Many of you are facing an important decision.  Where do you enroll your son/daughter for High School?   You have spent countless hours in sweaty humid gyms, on blazing hot fields and  transporting your child to AAU or church league practices and games.  Your child wants to to play.  He/she is a good student and wants to pursue athletics at the scholastic level.  Athletics is an important part of your family’s life and, therefore, a factor in the high school decision-making process.  As a parent, there are some important questions you must ask.  The most obvious one is: Are there opportunities for your child to play?  Most Public League schools do not sponsor freshman and/or junior varsity teams.  Sports budgets in the School District of Philadelphia have been drastically cut in recent years.

Say, for example, your daughter plays soccer.  She has played in a youth league for several years.  She’s serious about soccer.  Over the past decade, Philadelphia’s Public League soccer programs have been cut to the point where there is little opportunity for participation and skill development.  Only six teams are listed on the JV schedule for the upcoming season. No Public League school has a freshmen girl’s soccer team. Most schools have subpar fields or share Department of Recreation fields. Some play games on the Super Sites, the turf all-sport fields that are located near Simon Gratz, Germantown, Southern, and Northeast high schools.  As a parent, do you take a chance with a Public League soccer program?  The same logic applies across all sports.  Baseball, tennis, crew, track & field, lacrosse, football and basketball players should carefully examine the athletic programs and leagues of their prospective schools.

The dynamics have changed since most parents were in school.  In many instances, the neighborhood public school alternative is simply unacceptable.  This is especially the case in basketball.  Historically speaking, parents of scholastic hoopsters in the greater Philadelphia region have been blessed for years.  Philadelphia’s Catholic and Public Leagues have consistently developed elite scholastic basketball players for nearly three-quarters of a century.

However, many of the traditional Public League powers (West Philadelphia, Overbrook, Southern, Ben Franklin, Gratz, etc.) have seen their once mighty basketball programs relegated to lower tier status as independent charter schools have become dominant.  Facing a $300 million budget deficit, the School District of Philadelphia has limited opportunities for student-athletes to participate in scholastic competition.  One can reasonably assume that athletic budgets will continue to suffer.  Moreover and more importantly, very few Public League Schools have  average SAT scores that meet NCAA freshman eligibility criteria for a student with a 2.5 gpa.

The plain and simple fact is that too many students attending Public League high schools are finding it difficult to meet NCAA eligibility criteria.  On the other hand, Catholic League alums are currently playing at schools such as Notre Dame (Steve Vasturia, SJ Prep), Wake Forest (Miles Overton, SJ Prep), Rider (Junior Fortunat, Roman), Towson (John Davis, Neumann-Gorretti), Wisconsin, Green-Bay (Lamin Fulton, Neumann-Gorretti) and many other Division 1 and 2 colleges.

Current Catholic League seniors have committed to Miami University (Ja’Quan Newton, Neumann-Gorretti), Penn State (Shep Garner, Roman), Drexel (Rashann London, Roman), Campbell (Tony Toplyn and Troy Harper, Neuman Goretti) and Cornell (Pat Smith, Wood) among others.

If participation on strong competitive teams in a very strong league with solid academic programs is the goal, then Philadelphia’s Catholic League should be your destination.  Currently, Archbishop Carroll’s Boy;s Basketball team is ranked 12th in the nation according to MaxPreps.  Roman Catholic, SJ Prep, Neumann-Goretti and Archbishop Wood are among the top teams in Pennsylvania their respective class divisions.

In football, the Philadelphia Catholic League produced the PIAA AAAA Champion SJ Prep Hawks.  SJ Prep was ranked #1 in Pennsylvania and #38 in the United States.

For many families, sports is an important part of the educational process.  Research finds that in addition to improved physical health, sport plays a primarily positive role in youth development, including improved academic achievement, higher self-esteem and fewer behavioral problems.  Many parents have long known that many facets of playing sport—the discipline of training, learning teamwork, following the leadership of coaches and captains, learning to lose—provide lifelong skills for athletes.

For parents of middle school student-athletes in the Philadelphia region, the Catholic League provides the best combination of accessibility, academic accountability and athletic competition.

