Charlottesville High School Soccer? (Richmond, Hampton: fit in, house, public schools)

[Cajun73]

Hubby is retiring from the military and may be taking a job in Charlottesville. We have a daughter entering 9th grade and were wondering about high schools and their soccer programs.
She has been playing soccer for most of her life and we really want her to play in high school. We are looking for a school with a decent soccer team but not one where a player must be top in the state just to make the team.
We are not interested in a "hard core" soccer program that you may find in certain areas or schools.

We also, really want our daughter to attend a high school with a diverse student body. My daughter has lived most of her life in Hawaii and is used to a very diverse population. She wants to be friends with and date people from other races without backlash.

Also, we do not want her to attend a school where you have to drive the best car and wear the best clothes to fit in (we lived in NOVA and it was like that) . Honestly it would be safe to say that any high school in the Charlottesville area will be better academically than high schools in Hawaii so we are not too concerned with which school has better academics (like I mentioned anything will be better)
Do you know of any schools that will fit all of these criteria in the Charlottesville area?
We are still looking at our options as far as where to take our first "civilian" job but Charlottesville is on our list.
I have never been there and am a bit nervous about taking a job in a place I have never been before. We have lived in NOVA and the Hampton Roads areas before- liked Hampton Roads better than NOVA but it was tolerable.
Any help would be appreciated-
Thanks

[Blueice1]

Not sure about the soccer- although all of the sports programs here do pretty well. As far as the diversity...the HS's west and north are less "diverse" but you can look those numbers up...Charlottesville HS is VERY diverse...

Its a small town, with a lot going on in it...not NOVA, as I was there 34 years, but it is vibrant for its size...this weekend the virginia film festival is here...

because of traffic, we actually do more here, than we ever did in DC/NOVA...its a slower pace of life, with richmond within an hour. its less racists than most other small southern towns, by a long shot, but it still exists....

the makeup here is interesting with the rural areas, and the educated colleges....

Anyways - its a great place to rasie a family, with pretty good culture

[Cajun73]

Thanks so much for your input! I did like all the stuff to do in NOVA but could not stand the fast paced lifestyle and the traffic was a nightmare! We do love the somewhat slower pace that Hawaii has to offer but the cost and education system keeps us from staying forever.

One thing will take some adjusting for us is the fact that there is no military community in Charlottesville. I know Langley AFB is a few hours away but it will be strange for us not to live right outside a base.

Do you get a sense of "snobs" in Charlottesville? When we lived in Reston Virginia you could not get away from the "my house is bigger than yours" attitude. I guess living in NOVA left a bad impression on me!!

Thanks again for your input

[Cajun73]

Does anyone have an opinion on Ruckersville and William Monroe high school?

[Blueice1]

Originally Posted by Cajun73

Does anyone have an opinion on Ruckersville and William Monroe high school?

its beautiful country up there, but its def. rural/blue collared ..schoolwsie, Albemarle county are the best in the area (this is a giant sweep, but the scores are there, college entrance etc) having said that VA has a decent system in general and it can come down to individual school/teacher.....

We are in Fluvanna county, not known for great schools, but through 3rd grade have had GREAT teachers.....

I'm not a big fan of commuting down Rt 29 into Cville...if that would be the plan - always accidents heard on the radio, and backups in Hollymead (Earlysville is really ncie and there are some back roads you can sneak into town on )

Are there snobs here ?? yes but its more "wealth" as opposed to FFX county (where I was 34+ years :^) where's its pretend IMO....there's mucho middle class here, and some wealth and some blue collared folks...nice mixture....

again if you LOOK for rednecks you'll find them, if you look for the Volvo snobs you'll find them...if you look racism, its here too (not bad as most southern towns)

I would say the closer to cville the more "diverse" you'll get - North and West and slightly North East of the city are your best bests IMO - but they are also more expensive.

Good luck

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by Cajun73

Hubby is retiring from the military and may be taking a job in Charlottesville. We have a daughter entering 9th grade and were wondering about high schools and their soccer programs.
She has been playing soccer for most of her life and we really want her to play in high school. We are looking for a school with a decent soccer team but not one where a player must be top in the state just to make the team.
We are not interested in a "hard core" soccer program that you may find in certain areas or schools.

We also, really want our daughter to attend a high school with a diverse student body. My daughter has lived most of her life in Hawaii and is used to a very diverse population. She wants to be friends with and date people from other races without backlash.

Also, we do not want her to attend a school where you have to drive the best car and wear the best clothes to fit in (we lived in NOVA and it was like that) . Honestly it would be safe to say that any high school in the Charlottesville area will be better academically than high schools in Hawaii so we are not too concerned with which school has better academics (like I mentioned anything will be better)
Do you know of any schools that will fit all of these criteria in the Charlottesville area?
We are still looking at our options as far as where to take our first "civilian" job but Charlottesville is on our list.
I have never been there and am a bit nervous about taking a job in a place I have never been before. We have lived in NOVA and the Hampton Roads areas before- liked Hampton Roads better than NOVA but it was tolerable.
Any help would be appreciated-
Thanks

Greetings from a former Albemarle County High School soccer player!!

Whatcha wanna know?

I actually played for Western Albemarle High out in Crozet and I think the county fits what you're looking for.... Quality soccer, but not rediculously awesome or anything (They have travelling teams and organizations for that).

The area is a mixed bag. Yes there are uber-rich snobs, but they are along side poorer folks from the country and such. Really diverse...

Even 20 years ago (Gawd has it BEEN that long?) there was interracial dating occuring in the High Schools there, so it's nothing new and is generally accepted unless something has changed...

I don't think you can go wrong moving to that area of Virginia. I'd move back if it were practical right now..

Good luck!!

[scphillyguy]

There is no military base presence in Charlottesville but Fort Lee (probably the closet military post) is just 1.5 hours away (just South of Richmond).

Also in Charlottesville is the The Army JAG School on UVA campus. While is not a military base/post presence, they do have a DEERS ID station, a TRICARE representative and a few other contacts for military.

[Stpattylady]

We moved here about a year ago. Can't speak specifically about soccer, but all of the Albemarle County schools (Albemarle, Monticello, and Western Albemarle) have great sports programs. As far as diversity, within Albemarle County public schools, Albemarle High is the most diverse. Monticello not as much as Albemarle, and Western Albemarle is not diverse at all. My child attends Western Albemarle now and has commented frequently on the lack of diversity there. Charlottesville High School is the only high school within the city limits of Charlottesville and is very diverse.

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by Stpattylady

My child attends Western Albemarle now and has commented frequently on the lack of diversity there.

Really? I wonder what changed? In the late 80s it seemed pretty diverse, but probably not near as much as AHS...

Either way, I know interracial dating was common 20 years ago and I can't imagine that progress on that front has gone backwards...

[williboy]

How are the academics at the various schools?