Youth sports - Carmel or Zionsville??? (Fishers: low crime, credit, school district)

[michid918]

we are looking at relocating shortly to either Zionsville or Carmel...to me Zionsville was a slam dunk until I noticed how devoid it seemed to be of youth sports programs. our kids play in select basketball, soccer, & volleyball right now (4th and 6th graders) and while researching it seems like there really isnt much for them to continue at their present level of competition (aside from soccer through ZYSA). The Carmel Dads' club is extremely appealing, but the size of the schools arent.

Does anyone have any advice? We LOVE Stonegate, but again, we are really concerned about the seeming lack of youth sports opportunities - help!

Thanks so much!

[MainStreet]

I've lived in Zionsville 13 years and have always thought the community completely saturated with youth sports opportunities, to a fault. I'll try to find some more information. But I've always said...."Zionsville....they are really into their kids."

I will add this...if eventually they are interested...Zionsville= super strong swimming and gymnastic programs/opportunities.

[MainStreet]

Youth basketball seems to be covered via Zionsville Boys & Girls Club. The club west location is just west of Stonegate (which BTW I think is a beautiful place.)

There is also a large lacrosse program, not to mention little league, youth football.

I guess I can sum it up this way. I live in the old village, when I drive by Lions Park, which is in a valley, creekside, it's extremely comforting to see all the little league fields filled in the summer and the football fields in the fall.

In the soccer and lacrosse fields west of the high school, same story, they are always buzzing with activity.

The youth soccer fields, out Stonegate way were always organized and active when my daughter played.

Shortly Zionsville will have the skate boarding contingent covered in their new park they are constructing.

Not to mention the Rails to Trails path....simply lovely.

I cannot say enough about the school district (who's motto is "Doing the right thing the right way.") and the community. I'm from rural Michigan (God's country) originally and consider my self blessed to find and live in such a place.

If you would like a sense of the Carmel dynamite vs. Zionsville....go to IndyStar community forums and get a sense of the two communities. You'll notice a silent lull in the Zionsville forum, it's because everyone is too busy with their families, lol, where as the Carmel forum is constantly on fire, very political with a zibe that you'll need a chainsaw to cut through, lol.

There is also a wonderful children's department at the library in Zionsville.

You also get the best of western Carmel, while living in Zionsville...There is the new Coxhill Gardens and another park off 116th Street.

Cider mill and pumpkin patch corn maze, just north on 421. Zionsville is a wonderful place to raise a family...there is always something going on...all within a nice small town package. I've never experience any traffic problems.

And I can't say enough about the low crime (I work in law enforcement)....Carmel, to me, is a urban extension of Indy, with more trees.

[rrah]

by "select" do you mean traveling teams along the lines of AAU basketball?

[SJU]

Although I agree that Zionsville is a nice community, I don't feel Carmel has been represented well in the posts above! I grew up there, my family is still there. It has gone through tremendous growth since my high school days, but I in no way feel it is an "urban extension," at least in the negative way it has been presented.

The athletics in Carmel are outstanding. If your child is talented enough to get on the school teams, they will be noticed by college scouts. If they aren't that serious about sports, there are plenty of intramural opportunties, as well as Dad's Club, among others.

And yes, there is a lot of political controversy going on right now in Carmel because of the growth, the improvements being made ($$$), and the continuing Homeplace annexation fiasco that has been going on for years. It is a passionate community that does like to make their voices heard (but we also spend time with our families!). Zionsville is going to be quieter because frankly, there isn't that much going on to cause controversy. Nothing particularly good or bad about that, it's just different. You shouldn't feel compelled to get caught up in the Carmel controversy either, if you don't want to.

I don't think you can go wrong with either town.

[michid918]

Thank you so much for your replies!

rrah - yes i do mean AAU ball as well as club soccer and club volleyball - the kids are very competitive - i'd like to think they get it from Mom - ok ok i'll give Dad SOME credit...

The kids are in private school right now and are excited about attending the excellent schools in zionsville or carmel (read: no uniforms)...frankly as i mentioned, the size of Carmel High doesnt thrill me - it's just TOO large in my opinion - we like the small feel of Zionsville, but again, we'd like to make sure the kids have a fair shot at making a college team and being noticed if they continue to excel as they do right now - on the flip side - we do not want to push them too hard as to burn out and destroy their love for the game.

we're dealing with controversy right now in their school over some youth sports issues - its amazing how petty and vindictive parents of elementary school kids can be - so the political nature of some Carmel issues doesnt scare me - it's just the size of the schools.

main street and SJU - i really appreciate your thorough and honest input. thank you.

if we do go the zionsville way - do kids from zionsville high get noticed by scouts as well?? I would think perhaps the scouts scoping out carmel high would drive the 15 mins to scout zionsville as well? again, very premature i know, but just as i said i'd like to allow the kids to continue down this path if they choose.

any other advice? input?

[rrah]

My son was involved with an AAU team for a couple of years--about 4-6th grade I think. My husband said Zionsville did have an AAU basketball team then. I think they still do. He said it was just called Zionsville.

I know they have traveling soccer--son's team was up there recently.

My daughter is at an age where she needs to think about whether she wants to pursue her sport in college or merely continue it recreationally. We've been doing some online research lately regarding recruiting. Only the largest colleges have the money to scout or make trips to visit recruits. In addition the NCAA has some pretty strict rules concerning what and when coaches can attend games to watch potential players and when those players can be contacted. In general those schools are looking for the best of the best of the best. When it comes to smaller colleges, much of the recruiting process is up to the student and parents. The point of all of this---I wouldn't let the fact that someone said Carmel student-athletes would be noticed by scouts influence an important decision.

[nebulous1]

A lot of suburbs have large high schools now.
Carmel is a good school.

[domergurl]

We chose Fishers over Carmel solely because of the size of the schools. If we had to move back up north, I'd choose Z-ville. You won't have any problems with finding good athletics there.

[SJU]

I'm just curious about the "size of the school" issue. Why do a lot of people weigh their decisions on it so heavily? I tend to focus more on the student/teacher ratio, which is the same for both schools. As long as the kids can get the same attention from their teachers, why the concern about how big the school is?

Just curious

Carmel is a 5A school while Zionsville is a 3A (IHSAA). If scouting and college scholarships are a concern, I'd look into it further. If not, again, I don't think you can go wrong with either school.