My Daughter is a eighth grader in a middle school for high achievers - all pre AP courses… She is a straight A student, teachers love her and give raving feedback. She participates and has great success in numerous extra curricular activities, ranging from mountaineering to Scuba , from broadcasting (school) to winning state level math/language competitions.
She has just taken the SSAT for the first time and her percentile is in the mid 90s .
She has been playing AA travel hockey for the last 3 years. She plays on a boys team and they participate in 2-3 national level tournaments every year, plus they play 30-40 games in a competitive inter-city travel league. She has attended hockey camps at Shattucks and in the Boston area; coaches from those camps and AAA teams (like East coast wizards) have given very positive feedback on her joining their teams.
She has had interviews with Exeter, SPS, Choate, Hill, Andover, Deerfield, Hotchkiss and a few more good schools. All have given very good feedback which I am sure they give to most candidates too. But we are hopeful she is in the short list.
She loves hockey and wants to pursue it all the way to college (Ivy league). While in high school ,she would also like to be part of a club team that has a shot at the nationals (Tier 1). Stretch goal might be to play for the US u16 or u18 teams. At the same time, she wants the Academics and all the other extra curricular opportunities that a good BS offers.
What schools would continue to give her the exposure and growth she needs on the hockey area? I know Shattucks would give her everything she needs and more on the Hockey front, but not sure about the academics and other extra curricular activities. Is Shattucks as well known as the Boston areas prep schools for being a feeder school for the Ivy League colleges? On the other hand, any of the prep schools would give her what she wants from a academic and extra curricular front; but, how is their hockey level?
Question is, if offered, should she choose Shattucks or the Boston area prep schools?
Most prep schools have very few options for playing on a club team at the same time as the school team. In addition, most Tier 1 programs I know would not have players on the team that could not commit to their full and complete season games and practices. There will be, I assume, exceptions. If your child wants to play on 2 teams, perhaps your local day school would be more accommodating? Academics OR hockey needs to be chosen as a priority. Obviously you can also have the other, but you will need to decided which is more important so you know which road to go down. Good luck to you. The girls I know who have gone on to play in college (Ivies included), did so from their AAA (Tier 1) teams where college recruiting is a top priority.
No prep school, certainly the ones mentioned, will be on the level of a club team for virtually every sport, particularly as it relates to off-season practice time. In almost every case, the school will consider that its requirements for academics and EC’s will take precedence over any commitments outside the school. Some schools will be more accommodating of outside activities than others, but those are conversations that need to be had with the ADs (as well as the coaches, but it’s the AD that wields the power.) So club teams and/or U16/U18 teams may be moot. So if club hockey is the goal, prep schools may not be the way to go. That said, every Ivy hockey roster has women from prep schools.
I think that question needs to be tabled until you do more due diligence and have offers to consider.
Your daughter sounds very bright in addition to being skilled at hockey. I’d put academic considerations at the forefront of your decision. All teen athletes are only an injury (or burnout) away from hanging up their skates or cleats, etc.). For that reason, for someone like your daughter I would put schools like Andover/Deerfield/Choate/SPS, etc, over Shattuck (no s on the end).
Before deciding to apply to BS, we had to weigh these options in another sport. Based on our experience, the responses above are very true. Going the BS route will limit your daughter athletically. This doesn’t mean she won’t be able to play in college. It means the opportunities she will have for year-round competition and practice will be many notches down from what she would have otherwise. Even if a BS will allow it, traveling to and from weekly practices and out-of-town/state overnight travel for competitions can quickly become a logistical nightmare, unless you live nearby to assist (think of her traveling alone by taxi/bus/train, having to check in/out of hotels, etc). You won’t know the local parents, you’ll barely know the coach, and you won’t have much of a local support network to work through. The competitions schedule will be at odds with the school schedule. Your daughter will have to work around school restrictions regarding absences and non-school-related travel. Her grades will likely suffer as there isn’t much “free” time in BS and the work is challenging. You will also have to choose a club based solely on proximity and ease of access to the BS you daughter attends. I am saying this not to discourage you but to give you a taste of what lies ahead so you can form realistic expectations. As the people before me suggested, you will have to prioritize one over the other. I’d second @dischicos and advise on prioritizing the academics over the sport, but ultimately it’s a personal choice that you and your daughter will have to make. Best wishes to you!
Hi, unfortunately I can’t help on the girls’ side, but know that here in CT boys who play varsity prep hockey teams also play on the local midget U16 and U18 teams in the fall (such as Yale, which has gone to nationals). Logistically, it doesn’t seem consistent with the boarding school schedule, but they allow it for the top players. I am less familiar with the girls’ programs in CT at that level, but at least for boys, it is possible. I think the outside opportunities vary by sport and location. It seems like the kind of question the ADs at the schools you’re considering could answer.
