Hello again everyone… We have not heard from the school (Choate) since we accepted our spot and paid the deposit. We have seen the calendar of when the school is supposed to start but I just realized I have no idea how fall sports work. Our older child always has fall pre-season for 2 weeks before school started at our local high school, is there such a thing at prep school or do they just start with tryouts in September (which seems late since you need a bunch of practices before you can start playing). Can someone shed the light on that, would prefer not to bombard the school with questions already.
Yes most schools do have preseason. At my son’s BS I seem to remember that it was limited to football. I don’t believe the underclassmen do preseason.
Our school has a preseason for all sports, plus a summer camp toward the end of August for some sports. New students usually don’t participate in preseason, but a recruited player that will be starting on varsity may be allowed to attend summer camp.
Depends on the school but generally yes. DS plays varsity soccer and they have 4 or 5 days of preseason before the regular registration day. At his school, all football players and anyone trying out for V or JV soccer are expected to attend preseason. It was nice to be there for preseason freshman year to meet a bunch of soccer players and get the lay of the land before normal orientation.
I found that we got the information we needed when we needed it, but you can always check with the athletic director — it’s helpful for planning and scheduling travel.
Hotchkiss soccer has preseason. A bunch of prep schools go to Camp Lenox in the Berkshires at the end of August. If you are planning to try out for varsity you are welcome to attend. Having said that I’m only aware of one nonrecruited player who came to preseason.
FWIW, the schools we know have pre-season for Varsity athletes and not in all sports (mostly football, soccer, XC). It was our experience that new kids did not attend pre-season unless they were already selected for Varsity. Some kids we know were with travel teams or camps in August before pre-season. I feel your anxiety - it is tough, if you’re an entering 9th grader, and don’t know yet if you are trying out for a team or making Varsity in your sport. Do connect with the coach before school ends this spring. @cinnamon1212 we love Camp Lenox!
Our BS has only football players come back early (one week). Everyone else comes back for a week before classes start and they spend that week doing their “activity” (whether it is a sports team, theater, community service, or the outdoor adventure team (biking/hiking/climbing)) … you meet 2x a day every day that week. So it is kind of pre-season, in that no games take place until after classes start. There are tryouts but few people find they don’t make some team… everybody finds a place.
This is one of those questions that falls into the “If you have to ask, it probably does not apply to you.”
Students who are expected early know who they are. As others have noted, new students do not generally participate in preseason unless they were recruited. But ask the question of the school to get the answer for you kid.
@417WHB our school has preseason and my kid - incoming 9th grader will attend. I would reach out to the coach to find out if your child should plan to attend. From what I’ve read at our school preseason is for varsity, strong jv players, incoming recruited athletes, or incoming kids who have a strong background in the sport.
Thanks everyone, even the snarky replies are appreciated! I come from the non-boarding school world where my older kid had to do two weeks for preseason no matter what, you could not be on a fall team without participating in preseason. I actually thought it was mandated by the state. The younger, BS kid was actually recruited but not for a fall sport. I just assumed that it may be like it is for regular private/public school sports where preseason is mandatory for everyone who wants to play. Clearly that is not the case so letting it go till we hear something.
I wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to the coach or AD if it’s helpful to you to know. At DS’s school (Salisbury) they communicate to everyone over the summer about sports intentions and provide info for preseason at that time. We had asked the coach at the revisit day. Both fall and spring preseasons are open to anyone trying out for varsity (and JV in some or all cases), not only recruited athletes.
At my kid’s school anyone who wants to try out for varsity attends preseasons. Students who are content to play JV or 3rds do not. We received information in the late spring or early summer.