<p>S is a top XC runner at his BS as a frosh. Was league all star and one of the top frosh in new england. Is athletic and plays other sports, but not at varisty level yet for other sports like he is with XC. Has also done well academically with BS structure and made honor roll. Overall, he's really come to enjoy the BS experience. </p>
<p>The challenge he's having with current BS is that it's a large school with PGs and making a varsity sport in the other sports he plays will be difficult at this school, especially in hockey. He's a young frosh and sees a lot of repeats in his grade, so big physical difference with kids he's competing against for spots. Is looking down the road to his junior and senior years. Thinks he might be better off in a smaller BS where he would compete against smaller pool of boys and not as many repeats and/or PGs to deal with.</p>
<p>His hook would definately be with the XC. Was trying to get some insights into New England boarding schools who would place strong value on a XC runner. Who are considered the top schools for this sport? Do they actively recruit these types of athletes?</p>
<p>Also, how does one transfer from one boarding school to another? Would he have to go through same process as when he was first applying to schools (SSAT, recommendations, etc.)?</p>
<p>Sounds like you are making some wise assessments. I don’t know enough about XC to point you in specific directions, but I think he will have options and you explain it to new schools just what you’ve stated above. I don’t know about “transfer,” he might have to re-apply, but I would start with the schools you think might be a better fit and contact the XC coaches directly. There may well be time to get this in place for next fall.</p>
<p>SPS has a strong cross country program. Definitely worth a look. No PGS but kids do come to the school and repeat a year. ISL schools do not allow PGs so you might want to look at schools in the Independent School League.</p>
<p>BSFroshXC - your line of thinking is clear. Look up schools and view their XC records - easy to find out who wins the league or has New England all stars. From the Lakes Region I know KUA is reputed to be extremely strong on XC. Concord Academy also has a strong team as does Loomis. Governor’s is reputed to have one of the ‘best’ courses (read challenging) in New England. </p>
<p>Can’t help on the recruiting part or the admissions/ applications part…</p>
<p>Small school in the ISL, so no PGs. Strong cross-country (NE Div. III champs with a 17-1 record, lost only to Belmont Hill), good, not great hockey. The biggest challenge is that it’s a very academic school with high admissions standards.</p>
<p>Does he really need to play varsity? A school with strong sports programs in hockey and his other sport may afford him the opportunity to play a very high quality schedule, receive top-notch coaching and have an overwhelmingly positive experience at the sub-varsity level. If college admissions is a concern, rest-assured that college coaches will know the difference between an impact player who plays on a varsity B team as opposed to an average kid from some other school’s varsity A team. The most important thing is the quality of the coaching in the most important sport/s. Many bS coaches may not actually ‘know’ the sports they have been assigned to. You want a coach who knows how to help S achieve the goals that he has set for himself. You will have to dig a little below the surface to get that info, but it’s worth the trouble, and you need to go directly to the sources themselves - the coaches. You can get thei email off of the school’s websites. They’ll probably want to discuss S interest in their team beyond the goal of making varsity. Good coaches like to work with talented athletes who have set high goalsfor themselves. It seems S is most accomplished at XC thus far, so the XC coaches would be the best place to start. If XC is a significant priority of his, a good coach is more than likely to go to bat for him in a major way. Again, you need to be realistic about the longer-term goal. You want to consider whether S has the ability to play at the highest level in a given sport in college, and whether or not he may even be a scholarship-caliber athlete. Of course, if he is capable but not interested and is in fact more interested in areas in which he is less accomplished, then you have some tougher decisions to make. </p>
<p>Anyhow, in summary: (1) talk directly to coaches, at least to start with,</p>
<p>(2) look for coaches with proven track-records (often not necessarily mesaurable in terms of W-L records).</p>
<p>(3) get on this right away if $$ is an issue.</p>
<p>Looks like S is in a pretty good position given his achievement this past year, but I would be careful not to ‘overreach’. Since he is going to be spending a lot of time trying to balance athletics and academics, he wants to be somewhere that is not so tough that it may be a real struggle for him to do so.
He’ll probably have to submit a lot of the same stuff as last year, but the emphasis will probably be on the record this year - not so much at the more selective schools. Good luck!</p>
<p>One way you might do this is to look at the BS championship results from the fall and look to see where the good runners in S’s class are. If you find a program with kids near the top in their championships races, and you can find a school with more than one kid like that, it would be a good place to consider. Ultimately, however, I’d focus on the coaching. Has the coach done with his athletes the things that S wishes for himself?</p>