Private schools at ETR

bgaj wrote: If anyone thinks that Lucas is a backup they lived under a rock the past 5 years.

Ive seen a handful of people stating that these wrestlers would be just as good, if they stayed within their public school district, instead of attending a FCA or a Malvern. Now I commend the Gaj family for staying at the Quakertown school district, and helping make that program better. That was my thought process when my oldest son was going into high school. Now, my son was in no way, at the level of a Waters or a Gaj, but he was still head and shoulders better than what the Bristol school district usually produces. But, I had a ton of home town pride, and figured my son John, would be the building block of making my home town team legitimate for once. He spent plenty of time at clubs like MPR and Apache, plus camps and gyms and what not. As much extra work as time and finances would allow. But, over a four year span at high school, with a severe lack of quality coaching, and no legitimate practice partner, it really held my son back. And the program did not improve while he was there, it just got worse and worse. He worked his tail off, but there just wasnt as much growth from year one to year four, that you normally see with wrestlers at these quality programs. Would my son of made it to Hershey, if he wrestled for a team like Egan and coach Connors? Impossible to say. But Im a strong believer that if he did wrestle at a better high school, with a better coach, with better practice partners, he would have clearly been a better wrestler. I do believe that his chances at Hershey, would have increased greatly. So no, not everyone would still be just as good, if they stayed with their public school. 

Edited by AAWarrior - Jan 17 2023 at 12:18pm

AAWarrior - agree 100%. As wrestlers like to quote 'steel sharpens steel'...having no steel in the room dulls the blade.

DPointer492 wrote: idontknow wrote: DP429, the post I was addressing was saying that FCA/MP are a part of the reason those kids are so good. I am contesting that those programs are so good because of the talent they recruit. The best kids, the ones that really want to wrestle well and move on to college, at both private and public schools are all (well almost all) putting in serious work both inside and outside the HS wrestling room. It doesn't matter what team they are on.   Would a wrestler like Waters be just as good if he went to his local HS? That answer is obvious. Now create a whole team of kids with that mindset, something public schools have no way to do as many HS wrestlers do not want to wrestle at the next level and most participate in many different sports. So whats is the difference between the schools like FCA/MP and CRS, SF, etc, the latter get what they get and the schools like FCA/MP recruit the best talent they can get. THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE!!!!! As far as coaching goes, it is pretty easy to coach kids like Link, Gaj, Botero, Bechtold, etc, it is much harder to coach the others you don't know the names of. And if you don't think the wrestlers that put in the work and get great results do not influence how they are viewed by the private schools, then keep your head buried. There is recruiting happening, by coaches, by parents and by wrestlers. Thats how they build the teams they have. It doesn’t sound to me like anyone has been able to come up with any evidence that the PIAA schools mentioned do any recruiting by the school or coaches (that is not allowed per PIAA rules). If you have evidence/information, please share. I know BECA, Notre Dame Green Pond, and Faith Christian were all investigated last year when a certain Bishop McCort coach (whose last name rhymes with Fasset) accused them all of recruiting like he got in trouble for. I can only assume that the PIAA did not find anything wrong or those programs would have been punished too. Parents choosing to enroll their kids in private school, for any reason, does not mean there is recruiting going on.  Why is this all anyone can talk about?? I agree. Where your child goes to school is a personal choice. I also agree that the common element in those who succeed is working year round and outside of the HS season. There are many opportunities throughout the state for high level training. It is ideal when the kids learn a lot and bring amazing skills and technique back to their high school practices. Even better when those high school coaches appreciate their athletes’ efforts, encourage continued growth and seek to learn how to coach those new, advanced skills. Some do not.