Which HS ???

IMHO, I wouldn't choose the HS based on sports. And personally, I wouldn't pay $12k per year.

Get him on a very good select team for summer and fall. Then the HS ball won't matter.

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bbdad2007....

Welcome to the HSSBW you'll love it here!...

...and we a good number number of posters from your very neighborhood which have a great deal of experience with the WCL...and have delt with that very question....

They should be posting presently and/or talking to you by PM....

If they don't we'll endeavor to gather them up for you....

44
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Thanks for the warm welcome

The teams in the WCL seem to have to have the superior talent yet any recruiting that goes on appears to be done behind the scenes... I'm wondering if there are certain U13 "showcase tournaments" that HS coaches go to in the Bay Area to look for talent?

I have talked to some professional coaches about this very subject and they don't seem to know how the HS recruiting game is played or they're not saying... I have a couple of contacts I haven't tried yet who might know and I'll talk to them this weekend about it. Again, thanks in advance to anyone willing to share how the system works.

My son goes to a great Catholic high school with an excellent baseball program. But recruiting isn't done out of high school. If he didn't play on elite travel teams and go to camps and showcases, no one would care. So don't think the 12K is a good baseball investment, BUT do understand that kids do what their peers do. The advantage of our school is that the academic level is high and 99% of the kids go to 4 year colleges. That is a huge advantage over the local public schools. If your local public school has good academics and good baseball, go for it. You can't pick a high school (or a college) based on baseball
alone - that's what parents are for.

BBDad2007:

My son graduated last year from one of the WCAL programs. He is now off at a great college playing baseball (fall ball began 2+ weeks ago).

From my experience, our son got a diciplined enviroment that built young men of character. The teachers were good and the kids had a great deal of pride in their school and it's tradition. The $12K tuition seemed like nothing when I drove by the local public schools and saw many of the kids outside looking like "young punks." Also, there are few if any schools in the area with baseball facilities that can match those in the WCAL.

From a baseball prospective, if your son is in the 8th grade go to a couple of the freshman pracitices and games. You will know real fast if he can play. Also, be aware that it is not unusual for 100+ boys to show up for freshmen tryouts. This translates into a competitive baseball program.

The schools do not recruit. However, when a good ball player comes along, they want to know when the admission decision is being made. If you are interested in one of the schools, talk with parents that have kids there, they can generally make a recomendation that is from my experience listed to.

I know that St. Francis, Bellarmine and Serra have summer baseball "camps" run by their repective athletic deparments for 7th & 8th graders. It is too late for this year, but you asked the question.

Pick the school because it is the right thing for your son, family and future.

Welcome to the website! There's a ton of advice and insights about the recruiting process and the overall high school baseball experience. Take some time to get to know this site and use the find button to ask about specific issues.

The WCAL has a good reputation across the nation. Going to a good high school (with a strong academic course load) is the best way to get looked at if you're a competitive baseball player. Grades, grades, grades. My son is a senior in a WCAL school. The level of play is outstanding. While the individual schools can vary with the number of studs, every player has done their work to get where they are. Pretty serious bunch of guys. A good way to see where you fit is to attend a sports camp at schools you're interested in. Perhaps you've done that. Gives the coaches a look at your son, too.

We don't have a lot of choices for public schools where I live. Private school was the only route. Plus, my son wanted to play high level baseball. The cost of tuition is only the beginning. Most Catholic schools have an annual donation (can be up to 1000 bucks). You have to pay for all your books at our school, too. When you look at the further cost of some of the recruiting processes (camps, showcases, teams), it can add up quickly. If you're son is already on a good travel team, you can still go to all the recruiting venues and get exposure. The advantage of WCAL is that there have been some great class of players recently (2007 has a couple of good players). So colleges will notice more and more.

Baseball aside, we've been very happy with the education. Nice kids. Nice facilities (although we don't have a baseball facility) and great teachers. Other WCAL schools have fantastic fields. Valley Christian, is tops. St. Francis. Serra. My son has gotten to know a lot of the players in this league. He's played with them in showcases and gone to camps. It is a small circle of baseball families.

