Moving to Richmond Area - school help!

It kind of depends on what you're looking for, and who your son is.

Cosby is an outstanding school with probably the dean of all area HS coaches in Tim Lowery.  They are perennially loaded and perennially there come playoff time.  They are consistently fundamentally sound and Coach Lowery will always make sure they are competitors.  Despite having been open only for 7 seasons thus far, they have numerous D1 alumni, still more D3 and JuCo alumni, at least 3 pro drafts that I can think of and at least one who I have high hopes for seeing in MLB one day.  To illustrate, I know that their returning team this year has one UNC commit, one Va. Tech commit, one William & Mary commit, and one JMU commit just in the senior class.  Probably more that just don't come to mind at the moment.

The one thing you have to watch is that at a school like Cosby, there are guys backed up on the depth chart who would start at many other schools.  It's not unusual to see sophomores with collegiate futures on JV when the season starts, so that they get lots of reps instead of pine time.  It's also not unusual for those guys to have significant roles on varsity by season's end.  Coach Lowery does a great job with player development.  You also have to understand that if your son doesn't earn his spot in the lineup every day, one of those kids promoted from JV may well be taking your son's playing time.  It's not the kind of team where you can take for granted that seniors will start "because they earned it with their time in the program" or any such thing.  The team concept there has no room for anyone who feels they are entitled to anything. 

So if your son is one of those guys who doesn't really see himself playing in college, who enjoys playing and has enough ability to compete at varsity level but maybe not be the All District kind of kid, Cosby can be a tough place to crack the lineup.  If my son were that at that talent level, I might think long and hard about going where he would have a better shot at playing all the time, even if the notion of a state title were only wishful thinking. 

Midlothian (my own alma mater) has recovered the last few years to middle-of-the-pack status after falling to the depths for a few years there.  They were last really good when Tyler Wilson was a senior in 2007, so it's been a while.  There are a lot of good things going on there, but this is not a team likely to advance far in post season just yet. 

Glen Allen is an almost brand new school, so the team is just getting its legs under it.  Given their demographics you'd expect them to contend consistently down the road.  I heard a rumor that they might have had a change in their head coach, someone can let me know if that was true, but that would be a disappointment as their guy was a great fit.

If my son were highly talented and highly driven, the kind of kid who would stand out anywhere, then Cosby would be your top choice baseball wise out of those three schools.  That's the kind of place where a kid with collegiate level talent can bank on being challenged and instructed in a way that will help him become all he can be.  If I were concerned less about a collegiate future and more about whether my son would ever get playing time in his time in HS, maybe one of the others would suit you better.

I will say that I'm only addressing the three schools you specifically asked about.  I don't know why you wouldn't also look into Powhatan, James River, Mills Godwin, Douglas Freeman or Hanover.  Powhatan has been a top AA team for years and is now in the new 4A grouping with (I think) Midlothian and Hanover, among others.  James River won consecutive state titles in 2007-08 and has been a perennial contender ever since, with 2 more final four appearances in the last 5 years.  They are now 6A along with Cosby, and those two schools are now the best of rivals.  Godwin has I think a couple state titles in its history, Hanover just won one, Freeman may take it this year.  And all of these are schools you could be proud of academically.

Midlo has given a great overview.  

Moving into a new area is tough, especially if you are building or want a new house. That could rule out good schools that are in already developed areas.  

My advise to anyone moving....check out major roads that you (or your spouse) may be traveling at rush hour, am and pm.  We don't have rush hour(s) like in the DC area or Norfolk that have tunnels to contend with, but there is still back up, which may or may not bother you.

I personally like living in more a more urban area; my opinion only - If I had to live somewhere besides where I live now (James River HS-Chesterfield Co.), I would look closely in the Freeman HS area (Henrico Co.), but you can't go wrong with the three schools you listed.

Thanks for the insight.  The reason I brought up those 3 schools specifically has to do with the potential residences we are looking at; all of our present house choices are in these school districts.

As far as baseball goes for my son, I'm not sure where he is.  He is 5'11", 150 lbs.  As a freshman, he started in RF, led his team with a .365 BA and won team MVP.  His sophomore year was a nightmare; he had strep throat and then mono and lost the 15 lbs he worked hard over the winter to gain (was up to 160 lbs).  He missed most of the games and when he came back, he tried to play through a significant back injury.  In fact, in the summer, he played for the 16u Richmond Braves but had to pull himself from the team due to the injury.

So, now he is fully recovered and has started to train hard.  That being said, he is going to be laid up for a couple of weeks as he is getting his tonsils out on Monday -- probably more weight loss after that!  

Bottom line is, I don't know how he stacks up, or will stack up come Spring.  Last winter he was clocked at 80-81 on his FB, and has a very effective CB and slider.  I think he could make a good contribution to any team as he is a very hard worker - always gives 100% and does what's best for the team.  He is actually looking forward to starting fresh somewhere else because he had major issues with his previous coaching staff.  

