My daughter is a hockey player (international). We are looking at schools for 25-26. We know about some of the hockey programs at these schools (strong vs weaker schools) but we don’t know much about the academics. What are good hockey schools but are not super challenging academics? A school where the teachers are fine if a student needs to travel for sports or if they offer a variety of academic classes & programs. A couple that we have hear of are Cushing, Kimbal Union, Brewster. Any others? Even better if they were in the top 20 NEPSAC standings last season. Would also love to hear others personal experience.
In my day, Canterbury was very strong at Hockey. I believe There are some schools in the Midwest that play year round. That might also be the case at some Canadian boarding schools.
Still, plenty of “top schools” are supportive of high level athletic commitments and most have a range of rigor.
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Westminster in CT has a strong women’s hockey program, many of whom play in college. Good academics, not quite as rigorous as nearby Loomis and some of its Founders League peers. Kent is also worth looking at for women’s hockey.
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I think even the most academic schools will accommodate high level athletes. However for a student, juggling both is much harder at those schools.
I can’t speak for the best women’s hockey programs, however if you already know which schools have the hockey you want, then explore them - if you stay away from the acronym schools, that’s probably a good start. But even within GLADCHEMMS, there’s a range of academic rigor IMO.
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Shattuck-St Mary’s is topnotch for hockey, with a seven month season and schedules organized around player’s needs (+ solid academics)
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Millbrook might be worth investigating.
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Winchendon. If you are looking at Cushing, it is only 15-20 minutes away.
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The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSA) schools typically require some involvement in athletics or a comparable activity (drama, dance, debate, etc.). They have a short academic day on Wednesdays to accommodate weekday contests and also have meets and games on Saturdays. They don’t need to make regular accommodations — it’s already built in to the academic schedule.
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Maybe look at Frederick Gunn School? It’s a smaller school with a lot of academic support. I know they have a decent boys’ hockey team - not sure about their girls team. Nice campus with a brand new science building and relatively new theater/arts building.
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A high level athlete might be playing on a national team or a high level club. My son missed 15-20% of school days for national level competitions. The issue is not interscholastic competition. He maintained rigor, but we were grateful the school and teachers were supportive and willing to work with him.
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I’m not reading that the family is looking for anything outside of league play. Perhaps they can clarify.
If playing outside of school teams, remember, being near an airport becomes more important. I know Brewster is good about making arrangements for kids that are traveling for sports, however, you are still 1 1/2-2 hours to a major airport.
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She will be playing club hockey in the fall which is common for most NEPSAC players. It’s pretty accommodating even though it’s busy. Other than that, she will have no more than a couple of non-school hockey events a year.
Does anyone have any information about St.Marks?
Thank you, we have a couple of Canadian schools interested and it is an option. But she really wants to go to the US, particularly the New England area.
The New Hampton School in New Hampshire
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What is her goal? Athletics will only carry you so far and depending on the college, a certain measure of rigor is still expected so be mindful of how you balance the two.
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How will she be getting to club practices and games?
Love St. Mark’s but I don’t know anything about their hockey team. I live nearby and she would be about 20 minutes from The New England Sports Center, which hosts many of the local tournaments and is the home of the Lady Flames and a few other club teams. Very close to Framingham where she can catch the express bus to Logan.
All of the colleges mentioned have sent kids to excellent schools. It sounds like this isn’t a student that is shooting for Ivies, but rather a solid education, a school that isn’t a pressure cooker and a good fit.
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I think it would be helpful if OP clarified what they are looking for/what they want to achieve. The way I read it, they want to be able to prioritize the sport over school.
That’s exactly it!
And the team and players help with transportation.