Private vs Public

[yes dear]

wow frito...chus englash is mucho bettero.

ft

orale. i es jus copy y pasted frum de espanol to englich dictionary

.......or forgot which ID you logged on wit.

[fastpitchforever]

I am going to go against the grain here. Our oldest went to a private school and our youngest went to a 5A public school. Both softball programs were rated in the state and the private one even finished higher in TAPPs playoffs. (FYI: The public school team beat the private school team in a head to head preseason game 15-0.)

The private school had a couple of very good players who I expected to receive small school d1 interest. The best they could do is D3 and these players chose not to play college softball. They went to better academic schools or cheaper schools such as Texas and A & M. These players did play select and did go to Colorado and some nationals before 18U. The select teams were not able to make gold.

The public school team has produced close to a dozen college players at the D1 level in a 4 year period. These players play when they get there and many of them had very good scholarships or admission to elite academic schools that play D1 ball. Our college coach constantly kept up with how my dd was doing in high school ball. She called the coach and emailed my daughter. Other teams wanted updated stats. They knew when we were playing the Woodlands and these schools are from out of state.

So, you will find some college teams will look at a private school player. You better play for Impact Gold or a comparable team. But coaches want a player who has played tough opponents. They want a player who travels to the big high school tourneys and still can make good grades. So I think it is much better to be at a public school, particularly one with a coach with connections to college teams.

Our public HS team has been in the top 10 the last few years, and we refused to even list the contact information for the HS coach on recruiting materials. DD is headed to D-1 too. We never had a coach even ask.

[DonnieS]

Our public HS team has been in the top 10 the last few years, and we refused to even list the contact information for the HS coach on recruiting materials. DD is headed to D-1 too. We never had a coach even ask.

That's interesting - we had the kid's D1 coaches ask to speak to the high school coaches on both kids during the recruiting - I bet it was because I was their travel team coach most of the time - and who is going to believe dad. That's got to be why.

[6position]

I will chime in on this topic because we recently had our own experience. We did a lot of research and talking to people as well. What I can say for sure is that every situation is completely different depending on what private school you are talking about, what public school you are talking about, your DD's personality and strengths, etc.

DD, a sophomore, recently committed to a major D1 school WHILE we were in the process of deciding whether to move her from private school to public school. At each college we visited ( all D1) we asked the coaches whether or not they cared if she played HS ball because our private school wasn't going to have a team. Every one of them said "No," followed by different comments suggesting that they want their recruits to continue to improve their skills, etc. before they get to college. As far as we know, not one of the coaches ever contacted anyone from the high school, nor did they ever ask us any questions about the high school program. DD is on a highly visible travel team with lots of college contact.

Why we chose PUBLIC over private: DD is an excellent standardized test taker and great student who we knew would do well in either academic environment. Our public HS option is as good academically as our private school for an overachieving student. The public school has a good softball program. We have lived in this HS district most of her life, so there is some familiarity with the public school. Her passion for playing softball was the deciding factor. Even though it wasn't necessary, she wanted the HS team experience (which she had her freshman year at private school on a very competitive team). This was a big enough factor that she was willing to start over mid-year in a school that was 7 times as big. The money we will save is an added bonus as well!

Again, every situation is different, but maybe this will help....

[hit4power]

We live in Houston, DD went to one of the SPC schools. Now playing at one of the NESCAC colleges having passed up her small D1 chances for the superior educational opportunity.

I vote that getting the best education possible should be the driver. And depending on where you are that might be a public HS. For us, the private option was best given which public HS we are zoned to. We always viewed softball as a means to get DD into a better college than she might be able to just on academics and so it was very important to us to put her in a HS situation where she’d be challenged academically. Surprisingly the private school’s softball program was pretty competitive actually (beat some decent 4A and 5A publics), and DD's HS coach did play a role in getting her into the NESCAC school.

DD loved the HS experience, she was a leader on the team, helped coach some kids and got some nice awards. None of which meant anything as far as college goes, but they were important to her. In no way did playing for a small (private) HS hurt her TB skills. In fact, it probably made her a better TB player by helping her understand the importance of leadership and teamwork.

We know a family in San Antonio whose DD also attends a SPC school and it truly is a weak program that gets beat (run ruled) pretty consistently. That kid plays for one of the best CenTEx TB teams and is looking at going to an Ivy. Trust me, playing for a crappy HS program hasn’t hurt her skills one bit. I actually asked her about it last year and she said she really likes playing with her friends even if they aren’t very good. Plus, she gets to play a different position than in TB and she liked that as well.

I wouldn’t worry about the level of the softball team. Put your DD where she will be challenged academically and fit in.

[fastpitchforever]

Our public HS team has been in the top 10 the last few years, and we refused to even list the contact information for the HS coach on recruiting materials. DD is headed to D-1 too. We never had a coach even ask.

That's interesting - we had the kid's D1 coaches ask to speak to the high school coaches on both kids during the recruiting - I bet it was because I was their travel team coach most of the time - and who is going to believe dad. That's got to be why.

Heh heh, maybe so, but also perhaps you were in a smaller environment too in S. Tx? Here in Houston, the TB coach seems to reign supreme. But I will grant you that there are about 3 or 4 HS coaches that carry some weight. Not a whole lot considering the number of softball programs.

[catcherdad]

I agree that my comments only apply if all things are equal or close with the private and public school. In our case, they were equal. Both strong academically and both similar with other factors. The public school was much bigger, but if you took the honors/AP track the classes were very small.

I know many college coaches only call select coaches. They are lazy and stubborn because more information is always better than less. We got along well with our select coaches, but these individuals had biases and shortcomings. One coach really oversold a certain athletic body type. He gave solid reviews to other players but if you were tall and muscular you were often a subject of huge overselling. Some top 10 programs are getting these oversold players who crumble under pressure or go into long slumps. I know college coaches trust select coaches. But they often would benefit from more information.

[sward]

I would choose the school that will best prepare your DD for life. While softball will teach her to work with others, the education aspect is the primary goal. Doubt many future employers will care if she was a 4-Year varsity starter in HS. However, if she went to a good private school and graduated top in her class, it might carry a little extra weight. I will say that while I lived in Oregon, we were going to send our DD's to private school becase the public education was not as good as I wanted.

Scott

[MavFan]

I would choose the school that will best prepare your DD for life. While softball will teach her to work with others, the education aspect is the primary goal. Doubt many future employers will care if she was a 4-Year varsity starter in HS. However, if she went to a good private school and graduated top in her class, it might carry a little extra weight. I will say that while I lived in Oregon, we were going to send our DD's to private school becase the public education was not as good as I wanted.

Scott

I don't think a future employer will give a rat's big fat cherry red ass where the kid went to HS or if she played HS softball, or graduated in the top of her HS class or participated in the band, was on the prom committee or homecoming queen. Those things may have an impact on the college your kid gets into, but I would have to seriously question any employer that was going back to the high school transcripts to make a hiring decision.

Go to the school that gives your kid the best education and will prepare them to get into college. The sooner young student athletes, especially female student athletes, begin making decisions that will benefit them for the next 40 to 50 years of their lives instead of just the next 4 or 5, the better.

[DonnieS]

The sooner young student athletes, especially female student athletes, begin making decisions that will benefit them for the next 40 to 50 years of their lives instead of just the next 4 or 5, the better.

I nominate MavFan's quote for #1 Quote of 2013. The story I heard that jerked my chain was when one of the best softball players in our country - and one of the smartest (ranked top 1,2,3) of a very large competitive high school - changed her major from engineering to ..... so that it wouldn't interfere with softball.