Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC soccer parent here and i agree with those who say they are not big fans of Sal, but that he appears to be a saint compared to the baseball coach. We know some kids on the baseball team and it is clear they don’t respect him. They make fun of him, roll there eyes at him, and we always wonder why they would want to play for him. But before I let Sal off the hook, I think the biggest disappointment is that SJC has hired two low character individuals to coach their teams.

+100. I can't imagine anyone spending 15 minutes either 1) interviewing or 2) checking any parent references or 3) watching a game/practice and coming away saying this is a person who character aligns with SJC.

We met with Coach Gibbs when our son was an 8th grader. When we walked out of his "clubhouse" I'm not sure who said "hell no" first -- me, my husband or my son. I can't imagine a scenario where I would have agreed to put my son in his care for 4 years, especially now that I know he pretty much owns his players year round. PP said something about not being able to imagine coming away saying the coach's character aligns with SJC. If the school is hiring people like the baseball and soccer coach regularly, then maybe that speaks to the character of the school. Sports factory > catholic values.

All this said, SJC continues to get the largest pool of applicants. If it's so horrible, why are 1200 plus applying for 1/5 the # of slots?

Beautiful facilities. They do a really nice marketing job. UA swag for athletes. Best co-Ed athletics in the wcac. A lot of shiny facade, but it looks like they have a lot of work to do on the substantial stuff. Curious to know if they get more applications per enrollment slot for boys than Gonzaga or DeMatha. I’d think not.

About that UA swag...it's paid for by parents. The trend has been that every year the price of the training gear goes up, and the players get less and less gear. What was shorts, jerseys, socks, warmups, sneakers, and cleats a couple years ago has been whittled down to just a fraction of what was previously provided - and the price has gone up. Has the school turned training gear into a profit center, or does some of what is ordered and paid for by parents end up, well let's just say...elsewhere? No clue, and no accountability either. No list of what's being ordered, no request for sizes, just send your check and take what you get. We'll pass on this year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me about this web site. Thought I might want to tell our story about what happened to our son. He was an incoming freshman at St John’s and was invited to participate in workouts for incoming baseball players over the summer. There was a cost associated with this. I can’t remember how much but I think a few hundred dollars. My son went to work outs all summer. He never touched a ball, a glove, or a bat. The workouts were entirely running and stretching workouts. At the end of the summer when school started, my son heard nothing more from the coach. Nothing about the fall travel baseball program that apparently all St John’s players play with, and nothing about any other work outs. The coach simply stopped communicating with us. He was never given an opportunity to try out for the team in the spring either. It became pretty clear to us that the only reason my son was invited over the summer was so the coach could make more money for himself. My son wasn’t the only one either and we’ve learned that this happens every year.

I have read through this entire post and am not surprised about the other things I am hearing about the baseball coach. Some people have said that families and players know what to expect before they get there. I would like to say as loudly as I can that this was not what we expected! The coach is a horrible person. He stole from us, but I feel worse about the fact that my son was never even given the opportunity to try out for the school team. He might not be the next Bryce Harper, but he is a good player and more importantly a great kid who loves baseball. He should have started his freshman year excited to be at a school he had been excited about. Instead he was demoralized by the coach. It really had an negative effect on the beginning of his high school years.

If the school administration does not know all of the horrible things going on in the baseball program it’s because they don’t want to know. I think it’s more likely that they know and don’t care.

This might be the most outrageous thing I have read here. Did you contact the coach and demand your money back? Did you complain to the principle? Any coach who does this is absolutely soulless and should have nothing to do with kids.

Seriously awful! Just a question--do you have to be invited to try out for a team at SJC? At our kids' school anyone can just show up to tryouts.

I can only speak to baseball. They definitely are not open tryouts at SJC. I believe WCAC baseball is supposed to start in mid February. That means for most schools that’s when tryouts happen. At SJC the team practices and plays together almost every day starting in September and then even through the summer. I don’t see how it is not a violation of the league’s rules. I know kids who play sports at other WCAC schools and their teams can’t practice together until the season officially starts. As we’ve seen recently with the Astros and the Red Sox, cheaters win. It has worked out for SJC baseball too. The difference is MLB cares about the cheating in their baseball and hands out penalties when teams are caught. But the WCAC does not seem to. Would be nice to see the league’s cheaters be penalized as they should be. Would be a good life lesson to teach kids as well.

