Jenks-Union football programs and King of Mountain... need advice (Tulsa: middle school, move to)

[jfbd6805]

My husband and I are hoping to move to the Tulsa area next summer and have read many threads on here about how great the schools are in Jenks and Union. However, we watched the "King of the Mountain" documentary ( King of the Mountain : The Rivalry) and as parents we have some concerns about the intensity of the sports programs offered by both schools. We have a 20 month old son who, if he takes after Daddy, enjoys sports. I know the schools are excellent and I want to provide the best public education for my children as I can but I am worried about the pressure that being part of such a program would put on a developing mind.
My husband grew up in Sand Springs and he said it was intense already then but has gotten a lot more intense recently.

Anyway, so I am looking for advice from parents of kids in those districts to give me the truth about the schools and the sports programs and provide a balanced perspective. Is it really as bad as the documentary made it out to be? Or should we just consider more 'regular' communities like Sand Springs, Owasso or Broken Arrow to avoid some of the hype.

Thanks and I hope I don't offend anyone as I am just trying to get to the bottom of the situation so that I will feel comfortable choosing Jenks or Union for the education and not worrying about how the sports programs might give me kids a distorted view of reality.

[hubris]

Well, while not a parent of child, maybe I can add a bit of noise to your data.
I stopped playing sports at middle school because rivals of that sort. At Friday pep rallys, game day, or before, they would bring in a team jacket from the opposing team and tear it to pieces etc. It was frankly, at high level of intensity that struck me as too much.

However, it seems over time, that the rigidity around the sport circus has relaxed a bit so those that do not want to take part in it are not forced into it, but they will be aware of it.

As to your other communities, you listed, I think they might tend to be smaller, but might not tend to be any better in that regard, e.g., Sand Springs could be a rough place from what I understand.

[sgrizzle]

SS, Owasso and BA are not different from Union & Jenks. The only reason they get all the hype is because they finish 1st and 2nd in the state championships many years recently. I went to Union as a student and when you consider only about 1-2% of the students are on the football team, I can't see that any level of pressure on the team would effect the school overall that much.