If there's one word of advice that you should heed (and it's everywhere on this site). Good grades has to be the first order of business. I didn't quite believe it...but now I know it for a fact. Luckily, most of the Catholic high schools are college preps. If you follow their curriculum, you'll be fine.

Good luck. And keep posting.

bbdad2007, Welcome to the HSBBW.
It's the Player not the School he goes to that will get him noticed.
Yes some School's get alot of the Press.
But they don't get the Mercury new's in SoCal, Texas, East Coast. ect.
I am sure, and have heard Rumer's that there's an underground network for hogging all the Talent in the Bay Area. But Nobody has Cracked the Insider Code. LOL

Remember your son is only 13, and you have time before you need to worry about being noticed.
Have Fun, and enjoy. EH

As you can tell, we're right smack dab in the recruiting experience. But theEH is right. This is the time to enjoy your son's experience in high school, baseball, life. I should have added (and from now on will try to) that the greatest joy is watching your child do something they love, get accolades for it sometimes and share the thing that they love. Some of our best times have been at high school baseball games with the other families.

bbdad,
Welcome to the HSBBW.
If I might, let me jump you forward a bit.
First of all, realize that the changes in our sons from ages 13-18 are unbelievable and sometimes unbelievably unpredictable.
Second, take a look at the 2006 Stanford baseball roster. There are 5 Peninsula players. 3 went to public high schools(one is the son of justbb, a very knowledgable poster on this site), one to a non WCAL private, and one to a WCAL. Some played baseball exclusively in high school and one was multi sport.
Hopefully, this type of looking forward information can provide some guidance.

Students who perform well academically will do well, whether they are in a good public high school, a WCAL, or another private high school.
Your son will be severely challenged in baseball at any of the Peninsula WCAL programs and you need to be realistic. Like it or not, it is a fact and a lot of darn good players don't end up on a team.
If your son does well academically in high school, he will have the best of options for college. If he is a terrific ball player but performs less well in the classroom, his options will be severely limited. Bottom line, I would pick his high school based on the best academic and social fit. Baseball, from our view, should not be the focal point in the decision making process.

Thanks everyone for some great feedback. I also received a few private messages I will respond to.

To be totally clear, I wanted to point out that I'm not really concerned about COLLEGE recruitment right now. Yes, I realize it is a factor to consider when choosing a high school but I'm just grateful my son is a good player TODAY. As others pointed out, much can change in the next 4-5 years and I hate to presume (or jinx) any future success.

Luckily my son is a good student with As & Bs and very good standardized test scores. We live in a desirable school district that has two very good academic public schools. The one closest to us has a lousy D3 baseball team but we can apply for a transfer to the second school 2-3 miles away which has a top D2 team. This is the school more of his friends are hoping to go to ( ethnic breakdown is a better match if you know what I mean).

Mitty HS is close by and would be the logical choice if we went private (good baseball, have girls, short commute, more laid back than Bellarmine and pretty good academics). The boy went to a Mitty BB camp in July and liked it/played well. The head coach saw him hitting line drives during BP and came by and said "sweet swing kid". The kids didn't pitch during the camp... I'll check if they have any fall/winter camps - next July is too late in the "decision making process" as HS entrance tests, etc... are in Jan.

Last night the boy's thoughts were to put the $12K a year in a college fund and shoot for playing on the public "D2" HS team. They had a pretty good pitcher last year who did well for himself (Kyle Blair)! I also spoke to the boy's pitching coach (a real veteran who's coached many top pitchers in the Bay Area) last night but he's pushing for us to go WCAL!

So we're still not fully decided. Just told him to keep working hard (scool and sports) and we'll see what happens.

.
There is a poster here whose son plays for that public high school....might be worth a chat...