How about reassigning the baseball field for use by an ultimate frisbee team and have STJ baseball find their own private field to play favorites?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC soccer parent here and i agree with those who say they are not big fans of Sal, but that he appears to be a saint compared to the baseball coach. We know some kids on the baseball team and it is clear they don’t respect him. They make fun of him, roll there eyes at him, and we always wonder why they would want to play for him. But before I let Sal off the hook, I think the biggest disappointment is that SJC has hired two low character individuals to coach their teams.

+100. I can't imagine anyone spending 15 minutes either 1) interviewing or 2) checking any parent references or 3) watching a game/practice and coming away saying this is a person who character aligns with SJC.

We met with Coach Gibbs when our son was an 8th grader. When we walked out of his "clubhouse" I'm not sure who said "hell no" first -- me, my husband or my son. I can't imagine a scenario where I would have agreed to put my son in his care for 4 years, especially now that I know he pretty much owns his players year round. PP said something about not being able to imagine coming away saying the coach's character aligns with SJC. If the school is hiring people like the baseball and soccer coach regularly, then maybe that speaks to the character of the school. Sports factory > catholic values.

All this said, SJC continues to get the largest pool of applicants. If it's so horrible, why are 1200 plus applying for 1/5 the # of slots?

Beautiful facilities. They do a really nice marketing job. UA swag for athletes. Best co-Ed athletics in the wcac. A lot of shiny facade, but it looks like they have a lot of work to do on the substantial stuff. Curious to know if they get more applications per enrollment slot for boys than Gonzaga or DeMatha. I’d think not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me about this web site. Thought I might want to tell our story about what happened to our son. He was an incoming freshman at St John’s and was invited to participate in workouts for incoming baseball players over the summer. There was a cost associated with this. I can’t remember how much but I think a few hundred dollars. My son went to work outs all summer. He never touched a ball, a glove, or a bat. The workouts were entirely running and stretching workouts. At the end of the summer when school started, my son heard nothing more from the coach. Nothing about the fall travel baseball program that apparently all St John’s players play with, and nothing about any other work outs. The coach simply stopped communicating with us. He was never given an opportunity to try out for the team in the spring either. It became pretty clear to us that the only reason my son was invited over the summer was so the coach could make more money for himself. My son wasn’t the only one either and we’ve learned that this happens every year.

I have read through this entire post and am not surprised about the other things I am hearing about the baseball coach. Some people have said that families and players know what to expect before they get there. I would like to say as loudly as I can that this was not what we expected! The coach is a horrible person. He stole from us, but I feel worse about the fact that my son was never even given the opportunity to try out for the school team. He might not be the next Bryce Harper, but he is a good player and more importantly a great kid who loves baseball. He should have started his freshman year excited to be at a school he had been excited about. Instead he was demoralized by the coach. It really had an negative effect on the beginning of his high school years.

If the school administration does not know all of the horrible things going on in the baseball program it’s because they don’t want to know. I think it’s more likely that they know and don’t care.

This might be the most outrageous thing I have read here. Did you contact the coach and demand your money back? Did you complain to the principle? Any coach who does this is absolutely soulless and should have nothing to do with kids.

Seriously awful! Just a question--do you have to be invited to try out for a team at SJC? At our kids' school anyone can just show up to tryouts.

I can only speak to baseball. They definitely are not open tryouts at SJC. I believe WCAC baseball is supposed to start in mid February. That means for most schools that’s when tryouts happen. At SJC the team practices and plays together almost every day starting in September and then even through the summer. I don’t see how it is not a violation of the league’s rules. I know kids who play sports at other WCAC schools and their teams can’t practice together until the season officially starts. As we’ve seen recently with the Astros and the Red Sox, cheaters win. It has worked out for SJC baseball too. The difference is MLB cares about the cheating in their baseball and hands out penalties when teams are caught. But the WCAC does not seem to. Would be nice to see the league’s cheaters be penalized as they should be. Would be a good life lesson to teach kids as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me about this web site. Thought I might want to tell our story about what happened to our son. He was an incoming freshman at St John’s and was invited to participate in workouts for incoming baseball players over the summer. There was a cost associated with this. I can’t remember how much but I think a few hundred dollars. My son went to work outs all summer. He never touched a ball, a glove, or a bat. The workouts were entirely running and stretching workouts. At the end of the summer when school started, my son heard nothing more from the coach. Nothing about the fall travel baseball program that apparently all St John’s players play with, and nothing about any other work outs. The coach simply stopped communicating with us. He was never given an opportunity to try out for the team in the spring either. It became pretty clear to us that the only reason my son was invited over the summer was so the coach could make more money for himself. My son wasn’t the only one either and we’ve learned that this happens every year.

