{"id":528901,"date":"2025-11-24T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-24T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/?p=528901"},"modified":"2025-11-21T16:59:41","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T21:59:41","slug":"competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At many private high schools in Northern Virginia, comprehensive athletics programs work in tandem with academics to support successful student athletes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Culture of Athletics<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In Chantilly, St. Paul VI Catholic High School (PVI)<\/a> was recognized by data analytics firm Niche<\/a> as the third best high school in Virginia for athletics. PVI\u2019s athletic director and head baseball coach, Billy Emerson, says that athletics are a major part of the school\u2019s culture and are wrapped into the everyday experience for its students. Emerson says about 60 percent of PVI students play at least one sport per year \u2014 and about 40 percent play two.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAthletics are a major part of our school community here, and they always have been. And the biggest reason is because our athletic program operates as an extension of the mission of our school and the mission of our church,\u201d he says. \u201cParticipation in extracurricular activities like athletics helps develop a lot of the skills for kids to be successful academically and to be successful otherwise \u2014 learning things like teamwork and time management \u2014 and being a part of something that\u2019s just bigger than yourself.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"St.
Courtesy St. Paul VI Catholic High School<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Staff at Episcopal High School<\/a>, a boarding school in Alexandria, mirror that sentiment. There, every student participates in athletics of some kind \u2014 some competitive, some noncompetitive \u2014 during a designated two-hour block for activities daily. Athletics director Jen Fitzpatrick says 60 to 71 percent of students take part in interscholastic sports each season.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school takes an approach to athletics that Fitzpatrick calls \u201cco-curricular\u201d rather than \u201cextracurricular,\u201d meaning it\u2019s more ingrained into the school experience than one might experience in a public school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all student athletes. It\u2019s part of who we are and what we do and how we see education,\u201d Fitzpatrick says. By having that block period, physical fitness, teamwork, and school spirit are all consistently built into the school culture. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Special Opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Some NoVA private schools also offer niche athletic opportunities such as crew, rock climbing, cricket, and horseback riding. The Madeira School<\/a> in McLean, for example, has a renowned equestrian program where girls can learn to ride, take care of horses, take part in national competitions, and join a varsity equestrian team.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have students that will come to us of all different levels, all different backgrounds,\u201d says Ian McCartney, director of equestrian programs. \u201cWe have beginner riders all the way to national champions, and then we also are very intentional in building a supportive team culture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students in the program spend at least two days a week with the horses, and some choose to spend far more than that. McCartney says it helps students de-stress and teaches them compassion and responsibility. And some even further incorporate that passion into their studies by taking internships related to equestrian care. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Madeira
Courtesy The Madeira School<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Support and Resources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Along with the commitment of time and attention these schools offer student athletes, they also have facilities and resources to help them succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, the equestrian program at Madeira comes with a 30-stall courtyard stable, two outdoor and one indoor riding ring, and an equine treadmill. And it\u2019s in the process of a $10 million large-scale renovation of its equestrian facilities that\u2019s expected to be complete in summer 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PVI moved to a new campus six years ago, and the facilities they now have \u2014 like two turf fields, a lit stadium field, an eight-lane track, and an indoor gym and weight room \u2014 \u201crival a lot of college facilities,\u201d Emerson says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, he says, the facilities aren\u2019t what drives a great program. \u201cIt comes down to the people. It\u2019s the people in the school. It\u2019s the leadership of the school. It\u2019s the leadership in our athletic program, of all of our coaches, and how we do things that create that success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Episcopal, the support team for student athletes includes coaches, plus \u201cathletics trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, and athletic administrators who work collaboratively with classroom teachers,\u201d says Fitzpatrick. The school recently added a position to its college counseling team specifically focused on helping athletes navigate the college recruiting process. About 20 percent of the senior class will go on to play collegiate sports, she says.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Episcopal
Courtesy Episcopal High School<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Attracting Top Talent<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

High-performing teams, top-of-the-line facilities, and the availability of niche sports can all contribute to a student\u2019s decision to attend a specific private school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, because private school populations aren\u2019t divided into geographical school districts the way public schools are, there\u2019s more room for schools to recruit some of the best athletes in the area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Virginia, all public high school sports are managed by the Virginia High School League, which prohibits athletic recruiting<\/a>. In contrast, there are many different organizations and leagues that oversee private schools. Most private schools in the state belong to the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association (VISAA), then there are leagues like the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and Interstate Athletic Conference, which can include schools in Maryland or DC as well as Virginia.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rules on the practice of recruiting vary by league. For example, VISAA schools can\u2019t reach out to a student first for recruiting purposes. But the practice of recruiting itself is not prohibited, so the ability to draw students from a larger geographical area means potential for better players and, in turn, more competitive opponents within the league. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, despite a common misconception, recruiting does not equal scholarships for athletics. \u201cThere is this perception of athletic scholarships just kind of being thrown around, and that\u2019s actually not how most schools operate,\u201d Fitzpatrick says. In many cases, if a private high school offers scholarships, they will be based on holistic academic merit or financial need, not on athletics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the goal of these schools is to give students the skills they need to succeed, on and off the field. Athletics are just one piece of the puzzle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re striving to win and striving for our kids to do well and our teams to do well, but the point of this place is to provide a great Catholic education that\u2019s going to prepare kids for the next steps in their lives,\u201d Emerson says of PVI. \u201cThat\u2019s the driving focus of our school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Episcopal
