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Perhaps it was fitting that snow was falling on Chris Bleich’s final day at Wyoming Valley West because he’s going to a much warmer place in a few days.
Bleich — a 6-foot-6, 310-pound sophomore lineman — is leaving Valley West to play football at IMG Academy, a prestigious but controversial private school in Bradenton, Florida.
Bleich leaves Friday. His last day at Wyoming Valley West was Tuesday.
“I felt like I’ll be working out against the best players,” Bleich said. “Every player down there is a four-star or five-star recruit. It’s something I couldn’t pass up. I always told my parents I wanted to become the best. To be the best, I think it’s a move I had to make to go down there.”
IMG Academy was founded in 1978 as a private boarding school for high school athletes throughout the world. It established a football team in 2013 and the program immediately became one of the best in the nation.
However, with that notoriety came criticism.
John Wilkenson had some harsh words after his Cocoa High School team lost 49-7 to IMG Academy in September.
“They’re technically a high school team, but they’re really not a high school team,” Wilkinson told newjersey.com. “It is what it is. They’re basically an academy for kids getting ready for college. They’re just a different bird.
“They’ve got 25 guys on (ESPN.com’s recruiting rankings). We’ve got three. They should be able to do what they did.”
FloridaHSFootball.com, a website dedicated to high school football in Florida, was also critical of IMG Academy in a Twitter post after the game with Cocoa.
“Enough of calling IMG Academy a high school team,” FloridaHSFootball tweeted according to newjersey.com. “They are just an All-Star team. Pure embarrassment to high school football.”
IMG Academy’s football program has players from 21 states. Tuition for boarding high school student-athletes for the 2016-17 school year is $72,900. Bleich said he is receiving financial aid from the school, but declined to say how much it will cost him to attend.
“It was probably one of the hardest choices I’ll have to make in my entire life to be honest,” Bleich said. “When I left Hanover (in eighth grade) to go to Valley West, that was a big decision. It took so many long days and weeks and nights.”
Bleich was on the radar of many major college football programs prior to this season and had offers from Rutgers and Syracuse. Other programs such as Maryland, Michigan State, Notre Dame and West Virginia expressed interest as the Spartans’ season progressed.
IMG Academy contacted Bleich via Twitter prior to the start of the 2015 football season. The team finished 9-0 and ranked second in the nation by USA Today. Beside Florida, it also played teams from Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey and Texas. It has been selected to play in the 2016 Honor Bowl showcase in California on Labor Day weekend. It’s ineligible to play for a Florida state high school football title.
While Bleich admitted he’ll miss Valley West, he saw playing at IMG Academy as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“That’s exactly how I view it,” Bleich said. “It’s rare for anybody to get this opportunity. I feel like if I pass it up it will be something I’ll really regret like 20 years down the road.”
Bleich conferred with his family and Valley West football coach Pat Keating before making his decision.
“Chris and I have been in communication about the process and weighed out the pluses and minuses,” Keating said. “Chris feels at this juncture this might be a great opportunity for him. I hope it works out well for him and I wish him the best.”