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Anonymous wrote:OP was asking for good academics too. STJ is just mediocre.
Holton or Potomac are the best academic schools that also have good sports teams.

As well as GDS and NCS

GDS is not as strong academically as Holton, NCS, or Potomac. And to say it's athletic is hilarious. Really. It's a great school, with very very liberal kids--but not strong athletes. I even know of several girls who left there for another school because of how bad the athletics are.

Seriously?!? GDS is much stronger academically than Potomac or Holton. It is as rigorous as Sidwell and NCS/STA.

GDS is not the equal of Sidwell, STA or NCS. It is equal to Potomac and Holton however. And the later three are only a little bit less intense than the first three.

Well, you are wrong. Based not just on college placement, but on things like NMSF numbers. Sidwell has 14 this year. GDS is second in DC with 11. STA has 7. NCS has 4. Potomac has 2. Holton has ? Well, I cannot find anything beyond Holton bragging about 10 commended students. Someone did an analysis on tis very board this fall showing percentages:

Sidwell 10.4%
St. Albans 7.7%
GDS 5.7%
NCS 4.4%
Holton 3.6%
Heights 3.2%
St. Anselm's 3.2%
Potomac 2.5%
Maret 2.5%
Walls 2.4%
McLean (VA) 2.4%
Visitation 1.9%
WIS 1.5%
GtownPrep 1.2%
Gonzaga 1.1%
Wash-Lee 1.1%
Yorktown 0.8%
Stone Ridge 0.7%
St. John's 0.6%

Fine, but National Merit is academics only and has nothing to do with sports. OP asked about a mix, so if you want to talk college placement and sports, the local conversation starts and ends with NCS Crew. In the last three years alone, NCS Crew has sent at least 3 rowers to UVa, 3 to Princeton, 2 to Stanford, 2 to Brown, 2 to Dartmouth, and at least one to MIT, UChicago, Wesleyan, Penn, Cornell, Yale, and Texas.

Fine, but this particular sub-thread was about academics only. So while you are correct about the lack of athletic stardom at GDS, it is clearly academically superior to Potomac and Holton and on a par with SFS, STA and NCS.

What about girls lacrosse at SSSAS? Are they no longer dominant? It used to be that all their most impressive college matriculations were girls lax stars when Joan Holden was head, and that's only what - 5 years ago?

"Clearly" by your sole criterion. No one cares about GDS. It is Sidwell for those who didn't get in to Sidwell. Those who applied to the other named schoosl didn't care because NOCAGDS.

One reason that Visi is able to field strong teams in the larger team sports is their larger student population relative to the other schools.

I think your list is spot on and would add O'Connell for softball. We toured Visi recently and it seems the school is doing a good job of attracting multi sport athletes who are also strong students looking for an all girl community. Lacrosse is still strong at SSSAS and the best game of the year is their match up against BI for the VA State Championship. Both are fantastic programs and it's a fun contest to watch.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP was asking for good academics too. STJ is just mediocre.
Holton or Potomac are the best academic schools that also have good sports teams.

As well as GDS and NCS

GDS is not as strong academically as Holton, NCS, or Potomac. And to say it's athletic is hilarious. Really. It's a great school, with very very liberal kids--but not strong athletes. I even know of several girls who left there for another school because of how bad the athletics are.

Seriously?!? GDS is much stronger academically than Potomac or Holton. It is as rigorous as Sidwell and NCS/STA.

GDS is not the equal of Sidwell, STA or NCS. It is equal to Potomac and Holton however. And the later three are only a little bit less intense than the first three.

