Goobear said:
BearGoggles said:
Goobear - to suggest that MD doesn't "need to recruit" (your words) which implies that they don't ACTIVELY recruit, is just silly.
They are not alone in recruiting in the Trinity league or elsewhere. And from what I understand, IMG is basically a sports finishing school with barely any academics.
Here is a link that will show you who has transferred to Mater Dei in the last few years. If you search by school, there are some very prominent names on there for football and basketball.
https://cifss.org/approvals/transfers/
Because the kids want to play there....Actually know of another family whose kid wants to transfer and play there. They came to the game to check it out. What you don't know of MD is there are 3rd and 4th generation families from all walks of life coming to the game. It is a family atmosphere. We sit next to a couple who have been going to the game for 25+ years. The families who do not know MD and then go to check it out at a game or campus can feel there is something special. The majority is not rich families. It is genuine. So yes players want to measure themselves athletically may transfer but freshmen come in because of both. Transferring is not the same as being recruited.
By the way Mission Viejo a public high school has certain "programs" at school that allow out of area players to attend. How do you think Keyshawn Johnson's kid wound up there a few years back?
Anyway CIF could do something about transferring. I am not sure if that would help that much because then maybe kids go to big schools as freshmen....
MD is not perfect by any means but our experience with our kid was fantastic.
You're making a lot of assumptions about what I know. I've lived in OC for 45+ years, had many contemporaries who attended MD, and know MANY families who currently or recently sent their children there, include multi-generational families. This includes some of our closest family friends and some very prominent MD families.
I'm not referring to that group who enroll their children at MD as freshman. I'm referring to the noticeable uptick in transfer students - particularly juniors and seniors - who are already established "stars" at their high schools. High schools that are in Riverside/San Bernardino and LA - a huge distance from MD. MD football was in the crapper a few years back and then the transfer policy (and more active recruiting) changed markedly.
Some of this is a snowball effect. If you have JT Daniels as your qb, other kids will follow. But at least Daniels enrolled as a "freshman" - more discussion on that below.
Mission Viejo also recruits from what I understand. My guess is MV is the best football option for students who can't afford MD. And guess what? They are pretty much the only public school that can compete in football with MD and other privates. What does that tell you?
You're letting your affinity for MD blind you to some pretty obvious facts.
PS - another seldom discussed facts is that MD's academics offer lots of options. There are multiple tracks, some of which are pretty high caliber and others of which are, shall we say, friendly to athletes. In any event, the academic level (i.e., competition among top students, AP classes, test scores, etc.) at MD, even at the high level, is below many of the better public schools in OC (for example any Irvine School District High School).
PPS - Can we please stop those claiming that JT Daniels graduated MD early? Daniels took a redshirt 8th grade - SOLELY for football reasons, which speaks volumes about priorities (god forbid he not play varsity as a freshman). He played 3 full years of HS football, mostly as the starter - more experience than the vast majority of high school quarterbacks. He graduated MD on time and is now the year/age/class he should be.