Why isn't Benedictine playing the RVA privates( Collegiate, Trinity, & St. Chris) in football anymore?
Richmond private schools question?
- Thread starter bulldog1150
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That is a good question. I think not playing Richmond schools hurts BCP come playoff time because their record is not as good. They have to go out of district and play teams like Avalon and Georgetown Prep when they would dominate St. Chris and Trinity and give Collegiate a run for their money.
Just looking at their schedule, it looks like they have made a conscious effort to schedule mostly fellow Catholic schools. Other than Riverdale Baptist, FUMA, Woodberry, and Blue Ridge, all of their opponents are Catholic schools, and even those four are Christian schools. Could be a program philosophy matter.
There was talk last year of the Catholic schools in Virginia forming their own conference, but it never bore fruit. Benedictine's schedule this year could be leftover effects from that experiment.
I agree that their schedule hasn't done them any favors in ratings this year, but they are still getting some respect in the coaches' poll.
There was talk last year of the Catholic schools in Virginia forming their own conference, but it never bore fruit. Benedictine's schedule this year could be leftover effects from that experiment.
I agree that their schedule hasn't done them any favors in ratings this year, but they are still getting some respect in the coaches' poll.
Good point about it possibly being the byproduct of the failed Catholic League. But those Richmond schools are also parochial. I just don't understand why you play Blue Ridge when Collegiate is so much closer and a probably better caliber team(not that Blue Ridge isn't good). Another possibility is that those other schools aren't that interested in playing Benedictine either.
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True-- scheduling is a two-way street. But Collegiate is not parochial.
And they are still playing Trinity and Collegiate in soccer and other sports, so if it is an intentional move on BCP's part, it's only for football.
Collegiate, St. Chris and Trinity decided not to play Benedictine in football, it wasn't Benedictine's choice. The schools are still playing them in other sports.
A few years back, both LCA and Benedictine expressed interest in joining the Prep League. That interest was not reciprocated and LCA joined the VHSL apparently to address football scheduling issues. I'm sure Benedictine would have liked a Catholic league to help with football scheduling.
On a related note, Bishop Sullivan had Benedictine on their schedule for October 14th. That game was dropped in late summer and both teams had a bye week instead.
A few years back, both LCA and Benedictine expressed interest in joining the Prep League. That interest was not reciprocated and LCA joined the VHSL apparently to address football scheduling issues. I'm sure Benedictine would have liked a Catholic league to help with football scheduling.
On a related note, Bishop Sullivan had Benedictine on their schedule for October 14th. That game was dropped in late summer and both teams had a bye week instead.
Why would the Prep League not want Benedictine? I'm sure there are two sides to the story and I don't know either of them.
Firstly, let me say that Independent schools are free to operate how they see fit. This leads to differences that can cause friction as there is no perfectly level playing field. But greater differences cause greater angst.
Actual or perceived differences that cause friction could include:
Recruiting - independent schools have to attract students to stay in business but multiple anecdotal stories about cold call recruiting give pause. Bishop Sullivan's perceived recruiting practices have caused friction. Some schools like NA, St. Chris and Collegiate have K/1-12. But when a school has to recruit an entire new 9th grade each year (no feeder) this could be more of an issue.
Scholarships - Some schools (like St. Chris and Collegiate) only give need based aid. As soon as non-need "merit" enters the financial aid picture, questions arise to whether these scholarships are directed to athletes to build better sports teams. Military schools typically promote athletics as part of their brand to attract students. So it's easy to understand why athletics are important to them.
Admissions Standards - Benedictine, Trinity, Collegiate and St. Chris are all in the same geography. If an athlete gets into one school but not the others, is it just due to broad differences in admissions standards or are athletes getting greater preference at one school? I don't know if it's true, but I heard that there was friction at WF regarding admissions standards for football. I heard that played a part in the prior football coach's departure (apologies if that's incorrect but I did hear it from a couple of their parents).
Student Conduct - Benedictine took a big hit last year when a football player who joined the team in the fall was asked to leave school for illegal conduct. Do you give credit to Benedictine for making that decision or do you ask why the kid was there to begin with if he couldn't make it a semester? Of course, in some instances, kids go to military school because they need the discipline. The behavior I personally observed from cadets at a Benedictine football game was very different than what I saw from the FUMA cadets (and from other schools).
It's much harder to deal with a team already in a league than to simply not admit them in the first place. There is no need to debate whether the difference above are true or not. Even if they are simply perceived, that's enough to make a school less attractive to a league. So Benedictine can operate how they choose and the Prep League can admit who they want.
Actual or perceived differences that cause friction could include:
Recruiting - independent schools have to attract students to stay in business but multiple anecdotal stories about cold call recruiting give pause. Bishop Sullivan's perceived recruiting practices have caused friction. Some schools like NA, St. Chris and Collegiate have K/1-12. But when a school has to recruit an entire new 9th grade each year (no feeder) this could be more of an issue.
Scholarships - Some schools (like St. Chris and Collegiate) only give need based aid. As soon as non-need "merit" enters the financial aid picture, questions arise to whether these scholarships are directed to athletes to build better sports teams. Military schools typically promote athletics as part of their brand to attract students. So it's easy to understand why athletics are important to them.
Admissions Standards - Benedictine, Trinity, Collegiate and St. Chris are all in the same geography. If an athlete gets into one school but not the others, is it just due to broad differences in admissions standards or are athletes getting greater preference at one school? I don't know if it's true, but I heard that there was friction at WF regarding admissions standards for football. I heard that played a part in the prior football coach's departure (apologies if that's incorrect but I did hear it from a couple of their parents).
Student Conduct - Benedictine took a big hit last year when a football player who joined the team in the fall was asked to leave school for illegal conduct. Do you give credit to Benedictine for making that decision or do you ask why the kid was there to begin with if he couldn't make it a semester? Of course, in some instances, kids go to military school because they need the discipline. The behavior I personally observed from cadets at a Benedictine football game was very different than what I saw from the FUMA cadets (and from other schools).
It's much harder to deal with a team already in a league than to simply not admit them in the first place. There is no need to debate whether the difference above are true or not. Even if they are simply perceived, that's enough to make a school less attractive to a league. So Benedictine can operate how they choose and the Prep League can admit who they want.
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