Football at BS

[heartburner]

<p>Kids are not competing in football that much anymore and NMH terminated their football program. Are other schools considering this? Is the head injury concern really that apparent in BS? Just saying, it seems a bit overboard for a school to cancel a major sport like football and keep other less popular sports.</p>

[CroissantMiser]

<p>As an NMH parent (albeit not a FB parent) I can tell you that I haven’t heard many objections regarding the elimination of FB. As with most things, I’m certain it is a $$$ issue over everything else. FB is the most taxing sport on any school budget and the program at NMH has not been glaringly successful recently. I applaud the school for taking the bold step. Also, I’m guessing that the incredible success of the NMH boys BB program may have played a role in this decision…that’s just pure personal speculation on my part.</p>

[soxmom]

<p>I don’t think it’s so much that the schools are themselves worried about head injuries (check out the concussion rates for soccer, they’re pretty high too), but rather that fewer boys are playing football these days. That’s partly due to the rising popularity of soccer, and partly due to parents not wanting their kids to play football because of the injury risk. This leaves many schools without enough boys to field full varsity and JV teams, and so the JV games turn into just scrimmages with fewer than normal numbers on each side. In turn I think that makes the sport less interesting to boys who might otherwise play for a year or two on JV and then work their way up to varsity.</p>

[ChoatieMom]

<p>From NMH’s website:</p>

<p>

Head of School Peter B. Fayroian announced April 3 that Northfield Mount Hermon is eliminating football from its fall sports program, beginning in the 2014–15 academic year. The decision came after months of analysis and discussion among members of the NMH Board of Trustees, Athletic Director Tom Pratt, football coaches, and Fayroian.</p>

<p>In a letter sent to former NMH football players explaining the decision, Fayroian and Pratt wrote that in recent years many student-athletes, especially boys, are increasingly specializing in one sport. They come to NMH with a passion for and training in sports such as basketball, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, and wrestling; fewer and fewer of them have been choosing football. For the past several years, the school has not had sufficient numbers of players to fill out the program. “As the athletic demographics of our students change, we must be accordingly thoughtful about how we adapt, just as we have been in the realms of academics and the arts,” Fayroian says.</p>

<p>NMH has fielded an interscholastic football team since 1933, and there are more than 1,700 living alumni who played the sport at NMH. Fayroain acknowledges that this decision is hard for some former football players. “As a former football player myself, I will miss the notion of it. But our goal is to think about our current students first, and I am confident it is in the best interest of them in today’s prep school sports landscape.”</p>

<p>The school will develop a permanent display on campus to honor the role that football has played in the life of the school.</p>

<p>Returning football players who want to continue playing at another school are receiving assistance from Drew Inzer, an NMH teacher, dorm head, and football coach who is also a former NFL player. Fayroian has personally talked with heads of school and football coaches at peer schools and is committed to making sure these players are placed in other programs if they choose to leave NMH to play elsewhere.</p>

<p>NMH’s trustees and administrators are currently developing a strategic plan “to chart the school’s future and determine how we may best serve generations of students to come,” Fayroian says. “Evaluating the breadth, success, and gender equity of the athletic program is an integral part of that process. The school’s goal is to maintain a wide range of athletic teams to serve all students.”</p>

<p>The NMH athletic program comprises more than 60 teams in 20 sports, and the school has garnered many New England and national championships.</p>

<p>“We are proud of the commitment that all of our players have shown in game after game, and we are proud of football’s place in NMH’s history,” Fayroian says. “However, like all institutions, we must be bold and prepared to make difficult choices such as this one in order to adapt to a changing educational landscape.”

</p>

[skieurope]

<p>As soxmon said, safety was probably not paramount in the decision; NMH still offers lax, skiing, ice hockey, among other sports that have their own inherent risks. </p>

<p>NMH was certainly not a football powerhouse in recent years, having gone 0-8 last year. The challenge was having enough players to fill the rosters of all the Fall sports. That is a reason why schools such as SPS do not have a swim team despite having a pool.</p>

<p>As for whether other boarding schools are considering dropping football, probably not. However, prospective parents/students are well served to ask if any of their curricular/co-curricular interests are in danger of being cut in the future. The prospective Slavic major would have been a bit upset had s/he enrolled at NMH several years ago only to find out after the fact that Russian was being eliminated.</p>

[doschicos]

<p>Plenty of great colleges don’t have football programs so I don’t find it unusual for a high school to choose the same path. As others have mentioned, football programs are pricey - large rosters and larger coaching staffs than other sports. NMH is very strong in other sports so nothing wrong in focusing on what they do best.</p>

[Prepx3]

<p>NMH had a lack of on the field success, dwindling numbers of kids going out for football and specialization in other sports all of which led to the demise of their program. Kimball Union dropped football a few years ago, and I would bet that a few other schools will follow suit in the future, but football will still exist at most schools.</p>