I have read through this entire post and am not surprised about the other things I am hearing about the baseball coach. Some people have said that families and players know what to expect before they get there. I would like to say as loudly as I can that this was not what we expected! The coach is a horrible person. He stole from us, but I feel worse about the fact that my son was never even given the opportunity to try out for the school team. He might not be the next Bryce Harper, but he is a good player and more importantly a great kid who loves baseball. He should have started his freshman year excited to be at a school he had been excited about. Instead he was demoralized by the coach. It really had an negative effect on the beginning of his high school years.

If the school administration does not know all of the horrible things going on in the baseball program it’s because they don’t want to know. I think it’s more likely that they know and don’t care.

This might be the most outrageous thing I have read here. Did you contact the coach and demand your money back? Did you complain to the principle? Any coach who does this is absolutely soulless and should have nothing to do with kids.

Seriously awful! Just a question--do you have to be invited to try out for a team at SJC? At our kids' school anyone can just show up to tryouts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me about this web site. Thought I might want to tell our story about what happened to our son. He was an incoming freshman at St John’s and was invited to participate in workouts for incoming baseball players over the summer. There was a cost associated with this. I can’t remember how much but I think a few hundred dollars. My son went to work outs all summer. He never touched a ball, a glove, or a bat. The workouts were entirely running and stretching workouts. At the end of the summer when school started, my son heard nothing more from the coach. Nothing about the fall travel baseball program that apparently all St John’s players play with, and nothing about any other work outs. The coach simply stopped communicating with us. He was never given an opportunity to try out for the team in the spring either. It became pretty clear to us that the only reason my son was invited over the summer was so the coach could make more money for himself. My son wasn’t the only one either and we’ve learned that this happens every year.

I have read through this entire post and am not surprised about the other things I am hearing about the baseball coach. Some people have said that families and players know what to expect before they get there. I would like to say as loudly as I can that this was not what we expected! The coach is a horrible person. He stole from us, but I feel worse about the fact that my son was never even given the opportunity to try out for the school team. He might not be the next Bryce Harper, but he is a good player and more importantly a great kid who loves baseball. He should have started his freshman year excited to be at a school he had been excited about. Instead he was demoralized by the coach. It really had an negative effect on the beginning of his high school years.

If the school administration does not know all of the horrible things going on in the baseball program it’s because they don’t want to know. I think it’s more likely that they know and don’t care.

This might be the most outrageous thing I have read here. Did you contact the coach and demand your money back? Did you complain to the principle? Any coach who does this is absolutely soulless and should have nothing to do with kids.

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me about this web site. Thought I might want to tell our story about what happened to our son. He was an incoming freshman at St John’s and was invited to participate in workouts for incoming baseball players over the summer. There was a cost associated with this. I can’t remember how much but I think a few hundred dollars. My son went to work outs all summer. He never touched a ball, a glove, or a bat. The workouts were entirely running and stretching workouts. At the end of the summer when school started, my son heard nothing more from the coach. Nothing about the fall travel baseball program that apparently all St John’s players play with, and nothing about any other work outs. The coach simply stopped communicating with us. He was never given an opportunity to try out for the team in the spring either. It became pretty clear to us that the only reason my son was invited over the summer was so the coach could make more money for himself. My son wasn’t the only one either and we’ve learned that this happens every year.

I have read through this entire post and am not surprised about the other things I am hearing about the baseball coach. Some people have said that families and players know what to expect before they get there. I would like to say as loudly as I can that this was not what we expected! The coach is a horrible person. He stole from us, but I feel worse about the fact that my son was never even given the opportunity to try out for the school team. He might not be the next Bryce Harper, but he is a good player and more importantly a great kid who loves baseball. He should have started his freshman year excited to be at a school he had been excited about. Instead he was demoralized by the coach. It really had an negative effect on the beginning of his high school years.

