Interesting artical about the Public/Private debate in the Advocate Messenger

[Xman85]

I agree with what you're saying, but I feel that I and some others have offered very solid evidence to support why most privates are so successful....the grade school leagues (which apparently are not deemed a worthy reason by most), tradition (generations attending, etc), alumni support, family involvement, etc.

 

Why are those points not perceived as credible? Why is it that few can look beyond their bias to see what we are saying? I admit freely that we have some advantages, but on the flipside, so do public schools. To say that something like grade school leagues are insignificant in the private school success leads me to believe that those who eschew them have made up their mind, and will simply not hear what privates have to say to defend themselves.

Excellent point Mom...I know a basketball coach that coaches 2 teams...one at a private middle school and 1 at a public middle school. At the end of the private grade school tryouts...he tells the kids how lucky they are because all who tried out will get to play on a team......You see the Privates just create another team so all kids can can play ....no cuts! There might be six or seven 7th and 8th grade teams that compete with other like teams. The public school, he coaches, only has 1 team...so all the other kids get no fornal instruction, practice, or game experience. At that age you really cannot tell who will grow, who will develop,etc...to be a fine adult athlete. The CSAA has recognized this and offers these lessons for all kids. Many a lower team kid has developed into an "a" team player. Would he/she if they had been cut? When that kids grows 6 inches his freshman year..he now has the fundamentals to succeed

[Trinity alum]

Excellent point Mom...I know a basketball coach that coaches 2 teams...one at a private middle school and 1 at a public middle school. At the end of the private grade school tryouts...he tells the kids how lucky they are because all who tried out will get to play on a team......You see the Privates just create another team so all kids can can play ....no cuts! There might be six or seven 7th and 8th grade teams that compete with other like teams. The public school, he coaches, only has 1 team...so all the other kids get no fornal instruction, practice, or game experience. At that age you really cannot tell who will grow, who will develop,etc...to be a fine adult athlete. The CSAA has recognized this and offers these lessons for all kids. Many a lower team kid has developed into an "a" team player. Would he/she if they had been cut? When that kids grows 6 inches his freshman year..he now has the fundamentals to succeed

I'll only disagree with you on one point. We don't establish more teams because we aren't sure who will develop later. We establish more teams because we believe that sports are an important part of education, so we make them available for as many kids as we can. Most of the kids in Catholic grade schools in Louisville play at least one sport. Many play two or three. It is a huge advantage for the Catholic High Schools, but not an unfair advantage. Do you want to build a great high school program? Take your two year old to high school games. Dress them in your schools gear. Let them grow up dreaming of playing for the local high school. When they get a little older, sign them up for sports. Start sports programs in your grade school and encourage ALL kids to play. Make it fun, but also make it competitive. Help coach, it takes a lot of adults to have that kind of program.

[BigStud]

I'll only disagree with you on one point. We don't establish more teams because we aren't sure who will develop later. We establish more teams because we believe that sports are an important part of education, so we make them available for as many kids as we can. Most of the kids in Catholic grade schools in Louisville play at least one sport. Many play two or three. It is a huge advantage for the Catholic High Schools, but not an unfair advantage. Do you want to build a great high school program? Take your two year old to high school games. Dress them in your schools gear. Let them grow up dreaming of playing for the local high school. When they get a little older, sign them up for sports. Start sports programs in your grade school and encourage ALL kids to play. Make it fun, but also make it competitive. Help coach, it takes a lot of adults to have that kind of program.

:thumb: This is really the only reason Catholic schools have a huge advantage through out the state. Catholic schools across the bluegrass have feeder systems where close to 90% of the kids (atleast in NKY) play basketball all the way through grade school. Public schools need to offer B,C and maybe even D teams to make up for the fact they do not have as many feeders as catholic schools in most instances.

[scooterbob]

Statistics blatantly indicate that those with high ACT and SAT scores and high GPAs get a disproportionate number of scholarships to colleges. We need to "level" the playing field by separating students into two groups- those with top credentials and those with no credentials. Then, we should provide an equal number of scholarships to each group. This should work well in this "dumb down" society of today, don't you think? We could name the top scholarship for the non-achieving group the "Wilson Sears Scholarship for Level Competition".

