Public vs. Private

Having just made this decision last year, I can offer this extremely sophisticated answer: It depends. Everyone has their own personal factors to consider, along with the specifics of what their public school offers versus the private schools they're looking at.

When we picked the private school, we decided it would be much easier, had we made a mistake, to take him out and send him to public school than vice versa.

We chose the private school for a number of reasons: smaller school/smaller classes, year-round baseball program, baseball teammates as devoted to the sport as he is, strong baseball reputation.

Can you talk to some parents whose kids have gone to the schools you're considering and played baseball?

Good luck.

LHPMom

I agree that "it depends". In the instance you cited, I could see positives for both. Just speaking from a baseball perspective, coaching doesn't get any better than what you see at Severna Park H.S. The varsity coach is the best I've ever seen. Academics at all those schools seem to strong, but the privates do have an advantage with the smaller class sizes. And the year round emphasis on baseball doesn't hurt either.

I would be careful when I hear phrases like 'doesn't get any better than...'. These type of things depend a lot on how you evaluate the situation.

Private or Public? Depends totally upon what you are looking for and ... possibly expecting.

I wouldn't select a school based on it's athletics. I'd select it based on academics. A travel team is going to have far more influence on getting to college baseball than a high school program.

We had the option a couple of years ago back in 8th grade. Early in the process the possibility of a half scholarship was mentioned. Still at 12K a year I didn't see where the students in the private were getting into better colleges than the best students at the high school. The baseball players weren't getting into major D1 programs. On this year's team there are three who will be in major programs. But that's more about talent than the high school. They also play for a premier travel team.

# of games: Spalding 30-32, SevPk 18-20
Practice starts: Spalding=Feb 23, SP= Mar 1st
Practice limitations: Spalding=who is watching?, SP=MPSSAA regulations
Florida trip: Spalding=yes, SP=no?
JV Postseason tourney: Spalding=yes, SP=no
Recruiting: Spalding=yes, SP=no
Scholarships: Spalding=yes, SP=no
Coaches paid for lessons: Spalding=yes, SP=no?
Coach must be a teacher/employee: Spalding=no, SP=yes
Off-season workouts: Spalding=yes (4-5 days per wk), SP=no (maybe a parent volunteers)

So, if your number 1 criteria is the sports, than an MIAA school is an excellent choice. BTW, Spalding is also a quality school beyond the sports.

quote:

I didn't see where the students in the private were getting into better colleges than the best students at the high school.

Often can be true. It's a mistake for parents to pay private school hs tuition with the intent that it will get the kids into a higher caliber school. IMO the tuition buys an "experience" - can be religious, academic rigor, philosophical, whatever the school's differentiating point is. Same can be said in choosing public.

Either way - odds of getting into "better colleges" depends on the needs of the kid and the "fit" of their high school.

quote:

IMO the tuition buys an "experience" - can be religious, academic rigor, philosophical, whatever the school's differentiating point is. Same can be said in choosing public.

From attending a visitor's day class schedule and a football game, the only thing that stood out to my son was a "better than thou" attitude the student body has towards kids in the public and Catholic high schools. There's enough of this in our neighborhood. We're (family) not a big fan of it.

quote:

From attending a visitor's day sclass schedule and a football game, the only thing that stood out to my son was a "better than thou" attitude the student body has towards kids in the public and Catholic high schools. There's enough of this in our neighborhood. We're (family) not a big fan of it.

So again, to the poster, make sure the school is the right fit for the kid - academically, athletically, and the family. RJM is right - the family has to fit in with the ethos of the school.

Stereotypes work both ways - and for some the "wild child nature" of a public school or the "rigidity" of a Catholic school might be the deciding factor one way or the other.

Do your homework, and you will make the right decision!

This may be an unpopular opinion, and I hate to burst some bubbles, but I've been doing this for a little while and I've made some observations along the way. Take them for what they're worth. Here they are:

I believe that the primary consideration for a parent should be where their child will get the best instruction/coaching. Arguably, I think it's more important than where he plays. I've seen excellent players come out of the Metro leagues, and I've seen excellent players come from local Babe Ruth leagues. The common denomenator? They played for excellent coaches who prepared them well. Will it make a difference of him getting noticed? I doubt it. Scouts/College recruiters have excellent networks and they will find you if you can play. Nick Adenhart had a 95 mph fastball and he got signed out of a tiny 1A public school way out in Williamsport, MD. Where a kid goes to school just isn't as important in my book. Find him the right coach.

A good percentage of kids who try out for a HS team as a freshman will not be playing baseball as a senior.

The vast majority of kids playing high school ball will end their baseball careers when they graduate. Sadly, many excellent players just move on.

Of the kids who go on to play college ball, the majority of them will play at a lower than D1 level. The kids who play at the really big schools are among the top in the country, not their town, team, county, or conference.

The percentage of kids who will ever make a living from the game of baseball is microscopic. Therefore, a solid education should be of primary importance.

Just my two cents...

Excellent post RRinger!

