Schools that don't just value athletics

Sue22
Thu, 12 Jun 2014 14:22:46 +0000

Even at the “jocky” schools, there are PLENTY of kids who are not jocks. These kids have many other opportunities



Yes, many of these schools have wonderful arts programs. It doesn’t change the fact that they might not be the best fit for a kid who really doesn’t want to have to play a competitive team sport at all.

I’ve had kids at schools in the league in which Middlesex plays (the ISL) and the league in which Concord Academy plays (the EIL). The latter is much less competitive. Although EIL schools generally have a few really strong teams, overall their sports programs are nowhere near as strong as the ISL school programs and the school cultures place less value in general on athletic success. My EIL kid probably wouldn’t have been as happy at the ISL school and vice versa.

Jocky kid needed to rehab an injury one season and managed a team instead of playing on her regular team. It wasn’t a bad experience, but it didn’t really add much of value to her day. It was just seen as a poor substitute for sports, the kind of thing only done by kids who were injured or hopelessly unathletic. The play was cast by competitive audition, so even if she had tried out she would not have been guaranteed a spot.

A close relative just graduated from an ISL school. This kid was an actor, not an athlete. Kid survived just fine, and had a great experience in school arts, but did have to put up with a few years of discomfort in team sports before getting to the upper years where there was more flexibility to the afternoon program.