Anonymous wrote:11:07, do you really want to go there? I'm glad you decided to pick out a couple of select games to "substantiate" your position. Now, here are the actual historical results of Potomac against Landon, St. Albans, and Georgetown Prep, since 2004, in the major boys sports of basketball, football, baseball, lacrosse, and wrestling. To help you out, I even included their results agains the secondary tier IAC opponents they have faced (St. Stephens St. Agnes and Episcopal) since they are fairer game. All of these historical results are posted directly on Potomac's web site. Records are provided by sport, with the number of Potomac wins first and then the IAC teams wins second:

Baseball 2-2
Basketball 3-9
Football 0-1
Wrestling 0-3
Lacrosse 3-13
Total Potomac record vs. IAC: 8-28, a .222 winning percentage.

Maybe we should start pulling from some of the other sports? Like boys tennis, where Potomac lost to both St. Albans and Prep, just yesterday.

Ask your AD. There is a reason he usually doesn't schedule teams from the IAC for non-conference games. So, who's clueless and flat our wrong now? That's the good thing about athletics. You can always cut through the emotion with actual statistics. I suggest you stick to your games against Sidwell, Georgetown Day, Maret, etc. You are have a great academic program at Potomac and a nice athletic experience.

I was never very good at math, but this information seems only to show that in 36 contests in various sports, Potomac won 8 and the three other schools combined won 28. If you divide the 28 by 3, the three schools average 9.3 wins each. So we're really talking about 8 wins (Potomac) vs. 9.3 wins (for each of the other three schools), right?

If that's the case, then I don't see how the other schools are that much more impressive athletically. Again, I don't have a dog in this fight as I'm just looking for information about possible schools for my not yet K'er.

I have to second 21:25. Langley is an outstanding overall program. And yes, they have a nice athletics program too.

Anonymous wrote:This is the funniest thing I have ever read. I got on this site to research the best schools for our kids to go to and I read this whole string of comments...You are all cracking me up, and I look forward to NOT having to meet any of you at the final school(s) of our choice. Thanks for a little evening entertainment...better than watching TV this evening. And you all do need to get your own lives. Not happy with your own lives? Living through your children? Too funny.

Perfect. We don't want you there (Potomac) anyway.

My children love Langley. They even had fun on Field Day.

Competitive sports did not factor into our decision to send our children to Langley. Instead, we looked at the teachers, facilities and academic program.

This is the funniest thing I have ever read. I got on this site to research the best schools for our kids to go to and I read this whole string of comments...You are all cracking me up, and I look forward to NOT having to meet any of you at the final school(s) of our choice. Thanks for a little evening entertainment...better than watching TV this evening. And you all do need to get your own lives. Not happy with your own lives? Living through your children? Too funny.

Anonymous wrote:11:07, do you really want to go there? I'm glad you decided to pick out a couple of select games to "substantiate" your position. Now, here are the actual historical results of Potomac against Landon, St. Albans, and Georgetown Prep, since 2004, in the major boys sports of basketball, football, baseball, lacrosse, and wrestling. To help you out, I even included their results agains the secondary tier IAC opponents they have faced (St. Stephens St. Agnes and Episcopal) since they are fairer game. All of these historical results are posted directly on Potomac's web site. Records are provided by sport, with the number of Potomac wins first and then the IAC teams wins second:

Baseball 2-2
Basketball 3-9
Football 0-1
Wrestling 0-3
Lacrosse 3-13
Total Potomac record vs. IAC: 8-28, a .222 winning percentage.

Maybe we should start pulling from some of the other sports? Like boys tennis, where Potomac lost to both St. Albans and Prep, just yesterday.

Ask your AD. There is a reason he usually doesn't schedule teams from the IAC for non-conference games. So, who's clueless and flat our wrong now? That's the good thing about athletics. You can always cut through the emotion with actual statistics. I suggest you stick to your games against Sidwell, Georgetown Day, Maret, etc. You are have a great academic program at Potomac and a nice athletic experience.

Were you a little slow in school? How many times to I have to repeat myself... yes, I agree with you and concede that St. Albans, Landon, and Prep field stronger teams in the major sports. Here, let me say it again in case that did not register either... THE SINGLE SEX SCHOOLS HAVE BETTER TEAMS THAN THE COED SCHOOLS. It's simple math, Landon has 2x the number of players to choose from in a given sport, not to mention that a school like Sidwell or Potomac must split its resources among both boys and girls sports... twice the teams, twice the coaches, half the team budget, etc, etc.

There, you got it now? You keep trying to prove that StA, Landon, and Prep usually beat these schools in head to head. I get it. I agree with you. You are fighting with yourself.

What I've been responding to are your false declarative statements like:

"Potomac very rarely plays the St. Albans, Landons, GPs in the major boys sports (football, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, wrestling, etc.) because frankly, they would get annihilated."

