WJAC's Matt Maisel weighs In on Public vs Private/Charter

[GreenMachine]

A very nice write up by Mr. Maisel on his own personal views on the topic that he posted on facebook and linked to twitter as well. Here is the write up in case no one has those social media outlets....


HEY PIAA, BALANCE THE FIELD:

I wanted to add another layer to the topic Saturday on Catholic schools and high school sports. Am I naive enough to think "recruiting" doesn't happen anywhere? Of course not! In fact, I can think of clear examples of this occurring and so can you. My point was it's not fair to lump every student-athlete into the same boat.

THAT SAID...Private and charter schools have clear advantages public schools do not have. Mainly, their students aren't confined to one school district. In some cases, kids come from multiple counties.

Welcome to the system the PIAA has created for us to play. In many cases, even when there is no "recruitment" involved, the playing field is unbalanced. Take Lincoln Park, Bishop Carroll's opponent Tuesday in the state semifinals. A performing arts public school in which kids from across District 7 apply for entry into programs such as dance, theatre, and music. Yet, they have a basketball team with two or three Division 1 basketball players? Color me slightly skeptical.

There's a simple fix for this, PIAA: All private and charter schools must play up at least one postseason classification. At the very least, this levels the playing field more than it currently is; Schools with student-athletes coming from multiple school districts will be forced to play against public school districts with larger enrollment and talent pools.

Some public schools in the state move up classes on their own. Steel-High, outside Harrisburg, is a Class "A" school. But they move up TWO classes in basketball to "AAA", and in some years, played "AAAA" basketball. Why? Steel-High knows they're good, and they prove it every year.

Some states completely separate public and private schools, including Louisiana, Georgia, and Massachusetts, while Ohio is considering the move. That's not what I'm proposing.

C'mon PIAA, it's your move. The geographical and population limits for some Catholic and Privates school enrollments are the size of the biggest schools in the state. Fifteen of the last 20 PIAA Class "A" basketball title game participants, and 16 of last 20 champions have been Private or charter schools.


<---- Thats where the post Is, some of the comments are hilarious lol

[Crimson's Ghost]

And here is Matt's original post on the topic.

There's been a lot of comments on the WJAC-TV Facebook page about Catholic high schools and "recruiting" in the wake of Bishop Carroll's run in the state basketball tournament. I personally feel the argument is LAZY, TIRED, and generally UNINFORMED.
Do private schools have certain advantages that public schools don't have? Sure. Does that mean all Catholic schools recruit their pick of the litter? Absolutely not. Where's the credit for the student-athletes who are actually playing the game? Who's to say their parents don't want their kids to have a catholic education? These aren't athletic, sports factories.
The assumption that takes place among a large sect of the population that "Successful Catholic sports team = Recruited athletes" is not fair to the kids going out there and competing. Let's show a little more respect, and even appreciation for their accomplishments.

[konjo78]

The real problem why d6 sees so many strong catholic schools is simple. It lacks strong AAA and AAAA power. Look at BM and BC. All the schools near them are AA and one AAA who all play in the same conference. What is the upside for talent to stay at schools who wont make major impact on their scouting? Johnstown is the biggest part of this. AAA school playing A and AA schools and won't get any strong exposure for athletes if they were in the wpial.


Altoona and holidays burg will change slowly as they adapt to the wpial but you're seeing BG flourish from the first entry inbelieve as people knew altoona and holidaysburg would have a tough time hanging with wpial schools.


Imagine the talent Indiana would have if there was a good solid catholic school? Most NC and PM girls back in mid 2000s might of been in a catholic system if there was one in place.

[Blueandwhitefan]

The real problem why d6 sees so many strong catholic schools is simple. It lacks strong AAA and AAAA power. Look at BM and BC. All the schools near them are AA and one AAA who all play in the same conference. What is the upside for talent to stay at schools who wont make major impact on their scouting? Johnstown is the biggest part of this. AAA school playing A and AA schools and won't get any strong exposure for athletes if they were in the wpial.


Altoona and holidays burg will change slowly as they adapt to the wpial but you're seeing BG flourish from the first entry inbelieve as people knew altoona and holidaysburg would have a tough time hanging with wpial schools.


Imagine the talent Indiana would have if there was a good solid catholic school? Most NC and PM girls back in mid 2000s might of been in a catholic system if there was one in place.

Konjo
Remember the three girls from PM's run in basketball and volleyball that WERE recruited by BC and will freely tell you this. I understand the parents reported it but nothing was done as they were recruited for being "Good Christian Students" NOT for athletics. LMAO

[districtsixhoops]

[
Altoona and holidays burg will change slowly as they adapt to the wpial but you're seeing BG flourish from the first entry inbelieve as people knew altoona and holidaysburg would have a tough time hanging with wpial schools.


What???? It's Hollidaysburg. Are you talking football?

[districtsixhoops]

And here is Matt's original post on the topic.