44
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bbdad, I happened to graduate from the D2 high school a very long time ago. That school has retained a top academic reputation over all these years(once they got me our of there) . Within the public school system, they also have consistently been top performing athletically.
If that and Mitty are your choices, I don't think you can make much of a mistake either academically or athletically. Certainly, the Mitty coach has a terrific reputation that sounds like it is very well deserved. But again, the quality of the competition just to make the team and/or play in the WCAL school is likely to be quite different.
Seems like you and your son are looking at very nice options. While your son's baseball experience will be somewhat different at each, if he is successful, they both provide options at the end that are quite equal.
If it makes any difference to you, our son went to a small private school. During the summer he played SS alongside the 3B from a WCAL school who was the a CCS first team selection. They both had options after high school and both developed baseball wise pretty equally over the years they played legion ball together.
Good luck to your son in baseball and with his options.

infielddad,

Yes, that school is know for it's strong football program and probably several other sports as well... The kids also tell me the students throw good parties but I bet you wouldn't know about that

bbdad - Mitty is a great school with a great HS baseball coach...one of the very best around. I know him fairly well and think VERY highly of him.

LG is also a great choice...as is Saratoga (its D2 too BTW).

All 3 schools have solid academics and you really cannot go wrong. Scholarships to WCAL schools are based on need. You should talk to the school counselors about whether or not you may qualify.

Someone had told me Saratoga was D3 and quite frankly I was a little confused. I looked up the schools and saw Saratoga plays in the El Camimo league and LG plays in DeAnsa league... Are both leagues equal? Or are they both D2 but DeAnsa has stronger teams? I'm a little green with the HS scene so sorry for any "stupid" questions

But from speaking to local knowledgable coaches, they say LG has a MUCH stronger BB program and "anyone" can make the Saratoga team.

Just curious, but who are the "local knowledgable coaches?" Local HS coaches or LL/Pony coaches?

The SCVAL is broken up into 2 divisions...De Anza and El Camino in all sports. Schools can be in either in any sport. Generally, the stronger teams are in De Anza. How is that determined? Well, each year, the last place team in De Anza moves down and the 1st place team in El Camino moves up for the following year. This mechanism works generally well, but there are obviously no absolutes. One of the very best D2 teams in CCS last year was in the El Camino (Los Altos). LG is in De Anza, Saratoga in El Camino in baseball. Saratoga was forced down about 4 years ago after finishing last in De Anza.

Division 1/2/3 is based on school population...both LG and Saratoga are D2. Most WCAL schools are D1 because they petition "up" at the beginning of the year.

LG historically does have a much stronger baseball program (football too). I don't know about "anyone" making the Saratoga team, but the competition for playing time is not as much.

There are advantages to that, however. For example, a kid can make varsity sooner at a weaker school.

IMO, you should base your decision on where your son fits best overall...not just in baseball. Where are his friends going? Which school has the strongest academic program where your son's interests are (e.g. math/science, etc...)? Which fits your values (e.g. are you Catholic? do you value a Catholic education?)? Which fits your budget?

Some awfully good ballplayers have come out of "weak" programs in our area recently...some made their programs strong by their presence. As an example, our son's school (Mountain View) was something like 5-20 when he entered and something like 20-5 and league champs when he was a senior. Two kids from his team are now playing in the Pac-10. Several more at JCs and other smaller colleges...playing ball. Many of the comments when he entered MVHS were the same you're hearing about Saratoga now.

Find the overall school that is best for your son and your family and let the rest take care of itself. As I said, all 3 schools you are considering are great choices. Thats why housing prices are so very high in your area...its the schools!

The coaches who made that comment (obviously "tongue in cheek") are professional coaches i know who work with some of the local travel teams... Guys who get paid to give lessons and coach teams. Since Saratoga is affluent, if a kid has talent(sports)it's no big deal for the parents to pay for private HS. While LG is just as affluent- it appears a greater percentage go to the local HS to play sports. There is also a significant demograhic difference with Saratoga High School now predominantly Asian. Of the two schools, Saratoga is definately stronger academically. Also a great place to go if you play a musical instrument!