Most girls play the split season club teams so look to see which club she is interested in that offers split season that is close to the schools she is interested in. In the end she is more likely to get college $$$ from her academics. There are D1 commits from all the prep schools, if she is good enough to play for ivy they will find her.
@offsides sorry this is not accurate. She will not get money for academics --from Ivies --she can get financial aid. As can ANYONE. If she is good enough they will find her is terrible advice. Too many good players out there to be passive about it.
Those I knew who went to boarding schools went to Culver or Shattuck St. Mary’s. They played hockey for those schools, not other clubs.
If you want to know where the players on the Harvard or Princeton teams come from, look at the rosters. A lot of Canadians, but several from Shattuck St. Mary’s, a handful from the prep school, and some from their regular old high schools (although some of those are in MN). Princeton has several from The Blake School (day school).
If you live in New England one possibility would be Noble and Greenough. Top notch academics and women’s hockey. Has been the top team in the league (the ISL) for 14 years straight and has 4 women on the current Harvard team, 2 on the Yale team. The school has a 5 day boarding program, meaning kids go home on the weekend.
Kent School won the Founders League in 2016 and has both Varsity and JV girls hockey teams. On the team page on the Kent website you can find a link to an interview with the coaches that touches upon preparation for college play. My child had one as a college advisor and the other as a math teacher. Both were extraordinarily influential.
@Center I wasn’t suggesting that she be passive. However our team just returned from a trip where we visited D1 college and prep schools and spoke with coaches who explained the college hockey/prep school recruiting process. Our players were told that good players will be found. What I meant was that which school you are at isn’t going to prevent you from being seen by an Ivy league school if that’s where you want to go. So if it’s terrible advice, it’s a direct quote from the D1 coaches. Obviously you can increase your odds of being found by not being passive. Since they are looking into the prep school and top tier 1 programs, they are going to be plugged into where the coaches and expertise in facilitating the process at being seen are.
We were also told by the coaches that you are more likely to get scholarship/merit money through your academics than through a full ride athletic scholarship so athletes should focus and getting the best grades and education they can. So while the Ivies may not give you $$$ for academics (other schools will) you need to have the academics to get into the Ivies. So my point was go to the best school you can that’s a good fit and has the club team you are interested in with a split program because there are players who go D1 from every school mentioned.
I suspect by “found”, they are saying they think they can spot talent. But you will need to ask them to look, particularly if you move out of the orbit of top flight play. And some coaches will wonder how a player in a lesser league will handle a higher level of play… (Been there… different sport.) But it sounds like you understand the academic /athletic tradeoff.
I know kids in other sports who have home-schooled or used schools for professional children in order to keep sports at the forefront.
Is there a way you can attend any games at schools you are considering? It might give you a good idea of level of play. Personally, I would probably choose academics over athletics but pick a school where my D could play at a decent level. If you look through the NESCAC and Ivy rosters, you’ll see many of the prep schools represented, so it is hardly the path less taken.
That’s true for most sports, but for hockey, if the team is fully funded, there are 18 full scholarships which can be split among (up to) 30 players. Hockey scholarships aren’t sliced and diced nearly as much as other equivalency sports.
And of course high academics are needed to be admitted to many of schools that have women’s teams.
A lot of prep schools in New England have partnerships with Tier 1 girls club teams like Assabet and East Coast Wizards, so you don’t have to give up one for the other. The prep school games come first and most of the AAA programs understand that and gaps are filled by local players. Shattuck is THE hockey factory. I’m on the east coast, otherwise I’d consider SSM for my daughter but we’re sticking to applying to BS closer to home.
You could read the bios of the hockey players to get a sense of what the players were doing prior to playing Ivy League hockey. For example, Harvard has three players who attended Shattuck.
What are her long term goals? Unfortunately there isn’t professional women’s hockey. I would focus on the best academic fit, knowing that the hockey will follow.
Loomis Chaffee. Anecdotally, they are very generous with FA to athletes. Girls hockey competing against Noble & Grenough. Hockey is HUGE culturally at LC. My DD is graduating this year - we have been very happy. PM me if you like
Update:
My daughter received acceptance letters from Hotchkiss, Choate, Groton and Hill.
She is WL at Andover, Exeter, SPS and Shattuck.
We are excited about her opportunities but not entirely clear yet which is the best choice for her.
We do plan to go for the revisit days and hope that will help us decide.
Academics is a priority and, we believe academics will be top-notch at all these schools. The coaches have also indicated she would play on their varsity ice hockey teams. However, she does want to play in a solid club hockey team as well. We know Hotchkiss and Choate have close ties to the CT Polar Bears team and Groton kids play at Assabet Valley or East Coast Wizards.