Where to send kids to school for best public school football program? (Dallas: luxury, income)

[loves2read]

Division 1 colleges are not looking for small players--
they want players that fit an NFL profile because they are expected to perform at almost-NFL levels themselves--
their contracts/their attendance/their tv contracts demand teams that perform as winners--

so it is very possible that a player from a smaller, more isolated school that is AA vs AAAAA CAN win a scholarship and come to the attention of college scouts--
but it is just harder to do and that player is not playing against the same level of competition that a comprable player in a tough 5A district is
scouts and coaches take that into account when they survey their choices

some players from private schools get offers for good college scholarships--

the issue is why is your son playing football--
if you really expect him to earn (not win--this is not a lottery) a scholarship from a Div 1 school then you as a parent have to be prepared for the ground work that takes money to support that desire and you should be prepared to accept less than Division 1 schools
there are great colleges with football programs that are not Division 1 competitors--that aren't aired on national tv

[Lakewooder]

I hate to rain on your parade but you are going to have to have a superstar kid to even make the team in a huge school like Allen, much less get any notice.

I don't think I really impressed upon you the fact that my alma mater is very small and does pretty well - not state champs material but we have a very high profile team. We produce a lot of individual stars - not only through talent example: Woodrow Wilson's Carl Harris leads area's 1,000-yard rushers | High School Sports Blog | Sports News | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News and recent grad Sergio Kindle but also because many writers, public relations people and journalists live in the area - and we have several publications in the neighborhood. Also we have a huge network of alums, many of them involved in football (see high school hall of fame list) - for example Bob Goodrich, who won 13 Emmys as an ABC Sports Producer (Monday Night Football for one). Heisman winner Tim Brown hosts a golf tournament every year and brings his pro football buddies. The kids get noticed and they get scholarships.

When the Dallas Super Bowl committee looked for a high school to hold its kick-off event, they decided to have it at Woodrow because of its football history: http://www.northtexassuperbowl.com/news/legends-fall (broken link)

Aikman was one of the many legends attending the event at Woodrow - pictured here with Woodrow QB Ben Clear.

More photos: http://gallery.me.com/rkelemen#10038...lack&view=grid

If you don't like Woodrow, try Hillcrest - Dallas sports writer Kevin Sherrington sends his kids there and his son was QB.

I know it's probably difficult to explain how there's a small school with a lot of poor kids and a good number of rich kids, but Hillcrest is another one. Hillcrest 'recruits' and so do we - we got Sergio from Oak Cliff and he came to Woodrow for programs not offered at his home school. As far as academics some of the upper level classes are really equivalent to a small private school - same for the much larger W.T.White. There is a lot of individual attention.

It's somewhat the classic 'big fish in small pond' but it works...

[usc619]

Originally Posted by loves2read

the issue is why is your son playing football--
if you really expect him to earn (not win--this is not a lottery) a scholarship from a Div 1 school then you as a parent have to be prepared for the ground work that takes money to support that desire and you should be prepared to accept less than Division 1 schools
there are great colleges with football programs that are not Division 1 competitors--that aren't aired on national tv

Agreed, I wouldn't mind having a school like Georgetown, Ivy league, etc... offering my kid a football ride.

I would take some time and talk to the coaching staff about their commitment towards promoting kids for the next level, some will flat out tell you that's not their job.

FYI: D-1 programs are looking for kids that best fit their philosophy PERIOD It's a college (asst.) coach job to go out an evaluate players and make the recommendation to the head coach. A college coach can only evaluate on kids they see(or accessible) and that's when the help of HS coaches/scouting services come in. Hs coaches will sometime make calls, send tapes and invite colleges coaches to the school/games. College coaches will ask about grades, character, work ethic, etc... If the HS coach is well respected among the coaching circles, it will be a BIG plus as his word will go a long ways towards helping the kid land a free ride.

Then you'll have the Kids that are so good it doesn't matter where they play or who's their coach

[OpenBook777]

As mentioned before, we might U turn and come back this way for HS football. For now, my oldest son (rising 7th grader) needs a stellar school for curriculum and environment. I appreciate the history these schools have and will look into that in the future *if* my boys end up playing football long term.