You were wrong on that. They do play these teams, quite often actually.

Also you said: "You will never, and I mean never, see that happen in football, lacrosse, or basketball."

You were wrong on that too. I pointed out an example for you of where Potomac had beat STA in basketball.

You also said " But don't try to argue that they are on the same field athletically as the big boys." and "They are not competitive against the Landons, Georgetown Preps, public schools, etc. There is nothing wrong with this for this is by the school's design. It is simply a matter of what the parents/student is looking for in terms of athletic excellence. "

These are the obnoxious statements that are causing me to spend time on this forum responding to you. My point has been that for a COED school, both Potomac and Sidwell do very well with their sports programs. Yes, I think very highly of our AD, I agree with you that he is a great guy, and I can tell you that he, the school, the students, and the parent community are all committed to athletic excellence. I think part of the evidence of this is that the school fields competitive teams - that generally win more than they lose - across numerous sports, and for BOTH GENDERS. Try cutting Landon's resources and available talent pool in half and see what happens.

Look, I've tried to take the high road here. I have not insulted your school or program in the least, yet you seem bent on trying to prove superiority for some reason. Not sure what your issue is. I wish the best for your son in his transition from Langley to STA. Good luck.

Nah, it's kind of fun. Just healthy debate. Plus, some people need a reality check. It's one thing to be proud of your school. It's another thing have such a distorted perspective of what the situation is that some posters are misleading others. In order for us to have a reasonably accurate, well grounded site, those people need to be corrected.

This has to be the pettiest thing I've ever seen. Parents bickering over the relative strengths of their kids' schools' sports' teams??? Good grief!!! Are we living through our children, or what? Are we frustrated former athletes, or what? These are schools, for God's sake, people, not training camps. At least they're supposed to be (or I thought they were supposed to be). Grow up and get a little perspective.

11:07, do you really want to go there? I'm glad you decided to pick out a couple of select games to "substantiate" your position. Now, here are the actual historical results of Potomac against Landon, St. Albans, and Georgetown Prep, since 2004, in the major boys sports of basketball, football, baseball, lacrosse, and wrestling. To help you out, I even included their results agains the secondary tier IAC opponents they have faced (St. Stephens St. Agnes and Episcopal) since they are fairer game. All of these historical results are posted directly on Potomac's web site. Records are provided by sport, with the number of Potomac wins first and then the IAC teams wins second:

Baseball 2-2
Basketball 3-9
Football 0-1
Wrestling 0-3
Lacrosse 3-13
Total Potomac record vs. IAC: 8-28, a .222 winning percentage.

Maybe we should start pulling from some of the other sports? Like boys tennis, where Potomac lost to both St. Albans and Prep, just yesterday.

Ask your AD. There is a reason he usually doesn't schedule teams from the IAC for non-conference games. So, who's clueless and flat our wrong now? That's the good thing about athletics. You can always cut through the emotion with actual statistics. I suggest you stick to your games against Sidwell, Georgetown Day, Maret, etc. You are have a great academic program at Potomac and a nice athletic experience.

Anonymous wrote:Actually, your listing of those scores supports my position. SSAS is the only top tier school, the rest are not on the same plane.

Furthermore, you are stretching. Potomac has a very good baseball team this year. I know the head baseball coach (he also coaches the 8th grade basketball team at the Woods Academy where he had one of the most talented such teams ever assembled in the D.C. area this year) This year is an anomoly in the overall athletic program results. They do on occasion field a good team in a single sport that could compete with these other schools. Baseball is one exception. You will never, and I mean never, see that happen in football, lacrosse, or basketball.

Seriously, Potomac is a great school. I'm glad for you that you are proud of your school's program. But don't try to argue that they are on the same field athletically as the big boys. There is no credibility to this.

PP, your statements like this just keep proving how clueless (and flat out wrong) you really are.

The last two times that Potomac and St. Albans varsity boys basketball teams played, the results where... wait for it...

2009 St Albans beat Potomac 41-48 (close)
2008 Potomac beat St Albans 58-36 (a blowout)

Yeah, I know.. another anomoly... another exception...

Whatever.

Anonymous wrote:Actually, your listing of those scores supports my position. SSAS is the only top tier school, the rest are not on the same plane.

Furthermore, you are stretching. Potomac has a very good baseball team this year. I know the head baseball coach (he also coaches the 8th grade basketball team at the Woods Academy where he had one of the most talented such teams ever assembled in the D.C. area this year) This year is an anomoly in the overall athletic program results. They do on occasion field a good team in a single sport that could compete with these other schools. Baseball is one exception. You will never, and I mean never, see that happen in football, lacrosse, or basketball.

Seriously, Potomac is a great school. I'm glad for you that you are proud of your school's program. But don't try to argue that they are on the same field athletically as the big boys. There is no credibility to this.