Well, you are wrong. Based not just on college placement, but on things like NMSF numbers. Sidwell has 14 this year. GDS is second in DC with 11. STA has 7. NCS has 4. Potomac has 2. Holton has ? Well, I cannot find anything beyond Holton bragging about 10 commended students. Someone did an analysis on tis very board this fall showing percentages:

Sidwell 10.4%
St. Albans 7.7%
GDS 5.7%
NCS 4.4%
Holton 3.6%
Heights 3.2%
St. Anselm's 3.2%
Potomac 2.5%
Maret 2.5%
Walls 2.4%
McLean (VA) 2.4%
Visitation 1.9%
WIS 1.5%
GtownPrep 1.2%
Gonzaga 1.1%
Wash-Lee 1.1%
Yorktown 0.8%
Stone Ridge 0.7%
St. John's 0.6%

Fine, but National Merit is academics only and has nothing to do with sports. OP asked about a mix, so if you want to talk college placement and sports, the local conversation starts and ends with NCS Crew. In the last three years alone, NCS Crew has sent at least 3 rowers to UVa, 3 to Princeton, 2 to Stanford, 2 to Brown, 2 to Dartmouth, and at least one to MIT, UChicago, Wesleyan, Penn, Cornell, Yale, and Texas.

Fine, but this particular sub-thread was about academics only. So while you are correct about the lack of athletic stardom at GDS, it is clearly academically superior to Potomac and Holton and on a par with SFS, STA and NCS.

What about girls lacrosse at SSSAS? Are they no longer dominant? It used to be that all their most impressive college matriculations were girls lax stars when Joan Holden was head, and that's only what - 5 years ago?

Crew is a separate entity - club not a team sport. Paid for by parents. No real local Competition. Not mainstreamat all. Doesn’t count.

And other than that NCS sports suck. Bad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP was asking for good academics too. STJ is just mediocre.
Holton or Potomac are the best academic schools that also have good sports teams.

As well as GDS and NCS

GDS is not as strong academically as Holton, NCS, or Potomac. And to say it's athletic is hilarious. Really. It's a great school, with very very liberal kids--but not strong athletes. I even know of several girls who left there for another school because of how bad the athletics are.

Seriously?!? GDS is much stronger academically than Potomac or Holton. It is as rigorous as Sidwell and NCS/STA.

GDS is not the equal of Sidwell, STA or NCS. It is equal to Potomac and Holton however. And the later three are only a little bit less intense than the first three.

Well, you are wrong. Based not just on college placement, but on things like NMSF numbers. Sidwell has 14 this year. GDS is second in DC with 11. STA has 7. NCS has 4. Potomac has 2. Holton has ? Well, I cannot find anything beyond Holton bragging about 10 commended students. Someone did an analysis on tis very board this fall showing percentages:

Sidwell 10.4%
St. Albans 7.7%
GDS 5.7%
NCS 4.4%
Holton 3.6%
Heights 3.2%
St. Anselm's 3.2%
Potomac 2.5%
Maret 2.5%
Walls 2.4%
McLean (VA) 2.4%
Visitation 1.9%
WIS 1.5%
GtownPrep 1.2%
Gonzaga 1.1%
Wash-Lee 1.1%
Yorktown 0.8%
Stone Ridge 0.7%
St. John's 0.6%

Fine, but National Merit is academics only and has nothing to do with sports. OP asked about a mix, so if you want to talk college placement and sports, the local conversation starts and ends with NCS Crew. In the last three years alone, NCS Crew has sent at least 3 rowers to UVa, 3 to Princeton, 2 to Stanford, 2 to Brown, 2 to Dartmouth, and at least one to MIT, UChicago, Wesleyan, Penn, Cornell, Yale, and Texas.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP was asking for good academics too. STJ is just mediocre.
Holton or Potomac are the best academic schools that also have good sports teams.

As well as GDS and NCS

GDS is not as strong academically as Holton, NCS, or Potomac. And to say it's athletic is hilarious. Really. It's a great school, with very very liberal kids--but not strong athletes. I even know of several girls who left there for another school because of how bad the athletics are.

Seriously?!? GDS is much stronger academically than Potomac or Holton. It is as rigorous as Sidwell and NCS/STA.

GDS is not the equal of Sidwell, STA or NCS. It is equal to Potomac and Holton however. And the later three are only a little bit less intense than the first three.

