Woodstock is Max Beard’s home, the only home he’s known. It’s where he’s grown up, where his dad grew up, living in the same house that his dad (Max’s grandfather) was raised in.

Woodstock is where Beard’s parents starred as high school athletes. It’s the city where he’s become a local basketball star, where this winter he led Woodstock to its first conference championship in 42 years.

Next season, Woodstock, with Beard onboard, likely was going to be the favorite to repeat as Kishwaukee River Conference champs. Beard was going to threaten to break the school’s all-time scoring record and become the first 2,000-point scorer in program history.

No longer.

Beard announced this week that he’s transferring to Darrow School, a college-preparatory school located in New Lebanon, New York, for his senior year.

Darrow is where Max hopes to max out his potential.

“I just feel it’s an opportunity I can’t pass up,” Beard said. “They compete in the NEPSAC (New England Preparatory School Athletic Council) Triple-A, which is the best prep school conference competition in New England.”

The jump in competition was a major factor in Beard’s decision to leave a program that has won 62 games the past three seasons with him on the roster. Woodstock’s 22 wins this winter were its most since it won 23 games in the 1983-84 campaign, which also was the last time the Blue Streaks won a conference title before this season.

Beard, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound guard, averaged 16 points and six rebounds a game for Woodstock and was named co-Player of the Year in the KRC along with Johnsburg senior guard Jayce Schmitt.

”I think there’s a lot more competition out there [in New York],“ Beard said. ”Not saying anything negative toward Woodstock. It’s my hometown. I have so much love for Woodstock, Coach [Ryan] Starnes, the entire staff and all of my teammates. This was really hard.”

Beard is the son of Steve Beard, who quarterbacked Woodstock to two Class 4A state quarterfinal berths and later served as head football coach for his alma mater, and Lisa Strout, who was a three-sport star and ace softball pitcher for Woodstock.

His family’s storied history with Woodstock made Beard’s decision particularly difficult.

“It was pretty rough telling my grandma and grandpa Beard about this decision,” Beard said.

Beard first became aware of Darrow School last summer when he attended a Harvard University basketball camp with McHenry basketball star Adam Anwar. There, Beard met Darrow girls basketball coach Abby Streeter, a former Division-I player, who got him in contact with Darrow boys coach Antonio Anderson.

Anderson, who was a member of Memphis’ 2008 NCAA Elite Eight team with former Bulls star Derrick Rose, reached out to Beard in October. Beard visited Darrow and Cornell University on back-to-back days that month.

“After the visit, I was still iffy,” Beard said of whether he wanted to transfer to Darrow. “I was definitely leaning toward ‘no’ until more toward the end of the [high school] season. Not as a reflection of Woodstock basketball or how we were playing. We were winning at the end of the season.”

Beard said he officially made his decision Feb. 12. He kept the news private, waiting until after the season ended, before first telling his senior teammates.

“[The seniors] all came at me with love and support,” Beard said. “They told me that the rest of the team and coaches would be happy for me and supportive, as long as I tried to remain as respectful as possible.”

Beard leaves Woodstock having scored 1,414 points, third most in program history behind Dan Hill (1,791) and Jordan Turner (1,447). Beard also sits second all-time in 3-pointers with 176 (Evan Bridges, 255). He is third in program history in rebounding with 507, behind Spencer Cullom (646) and Mason Sutter (564).

“Max is a great player, and we are going to miss him both on and off the court,” Starnes said. “We certainly wish him the best. I am proud of the success and direction this program is headed, and I know the kids in this program are eager to get back after it both in the spring and this summer.”

Beard boasts a 4.3 GPA and wants to major in finance in college. He also wants to play basketball in college, acknowledging that he needs to get physically stronger and improve on all aspects of his game.

“As of right now, the goal is Ivy League,” Beard said. “My No. 1 school right now, communication-wise, is Cornell. But I don’t want to stop there.”

Basketball is Beard’s only sport. He knows the 14-plus-hour drive to eastern New York is a long way from home. But a shooter always shoots his shot.

“Woodstock is my life, my love,” Beard said. “I love Woodstock. This is who I am. It’s really hard to leave, and it stinks, and it’s terrible, but I really can’t pass this up.”