Level the playing field in HS athletics
- Thread starter mb7299
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This is how I was thinking this would play out. HS football is as much of a system game as there is. Dowling has the coaching in place and just enough transcendent athletes every year to win in football recently. It will turn back to Valley soon enough. Ankeny, Waukee, and IC are all going through splits right now but they will be back, too. The money and facilities in the suburbs are too much for Dowlings ability to recruit to overcome for too much longer.
How far back are you going here, looking at Ankeny most of those were before they were split into two schools. How many have they won since. Urbandale are listing bowling and dance. How are they doing in the major sports, 3 in baseball, that is about it.
We can not fix anything with Dowling and Valley, they will always be good, for a variety of reasons. But we can make the rest of the private schools play up a class. No more Dav. Assumption playing 3A baseball, or IC Regina 1A in football. Holy Trinity 1A in Volleyball. The list goes on, move them up one class, and let them compete.
I counted all that were listed. Obviously the majority of Ankeny's are prior to the split, they have been split for less than a decade.
Dowling has been on a great run in football, but if you look across the entire athletic department they are not tops overall. The usual suspect public schools are at the top of the heap. Here are the DSM register all sports rankings for the last two years.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...AhAB&usg=AOvVaw3WFSv0NeFbAXuHNok_TwRV&cf=1
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...AxAB&usg=AOvVaw331qU_0ZQ3mc-LK1KwK-6a&cf=1
Waukee, Valley, and IC West are ahead of Dowling both years. Johnston and Dowling flip flopped year to year. Ames, Cedar Falls, Pleasant Valley, and Centennial aren't that far behind either.
I don't think Dowling is a huge problem. The big suburban schools have twice the enrollment, way better facilities, and plenty of parent money. Dowling is just another one of the haves, they aren't an outlier. I think the bigger issues are occurring in the smaller classes where the top public schools aren't much larger than the privates, and may not have the money you see in the burbs. In these cases I can see a multiplier helping out quite a bit.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...AhAB&usg=AOvVaw3WFSv0NeFbAXuHNok_TwRV&cf=1
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...AxAB&usg=AOvVaw331qU_0ZQ3mc-LK1KwK-6a&cf=1
Waukee, Valley, and IC West are ahead of Dowling both years. Johnston and Dowling flip flopped year to year. Ames, Cedar Falls, Pleasant Valley, and Centennial aren't that far behind either.
I don't think Dowling is a huge problem. The big suburban schools have twice the enrollment, way better facilities, and plenty of parent money. Dowling is just another one of the haves, they aren't an outlier. I think the bigger issues are occurring in the smaller classes where the top public schools aren't much larger than the privates, and may not have the money you see in the burbs. In these cases I can see a multiplier helping out quite a bit.
I think Waukee is going back to back as well. But nobody ******* about them or Ankeny any more because they are splitting.
Honest question, I don't know the answer, do the private school spend any of their resources educating at risk and special needs children? I'm sure for the DSM school system this is quite a financial expenditure. I know two teachers personally, they do outstanding work, in often difficult and emotional circumstances.
People in here are using the word "recruit" in a very foolish way. You think you know what's going on because you want to think that but it doesn't make it true. Parents with choices want the best for their kids, whether that's in sports or otherwise. I went to a Catholic school and there were non-Catholics there. Their parents must have thought it was a better environment for them regardless of faith. If there is a magnet school for STEM I'd bet the kids with the most interest/skill in STEM would apply to go there. Does that mean the magnet school recruited them? Why do you all assume if a teenager is good at sports somehow the private school meets with them in a dark alley and gets them into the school. Athletics don't really make money in HS yet that student still costs money. Most private schools don't have the cash to throw around scholarships for athletics. Hell, in my school, a future pro-athlete had to sweep the gym after games because that was his work study duty to help with tuition.
If my kid is is awesome at football and I can afford to send them to Dowling why wouldn't I? That's not recruiting. And I think a lot of you think it is.
My HS didn't have a special needs program other than what classroom teachers could handle on their own. We didn't have the resources or expertise to handle students with severe disabilities. Students with behavior issues rarely got accepted, and two were kicked out over my four years there. This is a problem overall because public schools are required to take the most "expensive" kids, regardless of issues. Just look at the special "title" teachers in poor schools vs rich schools.
If my kid is is awesome at football and I can afford to send them to Dowling why wouldn't I? That's not recruiting. And I think a lot of you think it is.
My HS didn't have a special needs program other than what classroom teachers could handle on their own. We didn't have the resources or expertise to handle students with severe disabilities. Students with behavior issues rarely got accepted, and two were kicked out over my four years there. This is a problem overall because public schools are required to take the most "expensive" kids, regardless of issues. Just look at the special "title" teachers in poor schools vs rich schools.
I have the first hand knowledge of several situations from the people actually doing the recruiting. It happens. Thinking it doesn't is just dumb. Doesn't mean every kid that goes to Catholic School got recruited, no one said that either.
Describe what? You want names and schools? Won't give you that, though one school rhymes with Fouling and involves "tuition assistance" for playing various sports.
Not arguing, just asking. How do you know that tuition assistance wasn't because his family was low income? or that he had to do work study? Their website says 40% of students receive tuition assistance. As a former catholic school student, My tuition assistance was brought up with me exactly zero times. Who's to say a gifted athlete isn't embarrassed his family can't pay it all and likes to tell his buddies it's because he's such a good football player?
Agreed, my private school growing up (1A school) was more concerned 'recruiting' kids so the school didn't close - not for an athletic basis. Do the top few private schools push the envelope a bit - likely... but pushing every private school up a level is a bad idea... we very easily could have gone winless in basketball in 2A as we did in 1A.
I have a bit of an issue when 5 of the 8 1A state basketball teams are private. It easily could have been worse since two of them met up in substate.
You don't think these schools recruit? Seriously? I can tell you several situations and players from multiple towns/schools were players were contacted by "representatives" of the school. Sometimes it was parents or players and sometimes coaches. It's all over the place but one thing is true, schools try and steal players away from other schools. I don't even live in an area that has tons of talent and I have seen it and heard about it first hand, I can't imagine people that live in DSM don't have tons of stories..
Each person has a different experience, the private school group, want to see no change in the current rules. Why should they, they are benefiting from the current system. Its always the same tired reasons, we do not recruit, the kids get more one on one, we are just trying to keep the door open.
I believe in school choice, but totally disagree with public funds being used in any way, shape or form for private schools. You want to send you kid to private schools, that is your choice, but you should be paying for it, not the tax payers of Iowa.
Even it up, to make up for the private schools ability to draw kids across school lines, by pushing them up one class above their enrollment. That is all we are asking.
Er, recruiting most definitely happens. My daughter was recruited by two private schools for volleyball and softball. Tours, scholarships, everything. If she didn't outright refuse to go to a school that makes her pray, she'd be at one right now.
Exactly. It's not like Dowling is giving kids $50 handshakes, but it doesn't take much to constitute a competitive advantage.
I'm not doubting this but I'm saying private schools generally do not give out athletic scholarships. The donors to these schools usually intend for their dollars to help lower income kids or kids who otherwise couldn't go. My dad runs out alma mater's development group on a volunteer basis and he'd be livid knowing his donations went to rich kids who were good at soccer. If you're wondering why I'm so adamant about this, this is why.
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You asked people to describe the recruiting, not about scholarships. So it seems like you were denying the recruiting in general.
Tuition assistance being offered to someone who was "recruited" for sports seems like a way to get a good athlete into the school. Even if more than just athletes get tuition assistance.
