What a crock...
Drop the business degree and head for poly sci. You have a solid future in politics - spouting out garbage without an ability to back it up.
Last edited:
Who/What are Iowa's Best HS Sports Dynasties?
- Thread starter JonDMiller
- Start date
What a crock...
Drop the business degree and head for poly sci. You have a solid future in politics - spouting out garbage without an ability to back it up.
In other words...you can't, otherwise you would.
The simple fact is that successful programs sell themselves, and until the state changes the rules, (e.g. making kids sit an entire year if they open enroll after 9th grade) there will always be kids moving around. To lump every successful parochial school in as a recruiter is just too simple. To attribute all of their success to recruiting is just dumb. It would be as accurate or provable to say that their success is because the coaches care more since they are motivated by God, or maybe God loves them more because they are religious schools so he allows them to win more, or maybe they don't have union contracts so they are free to offer coaches more money and thus have the best coaches. And yes maybe from time to time a kid is interested in going there and doesn't have the money so the school finds a way to help them along (which given their charitable ways they might do for any good kid). Saying the recruit is the reason they win is an overly simple answer.
I don't know about Dynasty, but the Clear Lake Golf team has done pretty well. In the past 8 years they have three state titles (in a row), 2 runner up finishes, a 3rd, a 4th, and a 7th. Just thought I'd add a more obscure sport to the mix.
They have had pretty consistant wrestling teams since the mid 90's and done well in football the past 8-9 years too. Not yet dynasty's, but working towards it.
They have had pretty consistant wrestling teams since the mid 90's and done well in football the past 8-9 years too. Not yet dynasty's, but working towards it.
Isn't there already such a rule in place? I thought we had a kid on our basketball team who transferred as a soph and had to sit the season? That was 20+ years ago, so I may be remembering wrong and/or the rules may have changed.
There are more than a few reasons why private schools may have an advantage. The kids are typically from better-to-do familes and there are probably more opportunities for camps, travelling teams, and such. In areas where there isn't open enrollment, they may not be confined in a similar manner. I'd also guess that private schools could perhaps pay and retain better coaches. That is probably the biggest factor - coaching. Most any school, any sport, can attribute their long term success to the coach they have.
You're 100% right about a successful high school program being able to sell itself. Kids will want to play for these programs. So do their families. Being a regular player on the Dbq Wahlert VB team all but guaranteed you some sort of college scholarship. Who wouldn't want to play there and in such circumstances. The family of one girl on my sister's team moved back to Dbq from Davenport in no small part so she could play for Wahlert and have that exposure (now they were originally from Dbq and her parents both went there as well - but still...) That's the story at many such programs. I think it was the case for Polmeroy Palmer BB, maybe even a WDM Valley FB and a host of others. Success breeds success.
But for people to say that coaches at any of these schools actively go out and recruit players is just laughable. I'm sure that on some level, in some places - it does happen. Just as I'm sure it happens at public schools. Even in an innocent way. But how do you recruit an 8th grade volleyball player?
** Back to the story about the teammate from Davenport. It's because of their story that talk about "recruiting" really torque me. There were accusations of all the monetary benefit this girl's family received, supposedly from the school. One went so far as to say that the school paid for a home for them to live in. B.S. like that blindly dismisses the extraordinary sacrifice the parents had to make for both their kids to go to school there. Only seeing each other on weekends because the father had to keep his job in the Quad Cities, the endless driving to and from, etc and so on.
Different topic.
I thought about starting this in another thread, but I'll ask it here. One thing I've wondered, and noticed when I first moved to the DSM area is that it seems teams are small, and players removed from the system at an early age here. When I was in HS in the late 80's, we had 2 frosh FB teams, 2 BB teams and volleyball teams. I can't think of a single kid cut in about any sport (not hard, since enrollment was generally low enough that not that many kids went out for any given sport). But I was under the impression that in the metro, most schools only had one frosh team of any sport.
Seems to me, if that's still the case, the school is putting themselves at a disadvantage.
Last edited:
This "recruiting" talk about catholic schools is suspect. While I can only speak of my experience, I did attended both catholic schools and public schools in Cedar Rapids (2 years at each). I can tell you with absolute certainty that there was more recruiting going on at the public schools than there were the private ones.
When I went to Catholic school we might have had 2 or 3 kids attend our high school that didn't go to one of the Catholic junior highs on our side of town. Only one was an athlete and went to a Lutheran school (parents just wanted him to go to a private school).
On the other hand, kids started moving in junior high (to avoid loss of eligibility) to attend the right public school based on their sport of choice (for example, my school was basketball). Several of my teammates even lived with aunts or uncles in my district. If you don't think our head coaches had anything to do with this you are crazy.
Again, just my experience, but our 15 man roster consisted of kids from 8 different junior highs and the way our district was organized there were only 3 junior highs that fed into the high school. You do the math
When I went to Catholic school we might have had 2 or 3 kids attend our high school that didn't go to one of the Catholic junior highs on our side of town. Only one was an athlete and went to a Lutheran school (parents just wanted him to go to a private school).
On the other hand, kids started moving in junior high (to avoid loss of eligibility) to attend the right public school based on their sport of choice (for example, my school was basketball). Several of my teammates even lived with aunts or uncles in my district. If you don't think our head coaches had anything to do with this you are crazy.