There's been a lot of comments on the WJAC-TV Facebook page about Catholic high schools and "recruiting" in the wake of Bishop Carroll's run in the state basketball tournament. I personally feel the argument is LAZY, TIRED, and generally UNINFORMED.
Do private schools have certain advantages that public schools don't have? Sure. Does that mean all Catholic schools recruit their pick of the litter? Absolutely not. Where's the credit for the student-athletes who are actually playing the game? Who's to say their parents don't want their kids to have a catholic education? These aren't athletic, sports factories.
The assumption that takes place among a large sect of the population that "Successful Catholic sports team = Recruited athletes" is not fair to the kids going out there and competing. Let's show a little more respect, and even appreciation for their accomplishments.

This topic was already addressed on another thread. Do the high school coaches go around knocking on doors, making phone calls recruiting? No, I don’t think that happens but recruiting does take place. I’ve seen and heard it through parents and other people that are associated with a program. It happens. Kids play with other kids from another school during the summer in AAU, the wheels start moving. While we are going there let’s be blunt about it. They don’t have to go out and recruit much. Parents and players know BG, for example, is a power in girls basketball. They also know that they have an easy route in A basketball during the playoffs. It’s pretty simple. When you get kids from State College, Hollidaysburg, Tyrone, Bellwood, Spring Cove, Williamsburg and their base in Altoona (all have happened currently or in recent years) you should win your district title and state championships multiple times. Nice job. Let’s stand up and give them a round of applause!

[footballguy99]

They might all be from the local area but to me that doesn't matter. Private and Charter schools should not be in with true public high schools at all.

Take a walk down the halls of schools that are even AA like Southern Huntingdon, Claysburg, Juniata, Juniata Valley, Portage, Everett, Northern Bedford, Saltsburg, and Conemaugh Township. Many of the schools I just listed are even AA in basketball based on size (what a joke!). They have to count males in their enrollment that have no interest in sports. Often times these males have absolutely no interest in sports and in many cases these schools have students who have absolutely no ability to play sports. The autistic boy is counted as male enrollment. Is that fair? A boy in a wheel chair is counted on the enrollment? A boy who has torn socks stained brown with jeans that were too short for him 4 years ago likely isn't going to play but he is counted in the enrollment. I'm not negating these young men as people but I am negating them as athletes in most cases. Does Lincoln Park or Bishop Carroll have to deal with this? Do they have many kids with IEP's? Do they have a wrestling team? Do they have kids who are so poor that they couldn't even think about getting a pair of $100 basketball shoes let alone joining AAU teams to improve their skills?

The system is broken and for the reasons stated above you see why public A and AA schools really do feel shorted in this whole system. You see why these school don't root for or like the charter/private schools. They play by a different set of rules.

Sankofa Freedom Charter
Math, Civics, and Science
Gillingham Charter
Lincoln Park
Sewickly
Berks Christian
York Country Day

Look at those schools and their enrollments and see why a school like Harmony or Claysburg might have a real beef with these places. Look at schools with enrollments of 30 or less kids total but they have decent basketball programs and you'll see why the PIAA is failing the kids at the real class A public school sitting along the road.

[districtsixhoops]

[pahoops4]

i'm new on this forum and to the area but matt hit it right on the head. system is broke in many ways but lets not paint with a broad brush. discounting what bishop caroll has done is a real insult to kids that have worked their tails off. putting them in the same category as lincoln park is even a bigger insult.

are there advantages for privates/charters...absolutely. are there schools that abuse the system...yes. do all privates/charters abuse the system absolutely not (and BC would be in this category)! lets not kid ourselves either, there are public schools that abuse the system as well. im from the pittsburgh area and blackhawk brought kids from all over the place.

i will be rooting for bc to pull the big upset from what ive seen of them they are a class act

[usatf oldguy]

And here is Matt's original post on the topic.

There's been a lot of comments on the WJAC-TV Facebook page about Catholic high schools and "recruiting" in the wake of Bishop Carroll's run in the state basketball tournament. I personally feel the argument is LAZY, TIRED, and generally UNINFORMED.
Do private schools have certain advantages that public schools don't have? Sure. Does that mean all Catholic schools recruit their pick of the litter? Absolutely not. Where's the credit for the student-athletes who are actually playing the game? Who's to say their parents don't want their kids to have a catholic education? These aren't athletic, sports factories.
The assumption that takes place among a large sect of the population that "Successful Catholic sports team = Recruited athletes" is not fair to the kids going out there and competing. Let's show a little more respect, and even appreciation for their accomplishments.

It seems to me your argument is what is LAZY, TIRED, and generally uninformed. You said it all when you answered the question of do private school have an advantage. These schools would get the respect that you say they deserve if they would play each other. Recruiter against recruiter. Lets face it so many on here defend the privates because they go to a private and want to see the edge they have stay in place. Every single private in the area has said they don't recruit. I guess we all should just take their word!