This subject always seems to spark some petty good debate but my experience and insight into the differences between private and public school sports is a subject that I have spent some time studying for the last year and I have had some really profound discoveries. The most revealing discovery was the dynamics of the high school teams that I researched from both private and public schools all had one very common thread. They all have the same coaching issues,the same drama,the same politics, the same favoritism, the same nepotism, and most critically, a breakdown in relationships and lack of human understanding, but all of these matters are dealt with in a very different way.

How the two deal with conflict is most fascinating, In the private school setting both parents and players seem far more patient and are less vocal when they have an issue or conflict with the coach. My belief is because most private schools are church related programs and if you or your kid is talking about a coach, that’s going to circulate through the church pretty fast and you probably won’t be viewed in a positive light and may be labeled as a trouble maker. So therefore, your only option is to say nothing. Hold on to your faith, be patient and let be Lord handle it in his own way. I’m not going to add any scripture here but what I’m saying is that private school athletes and parents appear to bite their tongue until an issue becomes so bad that the Board of Directors takes issue to it. Most of these Private School Boards appear to be very patient about making coaching changes which is often inevitable.

With the public schools athletes and parents there is a lot shorter fuse and those parents are going to take issue with the first sign of incompetence or any other fault that they perceive the coach to have. There is no tie to the church. the public school coach doesn’t have the shield of the church. the pastor, or priest that the private school coach has. The parents and athletes are more likely to build an alliance, pull together as a group, and outwardly express their opinions. Which often leads to things getting changed sooner than later.

Once again, the public and private schools have all the same problems as it relates to coach’s, and this might be something that you consider if you have a sports minded kid and your trying to decide what school best suits your child’s needs.

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