Again, just my experience, but our 15 man roster consisted of kids from 8 different junior highs and the way our district was organized there were only 3 junior highs that fed into the high school. You do the math
Daddy Mac (and some of you others) you opened a can of worms my friend... I worked for the I.H.S.A.A. (located in Boone) and left there nearly 7 years ago... The schools you mentioned as well as many, many others that you haven't, have all been investigated by the offices that were directly across from mine. Not a shredd of evidence was ever produced from the Catholic schools. No student ever got a free ride at any private school, simply because we had to document the payment of every single student to include student/athletes. That is to say, we saw every cancelled check that was submitted by every family every month of the school year. Granted some students were on work/study programs that allowed the families partially lowered tuition, simply because it defrayed the cost as it was to high for them, and they were allowed a lighter payment to the institution in exchange for their cleaning efforts after school (i.e vaccuming, cleaning etc...) Noted: NONE OF THESE STUDENT WERE HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES EITHER. If you can find an archival acticle from the DSM Register, (I do believe it was in the Summer of 1986 or 87) you can research the findings there. And this practice still goes on today.
The principal theory behind all of the "recruiting" talk came about when some of the private schools became routinely successful year in and year out. Initially, the thought was that these schools were recruiting, and instantly that was the believed theory. However, we learned over the years that it wasn't the case. Public school kids typically go to school in their own districts. For Central Iowa, the only Catholic H.S. is West Des Moines Dowling. For a private school, there is no district. They come from all over. I know there are kids there currently whose addresses are in Ames... Waukee... Indianola... and Grinnell just to name a few. Naturally, the metro is heavily dotted with the rest of the population of that parochial school. Oh, they have been investigated, many times... Heelan even more so than Dowling. I even had one lawsuit come across my desk, trying to sue Heelan for recruiting violations, and we had to drop the case, because the couple actually tried to sue "Bishop Heelan" himself! ...Lol (and yes Dowling was named after Bishop Austin Dowling) Similar situation... I think it was 2007 that Dowling defeated WDM Valley in their regular season game. Even though Valley (the largest enrollment in the state) suited up over 100 kids, lost to Dowling (who suited up just 55 kids) Our office was still berated with "Dowling has to be recruiting" accusations. A teams depth didn't matter to the accusers. Or perhaps getting defeated by a better team that particular Friday evening.
So in a nutshell, if anyone comes forward and says that they were indeed recruited from a private school, I'd call 'em a damn liar. Because if they ever accepted a bribed offer, that student (or family for that matter) would be very foolish "not" to file suit with the Iowa High School Athletic Assc. and more than likely walk away with some pretty heavy "retirement-money"! And to be totally honest with you, the trouble we've most had complaints on were NOT the private schools, but rather the public institutions. We had documented proof on many smaller schools across the state in violation of recruiting. However those were pretty minor, due to ditricts & residential zoning. The obvious reason a public school can get into trouble easier than a private school is because a public school is free. They apparently have more freedom to work with.
Jon Miller wants to know about schools with a dynasty. I strongly urge Mr. Miller to "Google" these schools individually in wikipedia. (if you want more of a truth) and not just suggested thoughts from a bunch of diehard fans of their alma maters.
The principal theory behind all of the "recruiting" talk came about when some of the private schools became routinely successful year in and year out. Initially, the thought was that these schools were recruiting, and instantly that was the believed theory. However, we learned over the years that it wasn't the case. Public school kids typically go to school in their own districts. For Central Iowa, the only Catholic H.S. is West Des Moines Dowling. For a private school, there is no district. They come from all over. I know there are kids there currently whose addresses are in Ames... Waukee... Indianola... and Grinnell just to name a few. Naturally, the metro is heavily dotted with the rest of the population of that parochial school. Oh, they have been investigated, many times... Heelan even more so than Dowling. I even had one lawsuit come across my desk, trying to sue Heelan for recruiting violations, and we had to drop the case, because the couple actually tried to sue "Bishop Heelan" himself! ...Lol (and yes Dowling was named after Bishop Austin Dowling) Similar situation... I think it was 2007 that Dowling defeated WDM Valley in their regular season game. Even though Valley (the largest enrollment in the state) suited up over 100 kids, lost to Dowling (who suited up just 55 kids) Our office was still berated with "Dowling has to be recruiting" accusations. A teams depth didn't matter to the accusers. Or perhaps getting defeated by a better team that particular Friday evening.
So in a nutshell, if anyone comes forward and says that they were indeed recruited from a private school, I'd call 'em a damn liar. Because if they ever accepted a bribed offer, that student (or family for that matter) would be very foolish "not" to file suit with the Iowa High School Athletic Assc. and more than likely walk away with some pretty heavy "retirement-money"! And to be totally honest with you, the trouble we've most had complaints on were NOT the private schools, but rather the public institutions. We had documented proof on many smaller schools across the state in violation of recruiting. However those were pretty minor, due to ditricts & residential zoning. The obvious reason a public school can get into trouble easier than a private school is because a public school is free. They apparently have more freedom to work with.
Jon Miller wants to know about schools with a dynasty. I strongly urge Mr. Miller to "Google" these schools individually in wikipedia. (if you want more of a truth) and not just suggested thoughts from a bunch of diehard fans of their alma maters.
