Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

The scholars program is really just a specifically designed schedule consisting of all honors and AP courses. Anyone who goes to SJC can sign up for these courses and essentially get the same education as those in the scholars program. I think they go on a couple of trips and get a dedicated college counselor. Beyond that the only other perk is a small scholarship. We turned it down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.

The scholars program is really just a specifically designed schedule consisting of all honors and AP courses. Anyone who goes to SJC can sign up for these courses and essentially get the same education as those in the scholars program. I think they go on a couple of trips and get a dedicated college counselor. Beyond that the only other perk is a small scholarship. We turned it down.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone care about academics at SJC? The administrators talk a good talk - we heard the pitch at the open house- but it seems like a sports factory. My 8th grader is not an athlete but seems to be interested in the school.

Yes. My sophomore is doing well, has made some nice friends and is working very hard at SJC. Scholars program is good but anyone can take the honors and AP course track. 99% on the HSPT. SJC was first choice and we have been very happy.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD met the coach in her sport in 7th grade. SJC was the only school she was interested in for her sport. The coaches have a “wish list” that they share with the admissions staff. I assume those are the kids they want to recruit. DD has been on her sport’s varsity team since the latter part of her freshman year. She’s now a junior now and has enjoyed the sports program.

DD is also a solid A/B student and has had no trouble staying on top of her work in spite of the heavy sport schedule which includes some out of town tournaments. The other thing to remember is varsity athletes are in training or playing their sport everyday. If they do not have a game, they have practice for two hours after school. If they have an unexcused absence from practice, they don’t get playing time at the next game.

Once the HS season is over for their sport, they are expected to stay sharp by playing club sports. DDs travel club has tournaments from January to May, mostly out of town, and practices 2-3 times per week. Some kids and parents find this schedule grueling and don’t want to invest this much time in athletics. That is something to consider.

Thank you for the insight. People don’t realize the sports at SJC require serious commitment.

Or that the vast majority of kids at SJC are NOT recruits who also have serious commitments to the school in non-sports related activities.

Unfortunately this will not be in the case in the near future. SJC is now modeling themselves after IMG. The first thing that comes to mind when hearing or thinking of SJC is sports and not academics.

#fakenews

SJC is no different then other schools they play against in “major” sports. For those of us who have kids in club sports or non-sports we just benefit off the sports. Great facilities. Great entrepreneur center. Love the Cadet corp. I say this as a parent who had a kids start in a major sport (not recruited), switch to non major sport and one who dropped all sports for the awesome robotics team. Unless you have the regular kids at the school you may not no idea since all you know is what you may read from on the sorts page. As another poster said my kids don’t go to games. For them is isn’t a sports school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD met the coach in her sport in 7th grade. SJC was the only school she was interested in for her sport. The coaches have a “wish list” that they share with the admissions staff. I assume those are the kids they want to recruit. DD has been on her sport’s varsity team since the latter part of her freshman year. She’s now a junior now and has enjoyed the sports program.

DD is also a solid A/B student and has had no trouble staying on top of her work in spite of the heavy sport schedule which includes some out of town tournaments. The other thing to remember is varsity athletes are in training or playing their sport everyday. If they do not have a game, they have practice for two hours after school. If they have an unexcused absence from practice, they don’t get playing time at the next game.

Once the HS season is over for their sport, they are expected to stay sharp by playing club sports. DDs travel club has tournaments from January to May, mostly out of town, and practices 2-3 times per week. Some kids and parents find this schedule grueling and don’t want to invest this much time in athletics. That is something to consider.

Thank you for the insight. People don’t realize the sports at SJC require serious commitment.

Or that the vast majority of kids at SJC are NOT recruits who also have serious commitments to the school in non-sports related activities.

Unfortunately this will not be in the case in the near future. SJC is now modeling themselves after IMG. The first thing that comes to mind when hearing or thinking of SJC is sports and not academics.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone care about academics at SJC? The administrators talk a good talk - we heard the pitch at the open house- but it seems like a sports factory. My 8th grader is not an athlete but seems to be interested in the school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD met the coach in her sport in 7th grade. SJC was the only school she was interested in for her sport. The coaches have a “wish list” that they share with the admissions staff. I assume those are the kids they want to recruit. DD has been on her sport’s varsity team since the latter part of her freshman year. She’s now a junior now and has enjoyed the sports program.

DD is also a solid A/B student and has had no trouble staying on top of her work in spite of the heavy sport schedule which includes some out of town tournaments. The other thing to remember is varsity athletes are in training or playing their sport everyday. If they do not have a game, they have practice for two hours after school. If they have an unexcused absence from practice, they don’t get playing time at the next game.