At one time his intention was to play college ball but he has been somewhat down on that due to his illnesses/injury and the lack of coaching he has had to endure. I think at this point, he just wants a positive experience with coaches who know how to coach, motivate, and inspire, and play with guys who work hard, regardless of their talent.  I think that is more important to him than championships (although no one likes losing, I think he would be happy just to reach .500 at least once in his HS career!) 

From a baseball stand point all 3 schools are coached by good men.  They will help your boy become a man.  Isn't that the point?  

Adam Griffin is a young guy that is really hustling at Midlothian.  

Tim Lowry's name has been tossed around in conversation (maybe for fun, maybe serious) for some college openings over the last few years.  Point being, he's good. 

Glen Allen players and parents probably don't even realize that they just hit the lottery.  Dave Savino retired from coaching at Hermitage about 5 years ago.  He is coming out of retirement from coaching (he still teaches at Hermitage) to take over a Glen Allen team that should get better every year.  Did I mention that Savino is already in the VHS Hall of Fame as a coach?  Good guy!

I like Keewarts advice the best.  Get up here and check out the traffic flow to and from your work and your potential homes.  I wouldn't pick a school based on the above info on coaches.  Especially if that means fighting traffic on Hull St to and from downtown.

And if you are looking at those 3 school systems you very easily could expand by just a few miles to include Deep Run, Godwin, Freeman, Hermitage, Tucker, James River, Clover Hill, etc, etc.  As you know, a few miles 1 way or the other could totally change your entire experience and price point!  

Good luck.

Rich

www.PlayInSchool.com

The player you describe would have a real hard time making the team at Cosby.  With a UNC commit, a UVA Commit and a JMU Commit as 3 pitching options already the 80-81 range player you describe will be left out.  Cosby also has 2 other mid 80's arms fighting to get innings.  They have returning lettermen at 1B, SS, 3B, CF, and a Flex player who established himself after a callup from JV late in the season.  The positions looking to be filled for them are at 2B, C and one corner OF and the cupboard is far from bare in the Cosby feeder system.

All that to say, there is a full complement of kids who have already been in the program moving up from JV as well so the chances of getting on the roster (nevermind on the field) are slim.  Midlo is thin and could use an arm for sure.  Midlo is probably the best school academically of the 3 as well.  They are a team that will very likely finish above .500 as well so from what you say you are looking for I think that's the fit.

Now that we have that pinpointed, my vote is Midlothian.  No Hull St. traffic and no west end traffic.  Better housing prices on the south side of the river, too! (I am a longtime Richmond resident that moved from the West End to Southside only because I got married.  Now I love it!)

Baseballwise, your player will have more opportunity to play at Midlo, like R.Graham mentioned.  For consideration:  the Midlothian district is pretty close to Clover Hill HS.....which may be worth looking into.  Very good up-and-coming baseball program, and the newest HS around this area.

"He is actually looking forward to starting fresh somewhere else because he had major issues with his previous coaching staff. "

Sorry to say, but this is a huge red flag.  Really for anyone, but for a kid who's only been a freshman and sophomore player, not one who's earned his stripes as a team leader or anything, to be knocking heads with the head coach ....

I would suggest you never mention this again, as it could lead to whispers following your kid around.

I hear what you are saying, but it wasn't just with my kid.  The entire team, including parents, had a major issue with the coach.  It was a very bad situation.  I was reluctant to even bring it up, but it was a huge thing last year.  3/4 of the team wanted to quit.  And it wasn't because the coach was "tough".

Another point to mention:  If the player has interest in any of the specialty curricula, sometimes where you live and where you go to school (and play) are two different places. 

E.g., James River has the leadership program, Midlothian has the IB program, Cosby is health sciences (I think?), Clover Hill has math/science, not sure about the others.  Henrico offers similar options.

My point being, there's a way to have your cake and eat it, too.  You can live in one district but send your kid to school in another district, provided it's in the same locality and provided it's a program you're interested in.

Thanks everyone for your help!

Midlo Dad, not sure you can enter the specialty programs as a Junior (except maybe the IB program if you are transferring from an IB program).  I heard recently of someone transferring as a sophomore and had to make up the work missed from Freshman year.   Not completely sure on this, but if the OP is interested, should contact the schools NOW.

Additionally, LC Bird is the Governors School for Pre-engineering (specialty center) in Chesterfield County.  Lots of folks in the northwestern part of the county forget about them!   

Yes, Cosby is Health Sciences, Manchester is Communications, and Monacan is Humanites.  I heard that Monacan may be changing their specialty center to something more health/medical related.

I agree keewart that it would be difficult to transfer in as a second semester junior into just about any of these programs with the possible exception of IB.  IB is fairly universal across the country, but the student would have to be in an existing IB program. 

Structuredoc, where did your son end up enrolling if you don't mind sharing?

We decided to move to a house in the Midlothian HS district - my son will start classes there after the winter break!

Alright, that school has a great program.  Good luck his spring!