MI Catholic XC

Official Twitter account for the MI Catholic XC Invitational.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

Congrats to our 2024 Michigan Catholic Bishop’s Cup winners.
Lumen Christi and Lansing Catholic

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

21st Annual Michigan Catholic XC Invite -August 29th

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

Because they win everything every year.
And if you meant DCC why did you generalize it to every Catholic school?
We get it your side doesn’t like us but don’t make stuff up?

[mike reade @TheEagle3030]

@miCatholicXC Novi Catholic Central is absolutely a sports factory.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

Sports factory???
Such a misguided view of Catholic and other faith based schools.

[mike reade @TheEagle3030]

@FromTheSeidline It’s going to enable the shadowy boosters of the Catholic sports factories to operate out in the open.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

The 21st Michigan Catholic is set for August 29 - biggest and best Catholic school meet in the state. The last 4 D3 girls state champs will be there.
@TCSFAthletics @LumenChristiJxn @lansingcatholic
Now we we need @PowersCatholicH

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

If you want to understand motivation talk to a high school cross-country coach

They have to figure out how to get teens to commit to running 5-10 miles per day for months.

Punishment, extreme demandingness, etc. don't work

You've got to hook kids on the sport, progress, & team

[MHSAA @MHSAA]

The hearts of the MHSAA and countless others in the school sports community are heavy after the unexpected death Monday of Catholic High School League director Vic Michaels, also a longtime and devoted member of the Rep Council.
In Memoriam: Vic Michaels >>https://t.co/q7PXUzHQhp

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

Blocked us but still watching. Afraid of competition at all levels of life. I challenge @FromTheSeidline to unblock us and face the discussion like a man.

Pretty sure I know what you��ll do.

[John Goetz @GoetzItSold]

More proof public schools are afraid of actual competition

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

It’s hard to have ab intelligent conversation about it when you block everyone that ever challenged you.
@howie3232 @LakerBallCoach @TrustTrost @TimBolek @FromTheSeidline

[Ryan Grim @ryangrim]

A downstream effect of college being so unaffordable is that private equity has bought up youth sports and turned it into a college scholarship hunger games that is ruining communities and putting parents in debt

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

@LakerBallCoach @howie3232 I agree any formula can’t be perfect.
I’m in favor of 2 priv divisions and 3 public divisions (for all sports but football / (then I’ll say 2 and 6) with private schools having option of playing in Public D1 (which we could call Open) if they don’t want to play in the priv Div.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

@LakerBallCoach @howie3232 I appreciate your willingness to discuss in civil manner and not just block people who disagree like some have done.

Check out all the discussion going on in Illinois right now. They expanded their football playoffs and it leads to lots of interesting opinions.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

@LakerBallCoach @howie3232 Statistical evidence is not proof of cause it is a result.
I do believe it’s a factor but I also believe the argument that private schools try harder (not just sports) because they have to stay in business is also a factor. Both of these variables lead to the statistical edge.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

@LakerBallCoach @RunCoach341 Ok asking because there were complaints after basketball tournament and even confusion of lumping charters in with privates.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

It’s always possible to focus on these kids and engage them and get them or some of them to participate. Don’t leave a kid behind and don’t blame them. I’m sure there are many hidden gems in the bunch.

[Dave LeVasseur @LakerBallCoach]

@howie3232 @GoetzItSold @FromTheSeidline Imagine having a significant number of kids who have parents that have not interest in paying tuition. In fact, there are a large number of them who couldn't care less about their child's education. Private schools don't have those kids. WE don't have a choice.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

@LakerBallCoach @howie3232 Correlation does not prove it’s the cause or the sole reason.
There can also be a correlation between schools that have school prayer and success is sports.
Does that prove it’s the cause ?

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

@LakerBallCoach
@howie3232 @FromTheSeidline

#morethanjustgames

[Trost @TrustTrost]

Each and every day on social media, private schools are marketing to kids and families.