In terms of the ability to develop academically and athletically prepared student-athletes, Philadelphia’s Catholic League is the preeminent scholastic league in the region.

We are in the midst of a distressing and depressing era of public education. The City of Philadelphia does not have the resources necessary to adequately educate it’s public school students.  Public officials, in a desperate attempt to raise money for things like paper, pencils, glue, crayons and rulers, are trying everything short of a “fish fry” and a black light “rent party.”  Mayor Michael Nutter has announced the formation of the Philadelphia Education Supplies Fund to raise cash for the Philadelphia School District.  Also, Interstate General Media, publisher of philly.com, The Inquirer and The Daily News, is teaming up with Global Citizen, the city-based civic engagement organization, to gather the aforementioned school supplies from public donations through Oct. 25.

Consequently, those of us interested in motivating young people to remain focused on academic pursuits are being challenged to think outside the “box.”  The box, after all, is empty.  For the past fifteen years, I have helped some of the finest Philadelphia high school students and student-athletes prepare for, and transition to, college.  Over time, the process has become much more difficult and challenging.  While college admission requirements and NCAA eligibility standards have become more restrictive, resources available to Philadelphia’s students have been drastically cut.  The outcomes of these trends are easy to predict.

Looking toward the future, Pennsylvania has allocated $400 million for the construction of a new prison complex, while the School District of Philadelphia faces a $300 million budget deficit.  As a society, we have decided to prepare for the days when we “catch” the current crop of underserved schoolchildren engaging in delinquent and criminal behaviors.  Sadly, in Philadelphia the path to incarceration is much easier than the path to higher education.

But, what about the kids that want to learn?  What about the students that want comply with rules and exceed expectations?  The mission of the Bright Baller program has always been to “catch” and reward those kids for doing the right thing.  For many of our youth, athletics is a primary motivating factor behind the pursuit of academic goals.  The Bright Baller Program has helped many area kids leverage their athletic prowess and gain access to some of the finest colleges in the country.  I am pleased to announce that Bright Baller has formally partnered with myGZPoints.com and together they will provide:

1) Free full-length practice SAT/ACT exams to participating HS, AAU, Pop Warner, Little League, PAL and other youth serving organizations;

2) Discounts at local and national businesses for students and student-athletes with strong attendance records and good grades;

3) Tickets to local college and professional sporting events for participating organizations;

4) Free NCAA Clearinghouse analysis for student-athletes with potential to play at the NCAA Division 1, Division 2 or NAIA scholarship levels;

The primary objectives of this joint venture are to expose hundreds of Philadelphia area students and student-athletes to the college application and admission processes, educate them about NCAA and NAIA eligibility requirements and help them accurately assess their own individual predicaments.

If students and parents understand the requirements in 6th, 7th and 8th grade, they will be far more likely to meet them in 12th grade.  Indeed, the Bright Baller myGZpoints.com partnership will provide tangible rewards to students who pass all of their classes and attend school on a consistent basis.  The aim is to “catch” and reward young students and student-athletes for doing the right thing.  Positive behaviors will be rewarded early and often.  On far too many occasions, students and parents become aware of the requirements after it’s too late to improve grades and test scores.

This problem will only become worse under current conditions.  Many School District of Philadelphia high schools no longer have guidance counselors, assistant principals, or other critical staff positions.  Pennsylvania’s public officials are preparing for the logical outcome of these deficiencies.  This past summer, the District terminated 3,783 employees or just about 1 out of every 5 people who work daily with our kids.  Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is currently recruiting Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Vocational Teachers, Corrections Barber Instructors and, of course, Corrections Officer Trainees. Clearly, the state is ready to intervene and “catch” young people when they go astray.

But, what about the majority that are trying to achieve academically and make a positive contribution to society?  Who is going to advise college bound students? Who is going to ensure they are taking courses that will lead to NCAA eligibility?

The Bright Baller myGZpoints.com partnership will not be able to help everyone.  However, if HS, AAU and youth organization coaches are willing to participate in the program we will help a lot of students and parents understand what they need to accomplish.

If you have a team, student or student-athlete interested in participating, please contact me via:

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Email – delgrecowilson@outlook.com