JSParak couched the conversation by simply asking a baseball related question. I answered the post based strictly on a baseball response. I have watched the varsity coach from Severna Park for about 15 years now, going back to his legion coaching days. He was a four year starter at William and Mary, is extremely intelligent, and teaches the game to be played the right way. His use of the running game is vastly superior to most coaches I've seen. He instills a strong work ethic in his players and is very much focused on the team aspect of the game. In my opinion, he provides a situation as good as it gets!

Thanks for the opinions all. The one thing that stands out to me is that in public schools you have kids from all walks of life and from all social classes. Rich - poor, clean - dirty, smart - challenged, and many different behavior patterns. In public schools you are subject to general population issues like fights, bullying, and intimidation.
Private Schools can offer a more consistent and predictable learning environment. From talking to others, the learning is up to the kid but with less environmental distractions, private schools can be more rigorous and thorough.

As far as the baseball, there were a couple of things that I saw that were wrong. There are no scholarships in the MIAA conference and the off season workouts are more limited than the 4-5 days a week that schwammi said.

There was one answer that suggested a "better than thou" attitude at one school or another. My answer is that if there is a school out there that doesn't have enough pride in itself to think they are better than the visiting school then the moral at that school is an issue. I would expect that every school that we see would have the "were better than you" attitude. Could you imagine what would happen if Severna Park didn't think that they were better than Arundel!! We wouldn't have a rivalry and the teams would never fight to win. It would be like watching a politically correct game of hop scotch.

Spalding's Fall workout program is typcically as follows:
Mon/Wed/Fri - weight room after school (reserved specifically for baseball team)
Tu/Thu - on field practice (typically 2-2.5 hrs per day)
Sat - open unless there is a scrimmage
Sun - doubleheaders in Fall Ball league

My estimate of 4-5 days per week is probably conservative. And we are all clear on the true definition of "voluntary" off-season workouts, right?

In fact, as I write this on a Sunday both JV and Varsity are practicing. I believe that is a violation of MPSSAA rules for the public school teams.

As I said before, if your #1 consideration is the sports, the MIAA has a lot to offer.

quote:

When we picked the private school, we decided it would be much easier, had we made a mistake, to take him out and send him to public school than vice versa.

There have been several students in our area that have done this... recently a local high school received a transfer from a local big reputation private school...this student was a basketball player and football player...and from the local papers is going to get some strong attnetion as a football player(played WR) and is on a strong basketball program that is deep into the playoffs...

So it looks like it worked for that family.

Good question and easy to answer. Go to the web sites of the ACC and SEC College Baseball Teams and look at the high schools listed for the baseball players. At least ninty percent of them attend private ("prep") high schools. The primary reason that kids from prep schools excel is two fold. 1) Parents that have kids around the ages of 13/14 that have demonstrated acceptional baseball skills are usually if not always recruited by the private schools to attend usually via a baseball camp. In fact, that is why private high schools organize camps. It provides an excellent venue to observe and rate potential baseball talent. 2) The baseball practices and preparation in private schools is year-round and to obtain acceptance to a Division I baseball program in for example the ACC or SEC -- the kids needs to be exceptionally well conditioned and have the preparation to carry him through the highs and lows. Finally, the competetion then tends to be stronger in the private school baseball conferences, again, helping the kid to play against the best kids in his age group. Sure there are some decent public high school programs in Maryland (e.g., Quince Orchard - recently one kid that has gone on to Clemson) but if you review the Maryland/DC private schools you will see that the majority of kids moving on to top Division I baseball programs (ACC/SEC) --- come from private schools. The second tier Division I schools (e.g., Radford, Delaware, LaSalle etc.) may attract some kids from public schools but again, most are from private schools.

The player you speak of went to Gaitehersburg High School. He throws low 90s. Kevin Jacob went to Parkville High School in Baltimore and goes to Georgia Tech (also another player who throws low 90s). Thing is the way the showcases are set up in the summer, that is how you get seen. Its not about what school you go to whether it be private or public.

soxfan,

Don't forget Neil Davis University of Virginia played for Catonsville high school.
Steve Bumbry Virginia Tech played for Dulaney high school.
Adam Kolarek University of Maryland played for Catonsville high school.
Tyler Hibbs Florida State University played for Arundel high school.
Ryan Rivers heavily recruited by ACC but choose UNC Charlotte played at Eastern Tech high school. They are just some of the recent kids from public schools.

Trepfan,

When you compare the top players in private and public schools there really isn't much if any difference. Some years private has the top players and some years pubic does. As to conditioning,most of the better players don't need their high school to get them in shape. Most players have their own workout programs. As to the better competition, the summer teams and showcases are better competition then both private and public high school. This is where the players get the best competition wether they go to private or public school.

Also playing ACC D-1 doesn't mean as much as you think. Lewis-Clark state college has had more players drafted then all the ACC teams if I'm not mistaken and they are a NAIA school that can compete with any ACC school. There are plenty of Junior colleges that can compete with your D-1 schools also.

