character among his friends. Come to the Open House in the fall and have your son shadow.

None of those schools appeal to any kid with sports aspirations unless you are recruited to plays basketball . For the most part sidwell and Maret are terrible at sports - they play in the MAC. Sta is your best bet

of those 4, STA and Sidwell have sports to some degree. Maret and GDS don't generally appeal to sporty kids.

You might look at Maret and St. Albans (short walk from Woodley Park Metro), Sidwell Friends and Georgetown Day (short walk from Tenleytown Metro). All these schools offer substantial financial aid, if you need it.

There are plenty of snotty Catholics who walk around Columbia country acting like their shit doesn't stink ... Get real

"A person looking at the 20% number might mis-interpret that if it wasn't made clear that this 20% wasn't WASPs from Bethesda. It's not. It's primarliy Asians and AAs. Of course some Asians and AAs are Catholic. But the 20% of GP students that are not Catholic are concentrated in these two groups. "

So its important to you that your son go to school with at least 20 % WASPs from Bethesda. Or do you think your son would only be accepted if this group is well represented? That is a very narrow view of life. I am not Catholic, but I am always amazed at how critical this forum is of Catholic schools because of the assertion that these schools are so clubish, etc. But posts like the above show that the "majority" culture of upper middle class DC is very much interested is sticking to their own kind. I have had kids in both Catholic and non-Catholic independent schools and actually I have found the sense of community in the Catholic schools comfortable, less interested in wealth, and more accepting to "outsiders."

99% of the kids who play HS sports dont end up in the LEAGUE (NFL or NBA)

the majority of HS kids who are fortunate to play D1 sports (whether it be football, lacrosse, basketball, baseball, tennis) soon realize how competitive the landscape is post high school and how hard it is to even secure playing time in college.

my advice to any prospective parent whose looking at private schools, make sure you send your son to a school where "A" you trust the coach and "B" the coaching staff encourages your son to participate in multiable sports and your son has the ability to PLAY.

my son looked at Gonzaga (he played football, wrestling and lacrosse), thought we liked the convenience of the metro station, we ended up at a school in the IAC where he was able to compete right away and start on 3 varsity sports teams before by the time he graduated.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And most basketball players don't have the guts to wrestle, so its nice they can play something close to non-contact when it is cold.

You've obviously never watched a high level high school basketball game. Basketball is a contact sport, not a collision sport.

Are the football players also gutless?

These minor sports in high school --- like wrestling and hockey --- are there to give the kids who aren't big enough, strong enough, fast enough or tough enough to play the marquis sports.

Everyone knows this. You just don't like it.

Most football players can not handle wrestling. A few linemen will wrestle to slim down and toughen up.

Doesn't it depend? Our son's varsity lacrosse coach loves to have his face-off guys wrestle -- makes sense. But for other kids, he loves it if they can make the basketball team because they get incredible practice with foot speed, reading plays, and they run constantly so come into the season in shape. That said, when one of our kids was hurt and couldn't play basketball, his lacrosse coach was thrilled he was playing water polo because talk about staying in shape.

Maybe is you wish hard enough, it will be true. But I bet you only make the point in anonymous forums, charity stripe.

Anonymous wrote:And most basketball players don't have the guts to wrestle, so its nice they can play something close to non-contact when it is cold.

You've obviously never watched a high level high school basketball game. Basketball is a contact sport, not a collision sport.

Are the football players also gutless?

These minor sports in high school --- like wrestling and hockey --- are there to give the kids who aren't big enough, strong enough, fast enough or tough enough to play the marquis sports.

Everyone knows this. You just don't like it.

And most basketball players don't have the guts to wrestle, so its nice they can play something close to non-contact when it is cold.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Lacrosse is a Spring sport.

Football is a Fall sport.

Basketball is played during the Winter.

The better athletes play these three sports.

No, those are generally the NCAA revenue sports. That a kid plays them does not make them a better athlete. Most sports require elite conditioning and coordination. I see pro hickey players juggling soccer balls before games and practices for example. I don't see too many basketball players working on their Herbies.

Size, speed, toughness and coordination matter.

If the football, basketball players were to play the kids playing those other sports in a neutral sport, it would be no contest.

Of course it is nice to have other sports so more kids can get varsity letters.

Anonymous wrote:

Lacrosse is a Spring sport.

Football is a Fall sport.

Basketball is played during the Winter.

The better athletes play these three sports.

No, those are generally the NCAA revenue sports. That a kid plays them does not make them a better athlete. Most sports require elite conditioning and coordination. I see pro hickey players juggling soccer balls before games and practices for example. I don't see too many basketball players working on their Herbies.