Non Public Schools Dominate

[barbedad20]

Is it just a coincidence that all 6 state champions are non public schools??

Girls:
Div I- Dominican
Div II- SSA
Div III- Newman

Boys
Div I- Jesuit
Div II- Vandebilt
Div III St Louis

Any thoughts?

[pompey]

Great stuff, fhs, very interesting. Like your synopsis. Your school and the Skippers being the best examples.

Considering that there are hardly any public schools in Division III, it would stand to reason that they aren't well represented in the playoffs. I believe there are 7 out of 44 teams that are public....mostly from the north and central Louisiana.

[blueandwhite12]

Very interesting, fhssoccerfan. I had never looked at the statistics that way.

I think another note that should at least be mentioned in this discussion is the regional influence that consistently shows in the playoffs. All three champions in the girls' division came from the New Orleans-metro, as did one of the runners-up. This area has continually produced high-caliber teams, and not all of them private...look at Mandeville and Fontainebleu, who consistenly make competitive runs in the playoffs. I think it has more to do with the feeding programs than with public v. private, although I am not saying that the type of school has no effect anywhere. I'm just pointing out that a high proportion of highly ranked teams come from specific areas (in particular New Orleans and Lafayette), and not all of them are private (to name a few...Ben Franklin, Mandeville, Fontainebleu, Lafayette, and at least for the boys, Carencro and Acadiana). New Orleans just happens to have a high prevalence of reputable private schools, whose alumni frequently enroll their children in them.

I don't think splitting up soccer into a public and non-public playoff is good. If you did that, then you would have 1A and B schools competing against 5A schools! That would harm soccer in this state. The small schools would drop out. They wouldn't have a chance against the larger schools (and I'm not talking about Newman and Sacred Heart, they would still be able to compete). That would do more harm than good. As it is, it's getting to a point now where we probably need to split up Division III. When was the last time a 1A or B school won the state tournament. It's getting harder and harder each year for the smaller schools to compete against the larger schools, more so in the boys, but the girls are getting less parity between the divisions.

[broncodad]

I have never had my children in private schools, so I only know what I hear from others. Therefore, it is not clear to me what is fact and what is fiction. I have been told that private schools recruit. That they offer scholarships to get kids to come play ball with them. Is that true? If so, how can the mainstream public school compete with that. They do not get to pick who comes to their school and who doesn't. They have to build a program with the population of kids that they have in their borders. We here on the sports programs all the time that some college coaches are better at recruiting than others and they make a the point that that is why they do so well. (I am sure that is not the only factor) But if a public school cannot recruit and a private school can, then this logic would tend to say they should do better. I would be glad to hear from those in the know.

[lakeview]

Go read my posts on the boys side. I have closely followed St Pauls, Jesuit, Brother Martin and Rummel on the boys soccer side, for several years.

I am not catholic. I have spoken to Brother Tim, Hector, Trevor, Hubie, Alan, Louie, and Tim the Red. My conclusion, there is no recruiting.

[Mung]

First of all, it seems very unlikely that schools would recruit for soccer, especially girls' soccer, when it is such a complete non-revenue sport. The only "recruiting" that might be done is girls encouraging their rec/select teammates to join them at St. Futbol, which is done at the public high school level with all the magnet programs too. Secondly, other than the New Orleans and maybe Baton Rouge area, it would be completely impossible to have separate public/private school districts. At most these rural areas in central and north La have one parochial school in towns separated by an hours drive, all of which vary from class B to 4A. If you don't like how private schools are doing, get to work on your program and catch up. By the way, my kids go to ASH, a public school in Alexandria, and some years we beat Menard, and some they beat us, but it's never because of recruiting.

[know1important]

I think this will always be a debate when the catholic schools win it. Last year in division I boys and girls it was all public in the finals. In the girls the last year's semi-finals were all public schools as well. I actually can't wait fo next year's playoffs with STM and SSA joining Division I. The competition and level of soccer in this division is only going to get better and it should be something everyone is embracing. The more quality teams competing for a State Championship the better. It only makes it mean that much more when someone does win it.

[wyandotte]

Mung said: "By the way, my kids go to ASH, a public school in Alexandria, and some years we beat Menard, and some they beat us, but it's never because of recruiting. "

Good for you Mung! I appreciate your statement.

