<p>My kid is not a sporty guy. He's a reader, a scientist, an artist. As I have cruised the message boards here, I am getting the sense that some schools are very jock-focused, perhaps to a fault. Any recommendations for schools that have found a way to balance sports with academics? Many thanks in advance.</p>
<p>Concord Academy?</p>
<p>Yes, Concord Academy is the first school that comes to mind. There are others. I’ll have to think on it. Names are escaping me at the moment. I’ll get back to you.</p>
<p>Thank you so much StarGirl and Pops. CA is on my list. By any chance, do either of you know anything about Proctor Academy in Andover, NH? </p>
<p>Madagascar: I’ve seen a number of Proctor-related posts on this forum; not sure if there if there is a Proctor thread too, but you can search for the posts. BTW, I love where you live!</p>
<p>Proctor has a definite focus on sports although my D doesn’t play them and you don’t have to participate in a traditional team sport.</p>
<p>I wonder if you can search for schools with mandatory sports participation… for schools that do NOT have it, the competition for spots on Varsity AND jv will mean that lots of kids don’t make teams and there will be more kids not emphasizing sports. </p>
<p>On the other hand, mandatory sport requirements are great for non-sporting kids. They are “guaranteed” a spot on a team (even if it is Thirds) and therefore get the benefits of physical exercise, team camaraderie, and expanding their world. Some kids even find out there is a sport they love and they never knew that was possible! </p>
<p>london: I agree. My kid never participated in sports before BS. I felt sure she would do the performing arts options instead, as she usually did… but the first week of school, she told me she was playing field hockey instead. She is not a natural athlete, but she has a great time being part of the team.</p>
<p>Take a look at Berkshire. It is a sporty school but has options besides sports to participate in after school. Their science research program is amazing and students can choose to work on research projects instead of sports. Over the past several years, they have had several Intel science finalists. The new art building is amazing, and they have some unique art offerings such as graphic design and film making. They also have the Kellogg Mountain Program where students can choose to take part in outdoor experiences rather than sports. Theater is also an option for after school. Even though they have strong athletics, Berkshire students have a variety of interests. They all support one another and take a real interest in what others are doing on campus. </p>
<p>If your son’s in middle school, with respect, you do not yet know what he’ll be like as a high school student. Many students enter boarding school thinking they’re “not sporty,” only to discover they like athletic competition. Crew and cross country are two sports which stand out in my mind in this respect. </p>
<p>I find the current push to pigeonhole children into specific sports before high school to be a bad idea. (Not aimed at you, MadagascarMom, more aimed at my Whole Generation of Parents.) Puberty transforms boys into young men. Suddenly, the smallest kid in the grade could become a leading rower.</p>
<p>In general, boarding schools go in for the whole “healthy mind in a healthy body” thing. In my opinion, that is a balance between academics and athletics. Smart children don’t have to give up a chance to play on a team. Many schools field teams at multiple levels–varsity, j.v., thirds. Some schools offer special activities for students who’ve never played the sport before. </p>
<p>Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions and advice. We are in no way anti sports, and hope that our son will discover a love for something athletic. My concern was with the tilt of a school’s overall campus culture. For instance, Milton is a strong contender, but I’ve run across a few comments throughout the boards lamenting its bully-ish jock culture. But I guess we simply have to go there, and try to get a feel for the place ourselves.</p>
<p>Some people might disagree with me - but SAS isn’t a particularly “jock-y” school. There are some kids that go there that are athletes, and some of their sports teams are good, but it’s never stuck me as a jocky place. I go to a school that is in the DISC conference with SAS, and we usually beat them in half the sports. They beat us in the other half. The scores are always pretty close. They do have a killer sports center though…the “OMG whoa’s” never get old walking in that place with one of my teams.</p>
<p>SAS has always struck me as an artsy and academic place. They just got the new arts building a few years ago, and a lot of kids focus in on the arts. It’s cool to walk through the halls on any random afternoon and see everything going on. The kids there are really really talented and they have a lot of arts programs. It’s probably one of the best arts programs in boarding schools on the East Coast. Their academics are really rigorous too, and SAS is known for that as well.</p>
<p>Please forgive my ignorance. Is SAS St. Andrews School?</p>
<p>Oh no you’re totally fine! Haha yes, it is St. Andrews :)</p>
<p>@MadagascarMom</p>
<p>It’s not in New England but it’s on the east coast in the mid-Atlantic region. It’s worth taking a look at. @MadagascarMom</p>
<p>MadagascarMom, take comments about a school’s environment with a grain of salt. Every year, 1/4 of a school’s student body turns over, and everyone else grows up one year. At times, schools may have social problems, but usually the good schools try to take care to keep the school environment healthy for all involved. The internet is forever, though, so someone’s second cousin can leave a comment about a school’s “bully-ish jock culture,” and that comment remains on the internet. </p>
<p>People will find that comment for years after the kid who caused the problem (if there was a problem) was disciplined, suspended or expellled, and after everyone graduated and went on to law school. It also frequently happens that students passing on rumors they’ve heard about schools get the names mixed up. </p>
<p>@prepschoolwannab: I think that “OMG, whoa!” factor is what the school and the Sipprelle family was going for when they planned and built the new field house. After all, while facilities aren’t everything, they do make an impression on visiting students and parents. I for one, happen to love that the Sipprelle Fieldhouse was designed so that most of the height is below ground…so it doesn’t visually dominate campus. And the lights through the windows always cast a welcoming glow when we pull into campus at night…like tomorrow when we drop 7D1 off.</p>
<p>@periwinkle: You make such a good point. Thank you. The internet is forever, that is true. A campus visit is a must. Unfortunately, we live in Madagascar and will have only one opportunity to visit schools on the East Coast - for one week in mid-December - before applications are finalized. So I have to make some tough calls about our list and, make sure we visit and interview at a select group of schools. Oh, the pressure! </p>
<p>The field house is so nice. I love the glow that it gives off at night…the whole glow of the campus actually. When you drive by on a quiet night it’s so pretty and peaceful, all tucked away in a little corner of Middletown. My mom and I drove by about a week ago (everybody was on spring break and the spring athletes weren’t back yet) and it was totally dark. Eerie almost…</p>
<p>I like the fact that it’s half underground too. You can stand on the ground from the outside and look down into the gyms…pretty cool! @SevenDad</p>
<p>@MadagascarMom, My DC is very non-sport oriented. I had to more or less force her to try out a couple of low key club type sports in preparation for prep school apps, just so she would have something to put in the section that asks about athletics. She ended up actually enjoying one of the sports which ironically is not offered at the BS she now attends.</p>
<p>She did not want to apply to schools with mandatory sports and let me tell you that’s a tall order. And I realize you’re not exactly asking that, asking more about jock culture. In my opinion most BS are all about balancing sports and academics and there is not an athlete-as-king attitude as I have found in public schools. </p>
<p>I agree that Concord is particularly non-sport-oriented and also Putney comes to mind. Putney is more of an alternative school, progressive education is how they describe it. Putney might be just the thing for your son, very arts oriented as well as having a standard college prep curriculum with nontraditional approaches. It’s a great place for creative and self-directed kids. It is a small school and has quite a few international students.</p>
<p>NMH and Andover are schools we visited that have minimal sports requirements and didn’t seem to us to have any kind of overwhelming jock culture.</p>