If the school administration does not know all of the horrible things going on in the baseball program it’s because they don’t want to know. I think it’s more likely that they know and don’t care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. To follow up on this, how good are the club/travel teams that these coaches run? Do they stand on their own merits?

I can tell you that the Diamondskills baseball team will just quit in the middle of tournaments and go home. Gibbs plays the tournaments like scrimmages and when all his pitchers get their 30 to 40 pitches in, he just goes home. Imagine the cost to all the families and they don't even get a chance to compete. He also doesn't show up for the tournaments so he never gets a chance to talk to scouts.

Dumb question, but why are the Diamond Skills teams bad? I would think that the program would still attract talented players. This thread is very surprising to me as an outsider, although it sounds like common knowledge. I had previously heard such great things about St. John's baseball team.

Anonymous wrote:One thing I can assure you, many of the parents in this thread -- and they are identifiable to those in the relevant community based on their comments -- are the worst sort of little-league-parents-on-steroids. I certainly don't agree with all of the policies of certain of the coaches mentioned in this thread, but they tell you of those policies before you sign up. If you don't like the policy, then don't attend that school. But the sanctimony of some of you, the fundamental lack of self-awareness, is awe-inspiring. When you stop living your life through your child, then I might start listening to you on the topic of morality in sports.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP here. To follow up on this, how good are the club/travel teams that these coaches run? Do they stand on their own merits?

I can tell you that the Diamondskills baseball team will just quit in the middle of tournaments and go home. Gibbs plays the tournaments like scrimmages and when all his pitchers get their 30 to 40 pitches in, he just goes home. Imagine the cost to all the families and they don't even get a chance to compete. He also doesn't show up for the tournaments so he never gets a chance to talk to scouts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC soccer parent here and i agree with those who say they are not big fans of Sal, but that he appears to be a saint compared to the baseball coach. We know some kids on the baseball team and it is clear they don’t respect him. They make fun of him, roll there eyes at him, and we always wonder why they would want to play for him. But before I let Sal off the hook, I think the biggest disappointment is that SJC has hired two low character individuals to coach their teams.

+100. I can't imagine anyone spending 15 minutes either 1) interviewing or 2) checking any parent references or 3) watching a game/practice and coming away saying this is a person who character aligns with SJC.

We met with Coach Gibbs when our son was an 8th grader. When we walked out of his "clubhouse" I'm not sure who said "hell no" first -- me, my husband or my son. I can't imagine a scenario where I would have agreed to put my son in his care for 4 years, especially now that I know he pretty much owns his players year round. PP said something about not being able to imagine coming away saying the coach's character aligns with SJC. If the school is hiring people like the baseball and soccer coach regularly, then maybe that speaks to the character of the school. Sports factory > catholic values.

All this said, SJC continues to get the largest pool of applicants. If it's so horrible, why are 1200 plus applying for 1/5 the # of slots?

Beautiful facilities. They do a really nice marketing job. UA swag for athletes. Best co-Ed athletics in the wcac. A lot of shiny facade, but it looks like they have a lot of work to do on the substantial stuff. Curious to know if they get more applications per enrollment slot for boys than Gonzaga or DeMatha. I’d think not.

Anonymous wrote:PP here. To follow up on this, how good are the club/travel teams that these coaches run? Do they stand on their own merits?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:SJC soccer parent here and i agree with those who say they are not big fans of Sal, but that he appears to be a saint compared to the baseball coach. We know some kids on the baseball team and it is clear they don’t respect him. They make fun of him, roll there eyes at him, and we always wonder why they would want to play for him. But before I let Sal off the hook, I think the biggest disappointment is that SJC has hired two low character individuals to coach their teams.

+100. I can't imagine anyone spending 15 minutes either 1) interviewing or 2) checking any parent references or 3) watching a game/practice and coming away saying this is a person who character aligns with SJC.

We met with Coach Gibbs when our son was an 8th grader. When we walked out of his "clubhouse" I'm not sure who said "hell no" first -- me, my husband or my son. I can't imagine a scenario where I would have agreed to put my son in his care for 4 years, especially now that I know he pretty much owns his players year round. PP said something about not being able to imagine coming away saying the coach's character aligns with SJC. If the school is hiring people like the baseball and soccer coach regularly, then maybe that speaks to the character of the school. Sports factory > catholic values.

All this said, SJC continues to get the largest pool of applicants. If it's so horrible, why are 1200 plus applying for 1/5 the # of slots?