[blackandtan]

The true anomaly is New Orleans, where there is no public school "system". Private/Parochial schools generally dominate there and have for years. Also, how many select programs are in the New Orleans area? With the possible exception Ben Franklin or Jefferson Parish, where else would people play? Elsewhere in the state, most areas are balanced...Baton Rouge, Lafayette, North Shore, Alexandria, Shreveport and Monroe, all have excellent public school soccer programs. This is a non-issue.

[sokerfan]

It is a fact that the private schools recruit. It is not called recruiting however. They are offered a work program, where the athlete (usually the only students offered this) can work during the summer in order to pay for the tuition at the school. I am not saying that this happens for SOCCER, but I know of an instance where this happened in Lafayette, at STM for a basketball player. He is now in the NBA. I knew his parents and they couldn't afford a pot to p*ss in, much less send him to a private school. The player benefited from playing in a program where scouts could find him.

I know a friend of mine which lived in the New Orleans Area and in the 5th grade he was applying to the high schools in which he wanted his son to go to. He said it was a circus. They would look at the childs grades, and was he an athlete? He applied to about 5 schools and let them fight over where his son would go to school. Which athletic program would he best be suited for.

So those out there who don't believe this takes place, you can take your blind folds off now. You just don't know about it.

My biggest problem with this is the fact that all those who pay for their kids to go to private school say and do absolutely nothing about the players lined up next to theirs and DO NOT have to pay.

[oldphart]

sokerfan, if you're talking about "work-study", that happens at many schools. At St Louis it is not limited to athletes.

[wyandotte]

sokerfan, obviously you have some gruge to expel from your deep thoughts. We send our children to a private school because we choose to do so. It makes no difference to me if the athlete or academic child next to mine is there with out paying the tutition. As a parent I look for the quality of the education "my" children receive. It is not for us to judge the child next to mine and wether they have paid tuition or not.

[know1important]

I'd be willing to bet my house that SSA does not have one soccer player on scholarship.

[Mung]

sokerfan said:

It is a fact that the private schools recruit. It is not called recruiting however. They are offered a work program, where the athlete (usually the only students offered this) can work during the summer in order to pay for the tuition at the school. I am not saying that this happens for SOCCER, but...

So, if even the haters acknowledge they don't recruit for soccer, what's the point? The initial post pointed out that private schools had dominated as champions this year, and wondered why. Then began the cries of recruiting. People send their kids to private school for many reasons, the main one being they think the child will get a better education than the public school they are zoned to. That's dedication, b/c I assure you those same parents pay lots of property and business taxes that support the public school system. Presently, I find ASH just as good as Menard educationally, so I save the $300+ per month, though I do spring for the 4th grader to go to Country Day. Despite her inheriting my superb athletic abilities, no one from Menard has offered me a free ride yet. I'm sitting by the phone Wyandotte. I think if you look at the playoff brackets you'll find the source of the animus, namely that the anti-privates got beat by parochial schools. Get over it.

[sokerfan]

broncodad mentioned the recruiting issue, and I commented on it. I understand you guys choose to send your children to private schools and that's great. And I know as a parent you want the best education for your children. Not even I would question that a very high percentage are doing it for the same reason. But some are doing it for the athletics is all I am saying.

I definitely agree with blackandtan that the areas outside of New Orleans area have really good public schools. And to say the education you get in a private school is better, many will argue that point. In some private schools the teachers aren't even certified to teach, they are working towards their certification. That is FACT, my wife taught at a private school. She now is certified and teaches at a public school in which she as well as a few of her co- workers agree that the education received is no better in the private sector.

I know this varies from city to city and region to region. In the public schools there is a leap test given to students in which the student has to pass in order to advance to the next grade. If they do not pass this test the do not advance, regardless of their grades during the year. Unless you're 21 and in the 9th grade.(ha ha)

I am sorry if I affended anyone, I was just commenting on something I read in a previous post and was saying what I know and have experienced.

I believe regardless of private or public, the number of athletes a program gets and the work the players are willing to put out in the off season, along with a good coaching staff is the deciding factors on how far teams go in the playoffs.