Maryland: Private vs. Public

I can comment on the Private School part of this; I play in the IAC- Which is comprised of Bullis, Georgetown Prep, Landon, St. Stevens&St. Agnes, Episcopal, and St. Albans. The league is getting a little more competitive and you will get the best of both Athletics and Academics. The WCAC is the premier private school league in the area. St. Johns, Gonzaga, Dematha, Paul VI, O'Connel, Good Counsel all bring quality teams. Al McCormick can comment on Riverdale Baptist; I know they have a long legacy of being a top program-- even sent a few kids to the pros.

Cuban

Jim McCandless at Severna Park H.S. is one of my best friends, and one of my fiercest competitors when our summer teams clash. He is a phenomenal manager, organization master, great motivator and teacher, and is highly respected in the baseball community among players, coaches, and fans. Hell, he drove the guy from Arundel out of coach legion baseball. That has to account for something!

Thanks....I appreciate the comments. I hope others will share their thoughts as well.

This is a hard question to answer, yet an easy one to answer. Where you go to high school has little or no bearing on where you go to college. How hard you work and getting the proper exposure does!

Are there benefits by going to select private schools for athletics? Before I share some of the benefits, I am very sincere in stating that any player working with appropriate instructors and trainers independently could accomplish a lot for half the costs of most private schools in the area.

Most of your private schools, in some form or fashion, work out in the fall and winter as a team. Most of the private schools will take a quality trip outside the area to play against quality talent: (Riverdale is going to Dominican and South Carolina, Dematha and St. Johns are going to the Westminster Tournmanet, Notre Dame is going to Myrtle Beach, I am sure Calvert Hall and Mt.St. Joe are too....)Lastly, which may only include Riverdale and Notre Dame, they play 45-50 games each spring.

So, with your son heading to a quality program like Severna Park, the better question may evolve around who your son works with during the fall/winter, and how hard he wants it. He has to know his only competition is himself, and that would be the same no matter where he goes to school.

If you have any questions, please feel free to give me a call at (301) 261-3123 and I will attempt to answer anything you ask.

Al McCormick

Hey, according to Aaron who use to attend NDA, NDA has never played no more than 30 games each year.

Their previous records : 18-11, 20-8 and 13-15 or 14-15 last year, so where does 45-50 games come into play ?

Please try to be accurate with your counts.

Severna Park is as good of academic Public School as you will find in the area and Jimbo will do a great job coaching your son and teaching him every aspect of the game of baseball.

"Forget the curveball Ricky, give em the heater."

Handley Fan,
Apologize for misquoting Notre Dame's schedule past schedule. I do believe they will be playing a lot more this year.

Riverdale does play 45-50 every year.

Al McCormick

Great discussion! I think both Private and Public schools each have much to offer. Severna Park has a great program and I would agree that Jim has raised the level of the team and the facilities. He is a quality guy and has produced several terrific players and teams. He is involved in the SP feeder programs which eventualy helps him atthe HS and Legion level. However, I would refrain from making the statement that he "drove" the "Arundel Guy" (one would assume you are referencing Coach Walter) out of Legion ball. The Legion program in AA County as well as the state have been weakened to a large degree by the travel programs that are often more appealing in terms of travel, tournaments, etc. Severna Park is the exception, as they play a quality schedule and have been able to attract and retain the best players that Legion rules allow them to recruit. As I am sure you know, Legion has much more restrictive recruiting rules and schedules. The Arundel program basically migrated to this arena in order to have more control over their schedules, rosters, and travel options. They may be going through a transitional period or other programs are catching up but, I don't think you will find the Arundel program or coaches avoiding playing quality teams as implied.

In fairness to Coach Walters, the redistricting and a lot of Crofton area players are going to South River.

Thanks for your confirmation MWR. I think Mike Lockhart doing a lot of quality things at NDA.

Braves7...you are quite right. I should not have taken that slap at Coach Walter. He is arguably the most successful high school coach in the state of MD during my lifetime, and for that, and the type of product he puts on the field, I feel he has earned a great deal of respect. With regards to my other comments, I wasn't implying he would duck opponents. In fact, his new summer program was invited into our 7 state, 28 team league a few months back. I'm sure they will do an excellent job and will play and defeat many of the best teams in our league. Finally, as one of Jim's closest friends, I appreciate the nice words you had to say about him and his abilities as a coach and administrator of a baseball program.

Larry

Did you get my recent PM ?

TRhit

Larry - are you going to go see #19 pitch at Towson? BTW, I sent you an email and it bounced back to me - anyway, Brian said to say hi!

TRhit...I did not get the PM you sent. Can you resend? OriolesFan...I'm glad Brian is doing well. See you at the field.

Larry,
Can you check your e-mail listed on your profile as it appears everyone is getting the e-mail bounced.

Thanks
Al McCormick
(301) 261-3123

Al...I think I got it straightened out.

Baseballguy if your son can really play send him to Riverdale. Coach McCormick does a fabulous job.

Thanks RAM......I have heard good things about that program overall.

Appreciate your kind comments RAM. Partly because I started Most Valuable Player, a business to help kids from any high school get into college, I felt it was in the best interest of everyone that I step down from Riverdale at the end of last year.

If anyone is interested our player development approach, please feel free to give me a call at (301) 261-3123

Thank you again.