St Xavier High School

We are from Cleveland and have visited the Xavier campus 6 times for football games. The field is the nicest field I have seen for high school football. I really like the handicap accessibility. The playing surface is also well maintained. I appreciate that Xavier football fans are fanatic about their team, but I have been impressed by the good sportsmanship shown to the visiting team. Keep up your proud tradition.

I myself never attended St. Xavier High School (better known as St. X). However I have been on to their campus a number of times and feel that I can at least share my perspective having some exposure not only to the school, but to some of its alumni. So here we go.
Opened in 1831 by Jesuit priest John Elet (as Athenaeum) St. X struggled for its first thirty years. However things changed shortly after the Civil War, and the school found itself growing and prospering. In 1919 when St. Xavier College (which had opened in 1840 as a part of the Athenaeum) relocated to the present location of what is now Xavier University, St. X saw that change was on the horizon. But it wasn’t until 1934 that the high school and university became exclusively and officially separated from each other. And in 1960 St. X moved to its present location to the Finneytown neighborhood.
St. X (one of a number of all-​male high schools in the Cincinnati area) is known for many things. Strong academics. Commitment to Catholic, Jesuit ideals and doctrine. Bond between students and alumni. Flourishing arts program. And of course top-​notch athletics, led by their fearsome football program. This is where my experience with St. X comes in.
I was an assistant coach for a college club team in the area. We had very limited resources and funding and we were often desperate to find a place to practice, especially as the fall progressed and the sun started going down faster. St. X graciously stepped forward and offered us the use of their many fields to practice on and on a few occasions allowed us the use of their main football field for a few of our games. We were never charged (that I’m aware of) and St. X even offered us the use of some of their staff and students to help out.
I’ve also had the opportunity to work with a number of St. X alumni. While some of them can be a bit arrogant and stuck on themselves, the vast majority are gentlemen of character, honor, and nobility. The one serious mark I have against them is the fact that they recruit for their football team. Yes, I know, I know they will claim that they never recruit (it’s even on their website) and technically speaking their coaches never actually reach out and recruit student-​athletes, but there are ways around this pesky rule and everyone in the tri-​state area knows that St. X has found that loophole and are using it. St. X saying they don’t recruit is like American Idol saying Simon is not the only reason why anyone watches that No-​Talent Show.
Whatever anyone might think of it, the fact is St. X is a great school. If you can spare the change (and it is a whole lot of change) you should seriously consider sending your son.
Mahalo, and enjoy.

The facebook group says it all: «St Xavier — dominating everyone and everything since 1831.» Needless to say, the Bombers take pride in their school. And rightfully so. Winning state championships in sports every year (including the best swimming program in the nation. That’s not a boast; that’s a fact — national championships and gold medalists say so.) Dominating the Cappie awards for HS Theater. Churning out dozens of National Merit Semifinalists. Racking up weeks upon weeks of community service. Turning boys into Men for Others.
The Jesuit tradition focuses not just on academic rigor, but also personal development, and the all male environment of St X really facilitates that maturation. A standard of excellence (the Jesuits call it the Magis) pervades the institution, and you’re expected to work hard to achieve good results. Case in point: a 90 counts as a B. There is no weighting of AP courses for GPA. It’s expected. This pushes you.
The brotherhood that develops among those polo-​wearing, khaki-​clad boys lasts for a lifetime. Just check out a Mt Adams bar. Find the group of young guys talking and laughing together. Ask where they went to school. When they say «St Xavier» instead of «Such-​and-​such university», you’ll begin to understand why not everyone has bad memories of high school. And you’ll start to save up to send your boys there.

Everyone always seems to bitch about high school, but I had a blast. I miss this place. Go Bombers!