What I like about Allen is that it offers SO many extra curricular activities. You can see here:
Allen High School (http://www.allenisd.org/allenhs/site/Directory_List.asp?byType=50 - broken link)

So, in addition to sports, our sons can be very well rounded with a myriad of activities to choose from, especially since their parents are both pretty artistic and creative .

I like the thought of the parent being the coach and believing wholeheartedly that the child can succeed. The big fish/small pond is interesting but not as feasible I think.

It's in God's hands.

[5stones]

needs a stellar school for curriculum and environment
in addition to sports, our sons can be very well rounded with a myriad of activities to choose from,

Then WHY did you only ask for schools with a great football program?

Still confused!

Yes, Allen is a good district, but frankly its just too big. Kids get lost and trying to get on any squad, band, choir etc...at a school that is is going to be daunting.

[usc619]

Originally Posted by 5stones

Then WHY did you only ask for schools with a great football program?

Still confused!

Yes, Allen is a good district, but frankly its just too big. Kids get lost and trying to get on any squad, band, choir etc...at a school that is is going to be daunting.

I happen to be a big proponent of big schools, you're going to deal with the numbers in College so what's the big deal? I think to many folks are caught up in the "I want my little Timmy to play" or "My kid have a better chance to be ranked top10 in his/her class" PC crap. When a school district starts to overbuild here in Texas it often leads to economic segregation within the district, you'll have your "well to do" and your "Ghetto"

[OpenBook777]

Originally Posted by 5stones

Then WHY did you only ask for schools with a great football program?

Still confused!

Yes, Allen is a good district, but frankly its just too big. Kids get lost and trying to get on any squad, band, choir etc...at a school that is is going to be daunting.

Because we see great athletic potential in both of our boys!!! Geeesh! Out of the responses, we weighed 1. Academic performance, 2. Teacher performance, 3. Student Performance THEN we wanted to know which schools offered great training for football if our children love the sport. Nothin' wrong with that, right?

[OpenBook777]

Originally Posted by usc619

I happen to be a big proponent of big schools, you're going to deal with the numbers in College so what's the big deal? I think to many folks are caught up in the "I want my little Timmy to play" or "My kid have a better chance to be ranked top10 in his/her class" PC crap. When a school district starts to overbuild here in Texas it often leads to economic segregation within the district, you'll have your "well to do" and your "Ghetto"

Agreed. I graduated from LH in 92 with a school population of close to 2K for 10-12th only. Allen has around 3700 students and of course, many of those students have no interest in football, soccer, band, etc. Both of my boys are very social so the larger school gives them better opportunity to choose their friends.

usc you mentioned the segregation issue, but Allen shows 63% white and 37% all other ethnicities. I like it, I like it! If you look at SLC's demographics it's 89% white, 5% Asian, 2% black and less than 1% Hispanic. Pitiful IMHO.

[Lakewooder]

Sorry I forgot that you went to LH - I think it's much smaller now - but it still has the hometown kind of feeling..if it were me I would choose that over those huge schools.

I am very involved in alumni activities, so I alway ask people from other schools about their reunions. If they went to Plano or one of the big schools up there, they often say, "I don't go to reunions, I wouldn't know anybody. The class was too big".

Then they usually ask me, "you mean you LIKED high school?".

[usc619]

Originally Posted by OpenBook777

Agreed. I graduated from LH in 92 with a school population of close to 2K for 10-12th only. Allen has around 3700 students and of course, many of those students have no interest in football, soccer, band, etc. Both of my boys are very social so the larger school gives them better opportunity to choose their friends.

usc you mentioned the segregation issue, but Allen shows 63% white and 37% all other ethnicities. I like it, I like it! If you look at SLC's demographics it's 89% white, 5% Asian, 2% black and less than 1% Hispanic. Pitiful IMHO.

I really don't have issues with SLC because it reflects on the overall demographics of south lake. It's when you'll see ISD's popping new schools up all over the district, then you'll have affluent(most times new) neighborhoods getting zoned together and the less affluent ones getting the other side of the tracks. This will only divides the area and create entitlement attitudes, It's happening right now in Katy.