Also lets not forget Chorye Spoone who went to Northeast high school(public) that went to a local junior college CCBC-Cantonsville and is now on the Baltimore Orioles 40 man roster.


[QUOTE] The second tier Division I schools (e.g., Radford, Delaware, LaSalle etc.) may attract some kids from public schools but again, most are from private schools. [/QUO


I guess all the public kids playing in the ACC and other good baseball programs didn't get the e-mail that said only private school kids are good enough to play at the next level.

JMO
Banditsbb

Wow an 18-9 win Loyola vs Severna Park yesterday.(I thought Loyola was a lacrosse school.)

quote:

they will find you if you can play. Nick Adenhart had a 95 mph fastball and he got signed out of a tiny 1A public school way out in Williamsport, MD

How hard is it to "discover" a kid throwing 95mph? Your advice is absolutely horrible for any player that isn't an obvious top draft choice out of high school unless the kid wants to play for the local college.

You are right about the high school not mattering. As good as the coach is at my son's high school, it will be his travel team that gets him where he wants to be.

quote:

In public schools you are subject to general population issues like fights, bullying, and intimidation.
Private Schools can offer a more consistent and predictable learning environment. From talking to others, the learning is up to the kid but with less environmental distractions, private schools can be more rigorous and thorough.

You're sterotyping. You must have a predetermined end result at which you want to arrive. One of my son's friends attends a 25K a year private day school. It's considering acedemically prestigious. It does not have a program as academically challenging as the gifted program at our high school.

I went to private school for one year and begged out to my parents. What I witnessed was a bunch of spoiled kids. I saw a very high incidence of alcohol and drug abuse. I saw kids getting in trouble and never being held accountible. Daddy would bail them out with a 25-100K donation to whatever was the fundraising cause at the time. I saw plenty of bullying in private school. It was about wealth and social status. It wasn't from the wealthiest kids. It was from the wannabes in the second tier.

If you want to see pay for play in sports, check out some private schools. Do think a mediocre player makes the team after daddy donates a 100K towards the new field, court, rink, etc.? Take two talented kids competing for shorstop. Which one will start? It depends which dad is quickdraw on the checkbook.

quote:

Go to the web sites of the ACC and SEC College Baseball Teams and look at the high schools listed for the baseball players. At least ninty percent of them attend private ("prep") high schools.

I looked at North Carolina's roster. It looks like about five out of thirty-five. Without looking at Vanderbilt's roster (I follow the team) I know the percentage is high. Vanderbilt is an expensive school. Parents paying for Vanderbilt (still 37K after a 25% ride) are more likely to have been capable of paying for private school.

My son plays on a travel team with several players from two local privates that are BA top 50. He was recruited by one of them. We passed. From his public high school he's beaten out some of these kids to start and all of them for shortstop. How did he do it without playing 30 games a year for a private school? Talent and good coaching he got elsewhere. If you look where the private school kids you're referencing came from, they played travel ball at the same places as the top talent from public schools.

RJM,

I agree that pay to play is very real at the private school level. If a parent donates money, assist with field maintenance, becomes an assistant coach, the player will get the chance to not only play, but play a prime position. I have seen it first had at a private school in Prince Georges County.

Said situation has also heavily influenced the coach when nominating players to the Pre-Season Maryland All State team.

I see a 12-3 win Loyola over Dulaney today.I thought
Loyola was a footbsll school.

quote:

Originally posted by goodsoup:
I see a 12-3 win Loyola over Dulaney today.I thought
Loyola was a footbsll school.

Loyola should have a pretty good baseball season this year. Some talented players on that roster.

quote:

Originally posted by Hit It Here:
I will just say that at the SouthRiver Easton scrimmage there was a scout from the yankees and one from the Reds. They were there to watch Easton's supposed 90 mph pitcher. How many scouts were at Spaldings or Curley's scrimmages. They weren't there to see us but it shows if you have something they will find you. The advantage of private is just the forced off season work. But that is big if the player won't do it on his own.

Paper says the scouts were back at the SR game last night. Gives your SR boys a chance to show something when they find you.

Who are the scouts watching at SR?

Doesn't that happen to some extent in the public schools too? Baseball seems last on the priority list with funding, so is kind of dependent on the parents to donate money, helping with field maintenance, etc. It seems then, that these parents feel owed in some way and that is seeing their kid not only on the team but on the field playing every inning whether they can play or not. It's hard to watch the more deserving kid sit on the bench (especially when the team is losing). It's a problem in public and private. $25,000 - $100,000, maybe not so much donated in a public school (I hope).
If there was a vote though, I'd say definitely go to a public high school and save your money for their college education. I went 12 years to private schools and don't think I'm better off because of it. Those nuns were mean!

quote:

Originally posted by Baseball for Ever:
Who are the scouts watching at SR?

Sorry, it was coaching staff from Terps and not sure who they came to see or how he did. Hit-it-here can tell us, I'm sure he was there.