Public schools don’t think they need to do this, and then they whine that private schools are recruiting.

You can’t have it both ways.

Private schools are outworking public schools - overall - off the courts and fields nonstop.

We’re a quarter of the way through the ever-changing 21st century, and private schools are already in second gear while public schools are stuck in neutral.

#MoreThanJUSTGames #IHSA

[Trost @TrustTrost]

Each and every day on social media, private schools are marketing to kids and families.

Public schools don’t think they need to do this, and then they whine that private schools are recruiting.

You can’t have it both ways.

Private schools are outworking public schools - overall - off the courts and fields nonstop.

We’re a quarter of the way through the ever-changing 21st century, and private schools are already in second gear while public schools are stuck in neutral.

#MoreThanJUSTGames #IHSA

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

So many great points - substitute Michigan for Illinois and Det for Chi
And it all applies to Michigan.

[Trost @TrustTrost]

It’s a debate amongst whinny adults that rages here and there every school year.

The private vs. public school debate.

There’s nothing that disgusts me more than watching adults crap on the success of kids each school year.

And that’s what happens when adults - not kids - join the annual whine fest…especially toward the end and after the high school football season in Illinois.

Before we have an honest and real private vs. public school conversation, a few thoughts to get you thinking:

First: Why doesn’t anyone whine about Chicago Public Schools (CPS)? You do realize the 100,000 high school students within the district can attend any CPS school if they qualify within the city limits?

No one whines, because CPS doesn’t win a lot of state titles - especially in football - due to poor feeder programs and resources. While CPS is better in 2025 vs. 2005 from an overall athletic standpoint, it’s still highly disorganized and underfunded when it comes to athletics.

If CPS wins, people will be whining about it, too. The same could be said if Morton (Cicero) won more in anything, as it used to be two separate athletic programs and now has 8,000 students to form teams with.

Second: Mount Carmel has been winning football championships for decades. Does it win every year? Its first IHSA title came in 1980, the next came in 1988 to start a historic run. It dominated from there until 2002. Then it went a stretch of nearly 10 years without winning and up until this recent run, Mount Carmel wasn’t anywhere near what it was in the 1990s.

High school sports go in cycles - at times - with private and public schools.

Brother Rice won its first IHSA football title in 44 years this fall. Fenwick won its second IHSA football title in the school’s nearly 100-year history this fall, as it upset an 11-time public school champ. St. Francis won its second IHSA football title in the school’s nearly 75-year history.

By the reaction on social media, you would've thought those three won their 10th or 20th IHSA title.

Third: I love when public school whiners say, “They recruit and are on scholarship at private schools.” Are you kidding me? Public schools recruit all the time: Camps, eighth-grade open houses, etc. That is recruiting, and those are just some examples. You do realize every single student at a public school is on scholarship. Not some, but every single student – literally. And guess what? You have parents - who are sending their kids to private schools - funding public schools. You have families - who don’t even have kids at any school - funding public schools.

Fourth: There are 44 IHSA state series when you include activities and unified sports. Are private schools really dominating all? No, they’re not.

You know what private schools are doing?

They’re outworking public schools. They’re more strategic than public schools. They brand and communicate better than public schools. They foster better relationships with families than public schools do. They fundraise better than public schools. They are equal or beat public schools from pride and alumni engagement. They fight less internally and externally than public schools.

You know why? There is a sense of urgency every.single.year. There is a vision.

And guess what else?

Private school assistant coaches are paid less. Their head coaches don’t get a percentage of their salaries added to their pensions. They have to fundraise and get kids and families to come to their schools.

Want me to keep going?

This private vs. public school debate isn’t a private school issue – it’s a massive public-school issue.

For the record: I went to public school my entire life. I currently have multiple family members, who are either working at or attending both private and public high schools. I have been in and around schools for decades – across Illinois and the U.S. I talk to current and past leaders from private and public schools every day.

