welll.. soccer at Sidwell has it’s perks..
“Perks” have nothing to do with it. DC has a serious shortage of fields and gym space for non-school rec and travel play, for adults as well as kids. While this is certainly not unique to DC, in most jurisdictions around here, the school authorities work cooperatively with the community. Here, not so much. It does get frustrating to a team that is trying to be competitive to have been limited to a half a dozen outdoor practices, when weather permits, all winter long, and to then go play suburban teams that have practiced two or three times a week all winter in facilities that are available because their schools actually try to cooperate and are open to the community.
The private schools, not just Sidwell, routinely rent out their space to travel clubs (and I suppose to rec clubs if they’re willing to pay). My daughter’s team has practiced at several of them. That, and a couple of regular season games, is the only reason I’ve been on the Sidwell campus.
The issue here is security. I’m just reacting to some people who seem to think Sidwell (or other private schools, for that matter) has an unusual level of security. They don’t. They may typically have a security company rent-a-cop at the gate, and maybe someone patrolling, but I would guess that there is a much heavier police presence at the typical DC public school — though there, the focus is on inmates, not intruders.