Well, you are wrong. Based not just on college placement, but on things like NMSF numbers. Sidwell has 14 this year. GDS is second in DC with 11. STA has 7. NCS has 4. Potomac has 2. Holton has ? Well, I cannot find anything beyond Holton bragging about 10 commended students. Someone did an analysis on tis very board this fall showing percentages:

Sidwell 10.4%
St. Albans 7.7%
GDS 5.7%
NCS 4.4%
Holton 3.6%
Heights 3.2%
St. Anselm's 3.2%
Potomac 2.5%
Maret 2.5%
Walls 2.4%
McLean (VA) 2.4%
Visitation 1.9%
WIS 1.5%
GtownPrep 1.2%
Gonzaga 1.1%
Wash-Lee 1.1%
Yorktown 0.8%
Stone Ridge 0.7%
St. John's 0.6%

This depends on the sport or sports, of course, but I would start by stratifying by a) good to very good student; and b) outstanding student.

For a good to very good student:
1. Potomac
2. Visitation
3. Stone Ridge and St. Stephens-St. Agnes, and O'Connell
4. Bullis

For an outstanding student:
1. NCS
2. Holton
3. GDS, Sidwell or Maret

I'm missing several schools, of course, but these are the ones that jump out. I'm not sure where Flint Hill, Episcopal and Holy Child fall on the sports scale.

Academics aside, these seem to be the best programs (over the last 5-10 years, with recent years weighted more heavily), in descending order:
1. NCS Crew
2. Holton Tennis
3. Visi Basketball
4. Visi Soccer
5. Visi Lacrosse
6. Visi and NCS Field Hockey
7. GDS Cross-Country
8. NCS Softball
I'm not sure about volleyball or swimming, and this list may not do Stone Ridge or Potomac justice, but have at it.

One reason that Visi is able to field strong teams in the larger team sports is their larger student population relative to the other schools.

Anonymous wrote:Holton and NCS would be the best for girls academics w/ good sports. FWIW mine was recruited to Ivy from Holton for her sport. She also had friends recruited for sport from NCS. GDS sucks at sports and SJ is not as good academically. Visi would be ok and so would SR. (but not quite as good academically as NCS/Holton).

+1 All true, although GDS does seem to be getting better in some sports, and is great in cross-country. Visi is probably the best in the 'major' sports of soccer, field hockey, basketball and lacrosse, but it neglects many other sports and is not on the level of NCS and Holton, or even Potomac. Holton is outstanding in tennis, and NCS is historically strong, but Holton and Potomac have passed them by, of late. NCS Crew is incredible -- easily the best girls sports program in the entire DC area. It is known nationally, similar to men's lacrosse and football at Gonzaga and football at StJ.

But ... to get recruited from NCS or Holton, you have to deal with NCS and Holton (lots of other threads on potential issues there).

You should tour Flint Hill before you judge it based on this forum. We have found it's a good mix.

Holton and NCS would be the best for girls academics w/ good sports. FWIW mine was recruited to Ivy from Holton for her sport. She also had friends recruited for sport from NCS. GDS sucks at sports and SJ is not as good academically. Visi would be ok and so would SR. (but not quite as good academically as NCS/Holton).

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Anonymous wrote:Visi parents, what's the issue with your volleyball program? Is it coaching? Are girls choosing other schools with stronger teams? Do travel volleyball teams funnel kids into certain schools as basketball and lax clubs? It seems odd since volleyball is currently a popular sport with MS girls and Visi's other teams seem to be thriving.

It’s pretty bad, I don’t think they won a set all season...and it’s not like the ISL is strong. Can’t fault the kids effort though - they try hard.

I am not a Visi parent and don't know about their program but I have a daughter who attends a school in the WCAC and plays volleyball. To address your questions, I believe the answers are yes. Many of the girls who play for the top teams in the WCAC like Holy Cross, Paul VI and SJC play club volleyball and are on travel teams. I would assume Visi is not investing in volleyball in terms of recruiting talent and capable coaches. So, if your girl plays competitive volleyball and wants the opportunity to play with skilled players, then Visi is not the school for the sport of volleyball.

Flint Hill is leaps and bounds the best HS volleyball team of any private school in the DC area.

True.

