When eighth grade athletes prepare to go to highschool, they often wonder, “Should I go to a public school or private?” It is a tough life-altering decision, and many make the choice based on athletics. Those who consider going to private schools may end up going because private school athletic’s have advantages. These advantages include the fact that private schools can have players come from a variety of towns or even other states. In addition, private schools often receive more revenue since the students pay tuition, not tax money. Finally, athletes may choose to go to private schools because often times, it is easier to get recruited at a private school for college athletics
A main advantage of private schools is that they can have kids from all over come to their school. For many public schools it is only the one town that they have go to their schools. But for private schools, athletes from many different towns and even surrounding or far states go to that school. This is so important because then the best athletes from all over are able to go to any private school if they get accepted but public schools have a much more limited amount of athletes.
To go to these private schools, students must apply and pay to attend. Public schools are free to go to and receive funding through taxes. Private schools can use the money they receive to build up their sports program and continue to make it better. Thus, giving them an edge in training and equipment.
Many athletes dream to play a sport in college. In order to do so, they have to be recruited. This means they need college scouts to recognize them. The connections private schools have to colleges are often much stronger and make it easier for athletes to get recruited. For instance, for the class of 2020 basketball five star recruits, 21 of them attend private schools while 6 of them are from public schools. Additionally, colleges often will make connections with these private schools and each year will recruit people from the school. Locally, Don Bosco has football connections with Michigan as their coaches have a solid relationship. This does not happen with public schools as often.
Overall, private schools do have a competitive edge when it comes to athletics. Although they have this advantage, Ridgewood should still play private schools in games. The games are often fun for fans to watch. For example, the Saint Anthony’s vs Ridgewood basketball game always drew large crowds, even though Saint Anthony’s usually won by a large margin. The game generated money for cancer research in the Coaches vs. Cancer fundraiser. Although Saint Anthony’s shut down and the game is no longer played, it was an example of a positive of playing against private schools.
To conclude, private schools definitely have an advantage, but Ridgewood, and other public schools should continue to play against them. The games provide a fun atmosphere, and allow Ridgewood athletes to test themselves against highly talented players.
Grace Gluckow
staff writer
Graphic: Sofia Lee