I think I've conceded, many times in this thread, that the single sex schools do consistently field better teams in the major teams sports. Given that they have twice the boys to choose from for a sport like football, that's not at all surprising or particularly insightful.

Your previous quotes in this thread were that "you will not find Potomac (and other MAC schools) competitive with the IAC, WAC, and other conferences" and that "Potomac very rarely plays the St. Albans, Landons, GPs in the major boys sports (football, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, wrestling, etc.)". A simple data review of past schedules and records now shows these assertions to be false. So, now your position seems to be that yes they do play and swap wins with various IAC schools, but "this year is an anomoly" and "Baseball is one exception". Who is the one who seems to be stretching?

Look, I've simply been responding to your meanspirited comments that Potomac and Sidwell don't pursue athletic excellence. I've not been putting down your school (which at this point I assume is St Albans). Your "big boys" comment above is another example of rather obnoxious and very nonconstructive language. Absent switching to a single sex school, I'm not sure what else a top coed program like Potomac or Sidwell should be doing (they can certainly always improve, as can any school).

So, bottom line is I'm extremely comfortable in my family's decision to pursue a top coed private education for our kids, even if means not playing in the same conference as your single sex school and maybe not having quite as big a sports crazed culture (just like I'm perfectly happy for my son to be playing for a top Ivy League school rather than for Michigan). To each her own.

I hope you enjoy your experience at StA (or wherever) and that your son finds success. I'll just have to hope that when we do play you, we'll be able to pull off one of those miracle "anomolies" or "exceptions" that seem to be happening more often. Cheers.

13:01 Post - you are just wrong. If you had a child who had already won competitive trophies in a sport, loved sports as much as reading or making up fairy tales in a circle while passing ribbons around, you definitely would care about whether they would be at a school that would cage them in very lame phys ed doing jumping jacks and some non-competitive soccer drills. And if you had a little boy who needed more exercise, because he tends to be a cerebral couch potato, more interested in reading logic problems than running around outside, you also would want a rigorous phys ed program.

My child is a superb budding athlete and I am very happy she is not at Potomac. We have been involved in various Potomac sponsored sports clinics and the bottom line is that it cost us a lot of time and money to reverse the misinformed counseling. I don't want to get more specific because it will get too personal ... I complained and people really seemed to get their feelings hurt ... but if you want a female athlete trained as if she is the same as a boy, in that she can compete, doesn't have to be scared of the ball, doesn't have to be afraid to use her whole body power (not just arms), do not go to Potomac.

Actually, your listing of those scores supports my position. SSAS is the only top tier school, the rest are not on the same plane.

Furthermore, you are stretching. Potomac has a very good baseball team this year. I know the head baseball coach (he also coaches the 8th grade basketball team at the Woods Academy where he had one of the most talented such teams ever assembled in the D.C. area this year) This year is an anomoly in the overall athletic program results. They do on occasion field a good team in a single sport that could compete with these other schools. Baseball is one exception. You will never, and I mean never, see that happen in football, lacrosse, or basketball.

Seriously, Potomac is a great school. I'm glad for you that you are proud of your school's program. But don't try to argue that they are on the same field athletically as the big boys. There is no credibility to this.

Anonymous wrote:I'm not impressed and I'm not swayed.

Yes, I am speaking of boys sports. No disrespect meant to the girls.

Here is the reality. Potomac very rarely plays the St. Albans, Landons, GPs in the major boys sports (football, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, wrestling, etc.) because frankly, they would get annihilated. I'm sorry you refuse to accept that. Any of the "balanced results" you are claiming, would be coming from the secondary boys sports. The Potomac AD, who is a great guy, knows this better than anyone.

While you are speaking from the vantage of a "D1 athlete's parent", I am speaking from the vantage point of a son who specifically is not attending Potomac because, among other reasons suited for him, they have a less than top tier sports program. Again, this is on a relative basis.

Potomac is an excellent academic school, with a nice athletics program. But there are a handful of local independent schools with excellent academics and excellent athletics. I mean no discredit to Potomac. Try attending a Landon lacrosse game versus a Potomac one, just as one example. The differences are huge.

You are just flat out wrong. These schools show up on the schedule quite often. Just go look at the out-of-conference schedules, let's take Baseball, a current spring sport being played right now -

Potomac beat Wilson HS (public) 6-5
Potomac beat Bishop Ireton 9-7
Potomac beat St Andrews 6-2
Potomac beat Bullis 10-4
Potomac beat SSSAS 9-4
Potomac beat St Andrews 3-2
Potomac vs Georgetown Prep game on 3/6 was a rainout

That's one season, one sport.

No, they don't play Landon, Prep, and StA every sport every season because they are not in the same conference, but your "very rarely" comment is just dead wrong. Please get your facts straight.