Is that why other schools don't try? I've heard has had strong teams in the past which is interesting because the rest of their athletics are a joke.

It is kind of a futile attempt to challenge Flint Hill at volleyball. Their entire team play elite club volleyball vs, at best, one or two on any other team in the ISL. WCAC is not what it was either, in terms of volleyball. ISL schools seem more focused on lacrosse or basketball.

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Anonymous wrote:NCS is slightly better academically but no where near as good athletically. I mean come on. Most sports stink at NCS. They tend to have only one standout athlete per grade. None of the teams in any sport do anything beyond playing in the ISL and a top girl athlete who is smart enough to go to NCS is giving up playing on an outstanding high school team which few want to do.

It's the best crew program in the region. Won the top two prizes at Stotesbury the past three years in a row. That has had an impact on the entire program. A lot of girls who would be strong contributors in other sports choose instead to devote the year to rowing.

I have kids on the close. Yes, NCS has an amazing rowing team but your statement that it takes top athletes away from other sports is just not true. Crew is a Spring sport. The top lax players still play lax (and there is only 1 per grade) they don't row crew. Only other main sport NCS has in Spring is track and field. Crew is an awesome endeavor and a huge boost for admission to a top academic school if you are great (I am not knocking crew in any way here) but its doesn't draw from the same athletic pool as other sports.

The issue with measuring NCS's athletic prowess by its relative strength in crew is that the crew program is not part of the athletic department's programming. It is funded almost entirely or in large part by parents. Plus, most schools do not have and cannot afford to have a crew program. Crew is a one-off, non-mainstream sport that some highly-competitive parents established at NCS and STA and has served their kids well, because there is limited competition, and they invest a lot of time in it. Not unlike the squash star who is the best in the region...

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Anonymous wrote:Visi parents, what's the issue with your volleyball program? Is it coaching? Are girls choosing other schools with stronger teams? Do travel volleyball teams funnel kids into certain schools as basketball and lax clubs? It seems odd since volleyball is currently a popular sport with MS girls and Visi's other teams seem to be thriving.

It’s pretty bad, I don’t think they won a set all season...and it’s not like the ISL is strong. Can’t fault the kids effort though - they try hard.

I am not a Visi parent and don't know about their program but I have a daughter who attends a school in the WCAC and plays volleyball. To address your questions, I believe the answers are yes. Many of the girls who play for the top teams in the WCAC like Holy Cross, Paul VI and SJC play club volleyball and are on travel teams. I would assume Visi is not investing in volleyball in terms of recruiting talent and capable coaches. So, if your girl plays competitive volleyball and wants the opportunity to play with skilled players, then Visi is not the school for the sport of volleyball.

Flint Hill is leaps and bounds the best HS volleyball team of any private school in the DC area.

True.

Is that why other schools don't try? I've heard has had strong teams in the past which is interesting because the rest of their athletics are a joke.

*Madeira

I don't know if horseback riding counts as a sport.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Visi parents, what's the issue with your volleyball program? Is it coaching? Are girls choosing other schools with stronger teams? Do travel volleyball teams funnel kids into certain schools as basketball and lax clubs? It seems odd since volleyball is currently a popular sport with MS girls and Visi's other teams seem to be thriving.

It’s pretty bad, I don’t think they won a set all season...and it’s not like the ISL is strong. Can’t fault the kids effort though - they try hard.

I am not a Visi parent and don't know about their program but I have a daughter who attends a school in the WCAC and plays volleyball. To address your questions, I believe the answers are yes. Many of the girls who play for the top teams in the WCAC like Holy Cross, Paul VI and SJC play club volleyball and are on travel teams. I would assume Visi is not investing in volleyball in terms of recruiting talent and capable coaches. So, if your girl plays competitive volleyball and wants the opportunity to play with skilled players, then Visi is not the school for the sport of volleyball.

Flint Hill is leaps and bounds the best HS volleyball team of any private school in the DC area.

True.

Is that why other schools don't try? I've heard has had strong teams in the past which is interesting because the rest of their athletics are a joke.