Public vs Private..is there an advantage?

[Pick6]

I was reading a pretty good discussion on another site about private schools possibly having an advantage over public schools in athletics. I notice every year, it seems atleast half of the football state champions in Ohio are private schools. In WV, we have teams like WCC and Madonna who do really good in their tournament. Do private schools have advantages that public schools do not?

Just looking to see other people's opinions.

[Ironmike]

Yes, we have an "advantage." We go to mass and pray a lot for our team and it seems to work. Since the US Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools, our winning percentage has exceeded all expectations.

[secretstud96]

Yes, we have an "advantage." We go to mass and pray a lot for our team and it seems to work. Since the US Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools, our winning percentage has exceeded all expectations.

lol...great point

[goldenwarrior79]

Yes, we have an "advantage." We go to mass and pray a lot for our team and it seems to work. Since the US Supreme Court banned prayer in public schools, our winning percentage has exceeded all expectations.

It's called DEVINE INTERVENTION !! lol

[Pick6]

HaHA, come on..just avoid the topic instead of having a discussion? And im not talking about a couple religion classes being the advantage.

[Ironmike]

HaHA, come on..just avoid the topic instead of having a discussion? And im not talking about a couple religion classes being the advantage.

OK, we had our fun.

The ONLY advantage I see for private schools are parents who have the socio-economic ability to become more involved with their children at an earlier stage of their lives, i.e., they can afford 10-year-old travel baseball trips to Cooperstown Dream Parks etc., and private instruction such as Ken Chertow's wrestling camps, AAU basketball teams.....That probably is an "unfair" advantage in some sports.

The other perceived advantage of "recruiting" kids is nonsense, and to the extent it exists, it is more than offset by the DISADVANTAGE of having to enroll students who can afford ever-rising tuition.

[Pick6]

OK, we had our fun.

The ONLY advantages I see for private schools are parents who have the soci-economic ability to become more involved with their children at an earlier stage of their lives, i.e., they can afford 10-year-old travel baseball trips to Cooperstown Dream Parks etc., and private instruction such as Ken Chertow's wrestling camps, AAU basketball teams.....That probably is an "unfair" advantage in some sports.

The other perceived advantage of "recruiting" kids is nonsense, and to the extent it exists, it is more than offset by the DISADVANTAGE of having to enroll students who can afford ever-rising tuition.

dont private schools give scholarships? I know for public schools, Open enrollment is allowed in a neighboring school district. Pretty sure you are also eligible if you move into the school district, but if you switch schools and your prior schools district doesnt border the one you switched to, you have to sit out a year. Are there any limits to where private schools can target students?

Also, say that there are two private schools close to each other. it is probably not the case for madonna and wcc because of distance.. but for wcc and st. john who are basically right across the river from each other, i would bet that recruiting in the jr high level goes on to get athletes to come to your school.

[sonofsam]

There is a BIG advantage for private schools over public. One could make a valid argument in Ohio that open enrollment has evened the playing field a bit but here goes my two cents...

Private schools have a HUGE area that makes up their "school district". The private school district is based on the diocese in which they reside. Take for example Steub. Catholic Central... Their diocese extends down to the Marietta City Limit. This means that a student/athlete from New Matamoras Ohio could potentially attend Steub. Catholic Central as a transfer for his senior year and not be penalized for it. Of course he would have to get up every morning at 2a.m. to be at school and he/his parents would be responsible for his transportation to and from, but it is possible. The amount of student athletes that are within a specific diocese is astounding. Private schools do have an advantage in this respect.

With that being said I am not implying that private schools are recruiting, just making aware the fact that they can access a large portion of multiple public school districts for potential students. That to me is a huge advantage over open enrollment and the steps that need to be taken for a student to utilize it.

[Noles99]

Speaking strictly of the lower divisions, the main advantage was somewhat touched upon by sonofsam in that private schools can control their enrollment regardless of where they reside. I believe 90% of the private schools do not do this because of sports but more because they simply don't have the budget to expand to take on more students. The side effect is you have a real small school in a large city which automatically gives you a leg up in sports versus other small high schools. Newark Catholic is the prime example of this. The city of Newark has nearly 50,000 people in it. That's a lot of resources for a D6 school. It also helps that Newark High School is horrid in football. Where would you want to play?

To be fair there are public schools that enjoy the same benefit. Amanda, OH is about 7 miles south of Lancaster, and for the past decade and a half Amanda-Clearcreek has enjoyed the benefits of athletes coming out of the city to play for them thanks to open enrollment. Mogadore is a small town that borders Akron. You simply cross a street out of Akron and you are in Mogadore.

To me, it's more about being close to a decent population base than anything. The more kids that are available the more chance of there being athletes available. I use to be hung up on the recruiting word, but I don't buy into it much anymore. Programs recruit for themselves. Reno doesn't have to recruit because the hard work he put in 30 years ago does the recruiting for him. Same for Newark Catholic

We're just out in the middle of nowhere bdevil4life. lol Our coaches can only use what they have. Just the way it is. But I'd rather have that problem than urban chaos. It's nice living out in the county.

[DONNI3YEAGS]

Is LeBron James catholic?

[goldenwarrior79]

Is LeBron James catholic?

I don't know, is he? and what does that have to do with anything?

[DONNI3YEAGS]

He went to a Catholic School...I was just asking. I know you don't have to be Catholic to go, but there are catholic schools that recruit, espcecially in bigger areas.

[DONNI3YEAGS]

Do I think Madonna recruits? No...Do I think Central recruits...not really, although I used to. I know Bishop doesn't recruit.
I don't believe Steubenville Catholic ever recruited J.J. Kucynski either, but I do believe he knew he had a better shot if he went there and wouldn't have to sit out...and he led them to the title game.

[martinsferry]

Private make up around 6% of the entire football playing schools in Ohio yet average over 60% of the championships in Ohio over the last 15 years. Numbers don't lie.

Anyone who say's private schools do not have an advantage better go to church and light some candles and say about 30 Hail Marys for lying.

[goldenwarrior79]

I don't think anyone is saying that thay don't, I really do not think you can define what the advantage is, I don't think it is any one thing, but I do beleive it is an accumulation of things.