Courtesy Episcopal High School<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Historic Rivalry<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Episcopal High School and Woodberry Forest School are part of one of the longest-standing high school football rivalries in the country, dating back to 1901. The annual football game happens each fall, and students, alumni, and families show up in droves. \u201cThe energy around that spirit week and spirit weekend, when our football team plays Woodberry, is kind of elevated to a different level,\u201d says Jen Fitzpatrick, athletics director at Episcopal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feature image courtesy St. Paul VI Catholic High School<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story originally ran in our\u00a0November issue<\/a>. For more stories like this,\u00a0subscribe<\/a>\u00a0to Northern Virginia Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"See how three area schools encourage athletic excellence. ","protected":false},"author":1001963,"featured_media":528902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41333],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-528901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCompetitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"At many private high schools in Northern Virginia, sports programs work in tandem with academics to support successful student athletes.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"At many private high schools in Northern Virginia, sports programs work in tandem with academics to support successful student athletes.\u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Northern Virginia Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernVirginiaMag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-24T13:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Maggie Roth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@NorthernVaMag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NorthernVaMag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maggie Roth\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Maggie Roth\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/80e831ab732b4dfdb22d98765085b866\"},\"headline\":\"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-24T13:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/\"},\"wordCount\":1171,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Education\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/\",\"name\":\"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-24T13:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"At many private high schools in Northern Virginia, sports programs work in tandem with academics to support successful student athletes.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Courtesy St. Paul VI Catholic High School\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Northern Virginia Magazine\",\"description\":\"Discover Northern Virginia's best places to dine, shop, travel and entertain. Get the latest on restaurants and fun things to do.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Northern Virginia Magazine\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NVMlogo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NVMlogo.jpg\",\"width\":1199,\"height\":385,\"caption\":\"Northern Virginia Magazine\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernVirginiaMag\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/NorthernVaMag\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/northernvirginiamag\/\"],\"description\":\"Discover Northern Virginia's best places to dine, shop, travel and entertain. Get the latest on restaurants and fun things to do.\",\"foundingDate\":\"2006-01-01\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/80e831ab732b4dfdb22d98765085b866\",\"name\":\"Maggie Roth\",\"description\":\"Maggie Roth is the associate editor for Northern Virginia Magazine, where she covers news and culture in the NoVA area. Originally from New Jersey, she is a graduate of George Mason University and joined the magazine in 2021 as an editorial intern.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/maggie-roth-b890381b8\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/author\/mroth\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture","description":"At many private high schools in Northern Virginia, sports programs work in tandem with academics to support successful student athletes.\u00a0","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture","og_description":"At many private high schools in Northern Virginia, sports programs work in tandem with academics to support successful student athletes.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/","og_site_name":"Northern Virginia Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernVirginiaMag\/","article_published_time":"2025-11-24T13:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"author":"Maggie Roth","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@NorthernVaMag","twitter_site":"@NorthernVaMag","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maggie Roth","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/"},"author":{"name":"Maggie Roth","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/80e831ab732b4dfdb22d98765085b866"},"headline":"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture","datePublished":"2025-11-24T13:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/"},"wordCount":1171,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp","articleSection":["Education"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2025","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/","name":"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp","datePublished":"2025-11-24T13:00:00+00:00","description":"At many private high schools in Northern Virginia, sports programs work in tandem with academics to support successful student athletes.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/PVI-Ice-Hockey.webp","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Courtesy St. Paul VI Catholic High School"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/family\/education\/2025\/11\/24\/competitive-sports-programs-are-a-core-part-of-novas-private-school-culture\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Competitive Sports Programs Are a Core Part of NoVA\u2019s Private School Culture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/","name":"Northern Virginia Magazine","description":"Discover Northern Virginia's best places to dine, shop, travel and entertain. Get the latest on restaurants and fun things to do.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#organization","name":"Northern Virginia Magazine","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NVMlogo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/NVMlogo.jpg","width":1199,"height":385,"caption":"Northern Virginia Magazine"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NorthernVirginiaMag\/","https:\/\/x.com\/NorthernVaMag","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/northernvirginiamag\/"],"description":"Discover Northern Virginia's best places to dine, shop, travel and entertain. Get the latest on restaurants and fun things to do.","foundingDate":"2006-01-01"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/#\/schema\/person\/80e831ab732b4dfdb22d98765085b866","name":"Maggie Roth","description":"Maggie Roth is the associate editor for Northern Virginia Magazine, where she covers news and culture in the NoVA area. Originally from New Jersey, she is a graduate of George Mason University and joined the magazine in 2021 as an editorial intern.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/maggie-roth-b890381b8\/"],"url":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/author\/mroth\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=528901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/northernvirginiamag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}