[BGGreen]

All I know is schools like Dixie,Holmes,Ryle,Boone,Scott, and SK all have better facility's than private schools in NKY.

 

Not only do these HS's have better facilities, but even the middle and some grade schools have better gyms, tracks, etc. than most of the private HS's in NKY. Twenhoffel, Summit View, Grey, Sharp, etc. are vastly superior facilities to the Holy Cross's, NCC's, Brossart's up here; and they still are able to compete practicing on parking lots, etc. Go figure??

[Xman85]

I'll only disagree with you on one point. We don't establish more teams because we aren't sure who will develop later. We establish more teams because we believe that sports are an important part of education, so we make them available for as many kids as we can.

You are right..I didn't mean to imply that was the reason...only an added benefit.

[leatherneck]

I'm not in favor of splitting. However, I do believe things need to be somehow more balanced. How do we do that? I don't have a clue. I know our recent "public" high school has won the Govenor's Cup and continues to do well in all academic adventures, so I know there are public schools out there that offer solid educational choices. I don't think St X and Trinity are real good examples because I do think their Tradition plays a large roll in their continued success. However, how do you build the kind of athletic program at Lex Cath in such a short period of time? I remember when some of these schools couldn't break .500 in a season and now they are yearly powerhouses. Are they just out working the other schools? Are they headed by just superior coaching? Has someone developed some great feeder program? Or is there an underlying resource that other schools do not have? Again, I don't know the answers, but it is obvious something is different.

In re LexCath, I think they developed their athletic teams so quickly because they placed a premium on athletics (realizing if they did not, the school wasn't going to stay open much longer. I think in the late 80s they were close to being forced to close the school and the priest in charge of the school realized that the key to attracting students was through successful athletic programs). I don't know that they cheated so I will never make that accusation of LexCath or of any other school. I do think that with a total committment to athletics, any school and I mean any school, public or private, can do what LexCath has done and they've done it against some pretty solid competition. No one at Highlands is whining at all about LexCath's success this year. They beat us, like Boyle did a couple of years ago. We just have to get better. Period. I also read another thread about some of the "difficulties" the coaches at the Lexington public schools have to endure. That is more of the reason in my mind for the failures of the Lexington public schools than any illegal activity at LexCath. I'm just not convinced that administration at the public schools are as committed to athletics as they are at LexCath. LexCath has to be committed to attract the students. The public schools don't have that big monkey on their back and as a result, athletics is just one other part of the school. At LexCath its a "be successful or close the doors" committment. Just my two cents worth.

[Covercorner]

You're right about the fact that LC nearly shut down due to lack of students. Many kids in thier feeder schools made a choice to attend a school that could cater to all of thier interests. Football was not a part of the choices at LC until 1991. I know people who went to a LC feeder school, but went to another lexington high school, to play football. I would tend to believe that a reason the sports programs have done well quickly is the right coaches in the right situation. (By the way, as Sam Harp said, fbll/g+b soccer/bsbll/b+g bball have all won titles since 1999. Only the girls bball team has one multiple titles(2) ) Anyone in or near coaching circles know LC has had some of the best in the past 20 years. Those coaches also decided to be the best you must play and beat the best. They took some whuppins early on, but used those experiences to build programs. I don't know for sure, but I'd bet that Chuck Smith didn't win the title his first year at Boyle. I do know those kids, and his assistant coaches would run through a wall for him. That type of dedication and selflessnes helps wins football games. Talent is good, but dosen't do everything for you. Maybe people will never stop complaining about private schools. They are not the problem. The problem is KY is ranked, and deservedly so, about 48th in the nations schools. Parents and administrators worry about that, because I'm sure the private schools do. The commitment to building solid athletics programs at your school can never be entertained until a commitment is placed on education. I hope that the new Super for Fayette Co. is the real deal.