Once the HS season is over for their sport, they are expected to stay sharp by playing club sports. DDs travel club has tournaments from January to May, mostly out of town, and practices 2-3 times per week. Some kids and parents find this schedule grueling and don’t want to invest this much time in athletics. That is something to consider.

Thank you for the insight. People don’t realize the sports at SJC require serious commitment.

Or that the vast majority of kids at SJC are NOT recruits who also have serious commitments to the school in non-sports related activities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD met the coach in her sport in 7th grade. SJC was the only school she was interested in for her sport. The coaches have a “wish list” that they share with the admissions staff. I assume those are the kids they want to recruit. DD has been on her sport’s varsity team since the latter part of her freshman year. She’s now a junior now and has enjoyed the sports program.

DD is also a solid A/B student and has had no trouble staying on top of her work in spite of the heavy sport schedule which includes some out of town tournaments. The other thing to remember is varsity athletes are in training or playing their sport everyday. If they do not have a game, they have practice for two hours after school. If they have an unexcused absence from practice, they don’t get playing time at the next game.

Once the HS season is over for their sport, they are expected to stay sharp by playing club sports. DDs travel club has tournaments from January to May, mostly out of town, and practices 2-3 times per week. Some kids and parents find this schedule grueling and don’t want to invest this much time in athletics. That is something to consider.

Thank you for the insight. People don’t realize the sports at SJC require serious commitment.

Anonymous wrote:My DD met the coach in her sport in 7th grade. SJC was the only school she was interested in for her sport. The coaches have a “wish list” that they share with the admissions staff. I assume those are the kids they want to recruit. DD has been on her sport’s varsity team since the latter part of her freshman year. She’s now a junior now and has enjoyed the sports program.

DD is also a solid A/B student and has had no trouble staying on top of her work in spite of the heavy sport schedule which includes some out of town tournaments. The other thing to remember is varsity athletes are in training or playing their sport everyday. If they do not have a game, they have practice for two hours after school. If they have an unexcused absence from practice, they don’t get playing time at the next game.

Once the HS season is over for their sport, they are expected to stay sharp by playing club sports. DDs travel club has tournaments from January to May, mostly out of town, and practices 2-3 times per week. Some kids and parents find this schedule grueling and don’t want to invest this much time in athletics. That is something to consider.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:100 recruits for an incoming class of 250. I think not.

It may not be 100, but I'll bet it is more than you think. Between football, boys basketball, girls basketball, baseball and boys lacrosse alone, I'm sure there is a lot.

Anonymous wrote:100 recruits for an incoming class of 250. I think not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD and I went to SJC’s Open House yesterday. For the most part I was impressed. A bit overwhelming due to the amount of people attending and the rain, Neverless we walked away with a good sense of the school. One thing that I took note of was when we went to the athletic building. Each sport had its own table with the coaching staff. I saw majority of the coaches were engaged with the exception of basketball. It seemed every prospect went to the table but, the coaches had a look like,”Write your name and keep moving.” Another parent mentioned the basketball coaches recruit and being at the Open House is just a formality. How true is this?

You need to be realistic about just how good your kid is if he hopes to play basketball at St. John's (or GZ, GC DM and several other WCAC schools). They are all recruiting across the region.

Just take a look at last season's roster. According to Maxpreps.com there was only 1 kid under 6' (5'11") and plenty of 6'5 + kids there. They were ranked 137 nationally and that was a relative down year for them.

Football is even more competitive. They play a national schedule plus GZ, GC and DM and those 3 teams are also nationally ranked powerhouses. The days of the 5'10" suburban white kid playing on those teams are long gone unless he is an exceptionally gifted athlete. Sports there are backed by big donors such as the founder of Under Armour.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/under-armour-founder-gives-16-million-to-st-johns-college-high/2015/11/06/7adc7724-84bf-11e5-9afb-0c971f713d0c_story.html

Other sports may be less competitive there but your kid will still need to be a solid-strong athlete to play on most of the teams that have cuts.

+1000. These schools are moving towards an IMG model. I am not saying they will be exactly like IMG but, the pressure is on to win. They are no longer looking for novice players. If your child is not already playing on a AAU, travel or highly competitive league chances are they won’t be a fit.

It's unfortunate because that's not what the great majority of families are looking for in a high school.

I think you might be looking at this a bit myopically. SJC also has the Scholars program, which is targeted at kids in the 99% of HSPT. And they have invest heavily in arts. So the recruiting is across the board - they want to raise the level in every area. Sports recruiting is maybe a bit more visible.

They have about 250 - 275 kids per call. Let's say 20 Scholars and 100 recruited athletes across all sports. That's half the admits gone before the first kid looking to avoid Wilson applies.