My suggestion:

* Contact Mitty HS and ask for your son to shadow for a day there.

* Do the same at LG and Saratoga.

* Speak to the HS coaches and parents from all three schools...but speak with the guidance counelors and/or principals too.

Make your decision based on whats important to you. I'm very familiar with the demographics at all 3 schools and that may be yet another factor to consider. Most families in our area would be thrilled to have their son attend any of those schools.

justbaseball,

Thank you for your very knowledgeable explanations and guidance. I appreciate you taking the time to post.

bbdad2007, I am probably the poster that Observer44 alluded to. My son is a Sr. that goes to LG.

We also tackled with the idea of going to a private school and we had some contacts within a couple of the schools. In the end, we felt that it was not worth the extra cost when LG was compared with the privates.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

BBdad2007, by the way, in the past year LG won the CCSD2 title, split with Bellarmine (D1 champ), lost to VC 2-1, and kind of dominated a scrimmage with Mitty.

Wilcox and Palo Alto, who are in our league, have also fared very well in recent years vs. the WCAL.

quote:

Originally posted by Dooer:
bbdad2007, I am probably the poster that Observer44 alluded to. My son is a Sr. that goes to LG.

We also tackled with the idea of going to a private school and we had some contacts within a couple of the schools. In the end, we felt that it was not worth the extra cost when LG was compared with the privates.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

Dooer: Do you ultimately think it helped or hurt your son with college recruiting to stay at the public school?

homerun - I'm not sure how Dooer will answer that question...but you might want to PM me if you want another opinion on that.

Bottom line: I think it makes a difference for some kids but I'm not sure I want to say more than that publicly.

I spoke to the district office regarding transfering to LGHS from the Saratoga district and the admissions person gave me a detailed explaination of the policy. Basically, since there are more freshmen (larger district) entering LGHS than Saratoga you can request LGHS but selections are made by lottery. There are actually more students from LG that transfer to Saratoga. The transfers are only good for a year and you need to reapply each year. Currently leaning towards the obvious- have our son go to Saratoga. Does anyone have info on the Saratoga baseball program? Please PM me ! I have heard that Jeff Walker is no longer there... who are the frosh/soph and varsity coaches? I have heard from LL rumors that a Gary Berman may get involved?

I did speak to one of my son's travel ball coaches on this subject. He felt public school kids are much less likely to get D1 offers. However, he always recommends the route he personally took which is public HS then JUCO for 2 years and then scholarship to a 4 year school. In his case, grades where an issue though. Personally, we'll have our son focus on academics (most likely at Saratoga HS)/play the best baseball he can and see what happens. I think the fact that he is a good pitcher will help when it comes to getting noticed. I mean, it must be a little easier for a pitcher (if he has the right stuff)versus a position player.

quote:

Originally posted by justbaseball:
homerun - I'm not sure how Dooer will answer that question...but you might want to PM me if you want another opinion on that.

Bottom line: I think it makes a difference for some kids but I'm not sure I want to say more than that publicly.

There are some talented players at a school that never get noticed because they play in a weak league and have very good outings but nobody was there to see it.

But the grass is not always greener! I have seen very talented players go to private schools and not get playing time or get the recognition due to them looking at a premier player and the bar is set really high and not have interest in others.

I have also seen marginal players get college interest just because they did well in a couple of outings that a school happen to be at, but as a rule would not do well or have not been proven in the long term.

Yes, players get overlooked...at nearly every venue. But word of mouth is a powerful thing and I learned 1st hand that you just don't always know who is behind the OF fence or next to the tree behind the dugout even at a "weak HS's" game.