Think about this: You know what public schools aren’t losing kids to private schools? Look around and see where your successful public schools are and the successful athletic programs that build a relationship with their local youth programs.

Riddle me this: How many football players living in Frankfort are heading over to Providence, Brother Rice, Marist, St. Laurence, Marian Catholic or Joliet Catholic unless they come from a private-education family

Seriously, tell me.

But Joe, Lincoln-Way East hasn’t been able to beat the private schools either in the IHSA football playoffs. But Joe, what about the areas like Central and Southern Illinois, where there is strong community pride for their local public high school?

I ask you this: Is that a private school problem or is that because public schools in certain areas struggle from an education standpoint, facilities standpoint, poor local youth programs, slow growth and also realizing that families today have the economic means in some cases with two parents working to send their child to a private school where maybe 10, 20 or 30 years ago they didn’t?

While I agree we should always be talking and looking at how things have changed to make enhancements for balance and kids overall, we also have to look internally and say: What can we do as a public school to step up our game for kids, families and our community?

Schools are the most important business in each community, and kids provide the energy. Schools are businesses – public and private. They’re multi-million-dollar businesses in many cases being run by people with no business, financial or strategic background.

Think about that. We're a quarter of the way through the fast-changing 21st century and private schools are already in second gear, while public schools are stuck in neutral.

DYK: You have the head of the Chicago Teachers Union sending her son to a private school, because her local public school doesn’t have an athletic program he wants to play.

Look at Evergreen Park High School, which most families never even thought about attending if they could afford Brother Rice, Marist, Mother McAuley, St. Rita and the other private schools in the region.

Evergreen Park HAD to update its facilities. It had to bring in coaches to build relationships with the community. Slowly, it’s turning the corner little by little. It takes time when you were semi nonexistent in the minds of many families for decades.

Think about this: Public schools get money, public schools get kids, public schools can go out for referendum for more money, they can offer pensions and they have budgets for transportation and athletics.

For decades, most private schools didn’t provide transportation, so families had to figure out a way to get their child to and from school.

I mean, what more do public schools want? Now you want to create a separate end-of-the-season tournament, because you can’t win all the time?

You have an IHSA multiplier already, which in typical IHSA lazy fashion is just blanketed across all sports, so most private schools programs are truly hammered.

If we really wanted to be fair and help all kids, families and communities, how about a socioeconomic multiplier?

Sadly, many adults are motivated because of money. Tell me, what is the financial motivation for a public school to work harder? If you don’t have pride, there is none.

Now, please don’t get defensive. I’m not saying everyone.

What I am saying is that there has been and is a massive public-school issue. I want you to sit back, look around at the regions throughout the state and think about what I’m saying.

THINK. Don't just blurt on emotion. THINK. This is not a personal attack on anyone.

Look at St. Laurence. It kicked everyone’s butt for years on social media to attract and rebuild its brand.

Tell me what public school has come within a football field of what St. Laurence did for years on social media to give itself a second life when most thought the school wouldn't be around in 2030?

Private schools hire athletic and business professionals. Look at what the Catholic League has done alone with head football coaches. Look at the communications and marketing professionals working at private schools.

Public schools are stuck by union contracts at times.

Public schools for years - and many still - don't want the parents involved, where private schools do because they know who is writing the checks to keep the doors open.

Public schools build isolation at times. Private schools build lifelong alumni networks.

Let’s be honest, let’s be real: Private schools fight for their existence, and you and I both know that you either die or you grow.

In the cases of many public schools, many have become lazy, they're slow to move, they're not strategic, they blame others and they think they know everything.

Don't let the truth get in the way of the facts.

#MoreThanJUSTGames

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

@TimmisChris @FredrickShepar7 @DreadStrong State Runners-up shirts are also an option.

[MI Catholic XC @miCatholicXC]

@steven_montoya Had a special assembly to recognize them on Monday.