Some of this “madness” among parents in boarding school world, so thought I would provide a link to the article. Apologies if it has already been posted in the Prep School Forum.
It is in the athletic recruiting forum
I think it is interesting that boarding schools are not highlighted in the article, for whatever reason.
I’d guess it’s because it is harder to helicopter if your kid is at boarding school right?
There are a bunch of BS parents who get their kids to a ton of athletic showcases.
If a kid goes to a BS, even as a day kid, it’s pretty much impossible to keep up the schedule portrayed in the article.
Showcases are a part of recruiting in almost every sport. Going to them isn’t the same thing as the insanity those people were wrapped up in.
As a general rule, there isn’t the craziness discussed in that article in prep school, because it IS harder to micromanage from afar. There isn’t the parental involvement in playing time etc you see on the sidelines of public schools/clubs.
That said if the family is mega wealthy I’m aware of one example of that micromanaging – for one kid the family hired a private tennis coach, bought a house near the school for him, and had him give private lessons to their child, as well as help coach the school team (if I’m remembering correctly). This family also got the kid’s first novel published while at the school. For their daughter they would have their private jet stand by to fly her down to Florida to compete in horse shows. But this was a complete outlier in terms of what families do/did.
Hey @cinnamon1212 - I think I know that family!!?
When niche is not nice…
Here is where it gets not funny: We know a couple of niche sport families and not-so-niche sport students who are leaving their BS campus and/or private day schools against COVID policies - traveling out of state to attend showcases, tournaments and prospect days- and then returning to campus as though they just “went home”. Selfish is one of many words that come to mind. Putting others at risk.
Just FYI everyone, this article was partially retracted. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/11/02/atlantic-retracts-niche-sports-story-by-ruth-shalit-barrett/
The magazine believes some of the stories were embelleshed or made up.