An experienced and well-connected HS coach can do a lot of good for a player. But that isn't necessarily separated by public/private. If you're familiar with Northern California and CCS in particular (your location only says "CA") you certainly know that the programs at Wilcox, Santa Cruz and Monterey, among others, have been as successful as any in placing their players at the next level.

quote:

There are some talented players at a school that never get noticed because they play in a weak league and have very good outings but nobody was there to see it

I am not sure they "never get noticed" but will fully agree that playing in a weaker league, and even many not so weak leagues, can leave a player overlooked.
On the other hand, if you are a good player, you want to play in college, have solid academics, you work very hard at getting recruited, AND you aren't focused exclusively on DI, there are great options available to play at some of the best universities in the US, which can be combined with summer wood bat leagues to play against the very best level of competition that exists.
It isn't easy but those options exist. If I had answered this question 6 years ago, I would have thought I was crazy. Now I have seen it happen numerous times.

I don't know if this helps but we are from the East Coast (Boston north area) My son went to Saint Patricks elementry K-8. It was on the expensive side for private elementry. But the benefits of this sound basic education gave him the skills to move on and do well in a very expensive private high school. The cost of these schools are often ($25k per year)reduced by need based finincial aid. At least one third of the students at this school get some form of aid. The rest of the kids were born into the familys of the rich and famous. (just kidding )
My sons school is all boys and a real throw back to times when it was all about the education. It is a small school 450 boys 7-12.
But one thing I can say is every boy at this school brings something special to the table. If they need someone to sing in the glee club they find him.If they need someone to help the debate team they find him. And yes if they need a short stop he ends up there the next year. My point is altough it has been almost impossible to come up with my share of the tuition every year it is hands down the best investment I have made in my son. He is very talented in baseball, football and a former great hockey player. He will be attending Boston College and getting a great education while living his dream of playing baseball in the ACC. The Coachs are all teachers at this school and get to know my son as a student first and athelete second. This type of school is not the right fit for everyone. But I do know the good colleges love these schools because the boys at these schools often make the transition to the college experience with little trouble. Again please understand my opinion isn't that everyone should attend a school like this. But when given the chance to pick a school to go to if you choose education first and you can compete on elite teams as well you will have great choices after high school. Yes a good education is very evpensive but it is not nearly as costly as not getting one.

Homerun04,

I can't answer your question regarding public vs. private for college recruiting.

If I had to guess and you were a top player in the WCAL, I think that you probably have a slight edge in that department.

My take is that summer and fall are better times to be seen by college coaches and that the teams you play on and the venues that you play at are probably more important then which HS you play for.

I would tend to agree since many colleges will not see high school games since they are in season, other than the WCAL (West Catholic Athletic League - considered one of the strongest HS leagues in the state/country) has so many colleges right in their back yard and if you have a really high prospect, you may have schools stop by since they are close by.

The other advantage of playing in a tough league is that your stats, which tend not to mean much, would have a bigger impact, since you are against so many strong players, than if you are in a weaker league.

Stats are largely irrelevant. Only bad stats are relevant. As a scout once told me (paraphrasing), "HS stats are for grandmothers and scrapbooks."

I can assure you that any league in the Bay Area will draw college coaches if there's someone worth watching. The WCAL is an advantage for the borderline kid...the kid who may not get noticed but his coach will go to bat for him. Its a league where the coaches' recommendations carry weight. Some publics and small schools have the same attribute (Wilcox, Santa Cruz, Menlo, etc...).

The top-flight kid will get noticed no matter which league he plays in.

So to add on to bbdad2007 question--If the players are good (college ability, possibly D1), they will be seen no matter which high school they go to? On my son's team there are 3 kids that should be attending small schools. And by small, I mean small (couple hundred). The expectation for one of the kids is that he will go to this school, letter in 3 sports, be the QB and pitcher/ss etc... The schools he will be playing will be about the same, not very much competition wise. Will he have the same opportunities if he stays where he's at, or would it be bettter for him to attend a larger and/or maybe private high school. As for my son (one of the 3)we've almost made a decision but one the other boys we feel has a future in baseball. Will he be able to maximize it at his small, unkown high school?

BBfam - Yes he will have opportunities.

You may have to work a bit harder in the summer to get him seen (i.e. good summer team, possibly showcases, etc...). You may have to write a few more letters, make a few more phone calls. But once he's known they will still come to watch him play no matter the size or quality of his school's baseball team.

My thoughts are similar to others posted here that your familiy should choose the right school based on all the considerations, not just one sport. Regarding down the road college considerations, if your son can play colleges will show in an interest in him no matter the high school. In fact in this day and age, his high school will offer little or no value by itself as far as helping a college find a player. It is up to the parent and player to market themselves via showcases, natinonal tournaments, on site games, etc to the schools that they are interested in.
Our familiy had a similar choice this year (in Chicago) between an top notch public school and an expensive private school. We choose the private school not exclusively for baseball purposes (but it doesn't hurt that as a freshman now he is starting ss and pitcher on the varsity team) and despite some transitional issue regarding friends he's missing it seems that it could be the right choice. Certainly his mother and I think so. Bottom line- it's not an easy choice but try to do it without the baseball blinders on.

Well, here's my two cents - DON'T send your stud athlete to a little school with a two bit baseball program. It means he won't improve during the February to June high school baseball season for FOUR YEARS! So what if he's a freshman starter on a lousy team? If he's good, be the freshman starter on the best high school baseball team you can find. If he's really not that good, who is kidding whom? Now if you just want recreation, then be my guest and put him on the nondescript team, but if you want improvement and challenge, find a terrific program which combines athletic and academic challenges. It's true that summer ball is the key to recruitment, but most players cannot afford to pass on their high school season and just play summer ball. Your stats are a joke, you play undersized teams, or get killed by the big boys, suffer from poor coaching, and risk real disillusionment with baseball for your player. Now, before I get attacked, I acknowledge there are some small schools with terrific coaches and great players, and I am sure many of you can give anecdotes about some player from podunk high who went to the Show, but for the most part, all of us have been witness to beat downs of small school programs competing against the big boys. If everything is equal, and quality kids will always be sought out by the colleges and pros, then why the explosion of websites, recruiting services and showcases?

Just so you know some of these so called small two bit schools have great baseball programs.
Here in the New England area our top private schools do trips and have two week spring trainings in Fla. ( I know you don't need that in CA.) But it helps jump start the boy in this region. Even though our regular season is only 18 games my sons team played over 54 games during his H/S season. Our Coach is a great Man and without being asked helps every boy in his program find some kind of fit at the next level. He is passionate and dedicated to all aspects of the game. He feels teaching life lessons is as important as how to hit a fastball. He plays against colleges and PG schools to keep the competition strong. As far as instruction goes his asst. coach is Rich Gedman 3 time MLB All Star. The boys are getting some pretty good insight every day. Yes not all but some of these little schools do it not only as good as some of the BIG Boys but they do many of the important things a whole lot better. Boys dont flunk off because schools like this don't let it get that far. Every once in a while you get a young man who wants to disrupt things. Guess what happens then. The boy gets along or he is asked not to come back to school. Think of the outrage it would cause if we actually applied some discipline in the public schools. I am not trying to say that private is better. But for some kids that can cut the grades it opens a whole new world. And to discount the baseball at these schools isn't fair. In the 06 class there are around 7-10 players in a eight team league that will play D1 ball next year. I know in the california area those numbers arn't very impressive. But around here I would stack it up with most any other league.

I think I've posted this before. But I'll repeat this for others. Our son's 7th grade teacher hosted a back to school night. On the chalk board she wrote three names : Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Gavin Newsom (our mayor). And she asked: what did all these people have in common? Well, since we were at a 7th grade back to school night, we figured it had something to do with high school.

Her answer was this: nobody knows the name of the high school they went to.This was not their legacy.

I thought this was a wonderful release.

Quick update on the boy and observations... He went to Mitty yesterday to visit; they had him shadow a student for the day. That student turned out to be the football team's QB - a very popular student! Hung out with his "entourage" of football team buddies ( and of course his girlfriend the head cheerleader). Saw firsthand the special treatment they received - came home and said " gee, looks like I need to join the football team!". Overall, liked the school and the kids.