A Tough Decision!

RSR

5-Year Member
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My son is a recruited athlete with an appointment in hand. He went into this year as one of the top ranked wrestlers in our state and is the team captain again this year. About 4 weeks ago he suffered a mild concussion, the school doctor and trainers have kept him out of competition ever since we thought that his season was over. He is now feeling better and the doctor told us it is possible that he could clear him to compete in the sectional tournament so he can qualify for the state championships. The problem is he would have to go into that tournament without any meaningful workouts or practices. We are thinking that the best decision is not let him compete, that going up against some of the toughest kids in the state without any competition for so long is a recipe for disaster. Our reasoning is he has worked hard for the last 6 years to get into West Point, he achieved his goal so he has nothing to gain by trying to come back and risk an injury that could prevent him from attending. He kind of feels that he is letting his teammates down, and wants to see if he can win a state championship. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.
 
This certainly is tough. I know from being a wrestler that those who compete at the state level are training every day of the week up until the tournament. As a senior, this would also be your son's last high school wrestling experience. In the end, what it comes down to in my opinion is if the risk is worth the potential reward. One of our coaches won the all-state title with a blown out knee back in the day. But after 6 years of working hard and finally achieving his dream, he has to ask himself once again, is the risk is worth the reward?
 
My son is a recruited athlete with an appointment in hand. He went into this year as one of the top ranked wrestlers in our state and is the team captain again this year. About 4 weeks ago he suffered a mild concussion, the school doctor and trainers have kept him out of competition ever since we thought that his season was over. He is now feeling better and the doctor told us it is possible that he could clear him to compete in the sectional tournament so he can qualify for the state championships. The problem is he would have to go into that tournament without any meaningful workouts or practices. We are thinking that the best decision is not let him compete, that going up against some of the toughest kids in the state without any competition for so long is a recipe for disaster. Our reasoning is he has worked hard for the last 6 years to get into West Point, he achieved his goal so he has nothing to gain by trying to come back and risk an injury that could prevent him from attending. He kind of feels that he is letting his teammates down, and wants to see if he can win a state championship. Any thoughts or comments would be greatly appreciated.

That is certainly a tough decision.

I do have to ask one thing, has your son informed Dodmerb of the concussion. If he has not make sure he does so soon, I gather from your post that this happened a while ago.

Again I have no idea if you have or haven't informed Dodmerb so I ma making no judgements whatsoever. This is more of an informative statement to others that may find themselves in a similars situation.

Dodmerb requires they be notified of any change in the medical status of an applicant. Not informing them could result in major difficulties down the road when the SA reviews the medical records and finds out something was not reported. Cadets have been removed from the program for this in the past.

Again, I'm sure your son has done everything right and this was not in reference to him.

Best of luck to your son.
 
Not informing them could result in major difficulties down the road when the SA reviews the medical records and finds out something was not reported.
when or why would the SA review medical records from private physicians for an Appointed cadet?
 
As previously posted, If attending a SA is your sons dream, why take the chance? There has to be something to the phrase "wrap them up in bubble wrap"! I have heard stories of appointments being rescinded because of situation that may inhibit that candidate from participating in BEAST! By the sounds of it, your son is very gifted as a wrestler - he will probably have the opportunity to show his qualities at WP! Just my opinion - I know how hard it is telling a 17-18 year athlete who has trained hard to get where he is to tone it down and look at the bigger picture! Good Luck
 
A tough call-
Here is my opinion. It is his decision and not yours. He is going to West Point to become a man and a leader. He must weigh the risks and make his own decision.
There is a real possibility that he will always look back and regret not giving the State finals a try. In the military you "suck it up" and do your best. If the Doctors clear him, I see no reason why he should not compete. If he gets beat due to a lack of conditioning at least he tried.
 
when or why would the SA review medical records from private physicians for an Appointed cadet?

Every cadet will go through a medical review prior to commissioning. If the cadet is even interested in Aviation they will take a flight physical for which they will review medical records. In ROTC over 1000 cadets took the Flight Physical at LDAC, I would imagine a large percentage of SA cadets take the Physical as well. Medical records can be reviewed as part of the security clearence. If a cadet is injured during training or any activity there entire medical record is available to the military. Medical records can be reviewed prior to attending summer training such as Airborne, and others.

A cadet was removed and sent packing because after he was Dodmerb qualified he cracked a bone in his leg, the doctors placed a small pin in the bone. This person never informed Dodmerb because he was back to normal after a few weeks and was 100% proir to reporting to school. During his second year he was injured, they wanted to do a MRI, he kept putting it off because he knew the Pin would show up, and you don't want to do a MRI with a Pin in your leg. He finally had to admit what had happened and it did not go well for him.

My son sprained his ankle his sophomre year during PT, he was required to inform dodmerb. Prior to going to Airborne his medical records were reviewed as part of the process, had he not informed them of his ankle they would have seen it in his medical records and it would have become an issue, since he had reported it it was not a concern.

The military has full access to the cadets medical file whether it is from a private physician or not. This is why Dodmerb is strict on this issue, the cadet or applicant Must inform Dodmerb of any change in their medical status, if they don't, at some time it will be discovered.

You are correct though, they will probably not review his medical records prior to arriving at the SA, it is what happens after he is there that would be the concern.
 
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My DS, same situation as far as his wrestling credentials go..

He has opted out of indiduals. Will finish the Team Duals so that the team does not suffer.
He tells me "I would rather look back 10 years from now and wish I would of wrestled.. than look back ten years from now and wish I wouldn't of wrestled"Rewards are definetly not worth the risk..
Coach completely understood.. and appreciated his honesty and fact that he took his team under concideration.

Good luck on your decition.
From Calif.
 
A tough call-
Here is my opinion. It is his decision and not yours. He is going to West Point to become a man and a leader. He must weigh the risks and make his own decision.
There is a real possibility that he will always look back and regret not giving the State finals a try. In the military you "suck it up" and do your best. If the Doctors clear him, I see no reason why he should not compete. If he gets beat due to a lack of conditioning at least he tried.

I agree with BigNick that it is his decision. I would certainly sit down with him and make sure he understands all the pros and cons but let him decide. I think everyone loses doing it any other way. I also agree with jcleppe that you need to report this. Is make it part of the same discussion with DS to perhaps drive home the risks. Good luck. It is a tough one.
 
My husband and I chuckled a bit as we read this because our DS is in a similar boat. 4 year wrestler, ranked 4 th in State, has worked for 6 years to get on the podium. Last week we thought he broke his collarbone in a match. After x- rays it was determined to just be a bone contusion (no break). He was cleared to wrestle, but the fear of how close he almost lost WP had got him. He has opted out of individuals. He was disappointed but his words, "I am no longer mentally competitive. If I want to win on the mat, I have to be willing to blow out my knee, shoulder, or break something. If I go out now I will be more worried about injury than winning. That makes me beatable and would assure a worse injury.". Wise kid. Definately is similar to the previous post suggestions. I does need to be his decision though. All you can do is help him to see the big picture. After all his competitive, leadership qualities is what lead him to WP in the first place.
 
RSR - I don't see in your post any mention of having contacted the WP recruiting coach to discuss. As the mother of a recruited athlete, I can say that one of our first calls would have been to his WP coach to inform and ask for guidance.
 
RSR - I don't see in your post any mention of having contacted the WP recruiting coach to discuss. As the mother of a recruited athlete, I can say that one of our first calls would have been to his WP coach to inform and ask for guidance.

Great point!
 
He has indeed informed the coaches, according to him they were understanding and their reply was "to bad about this year but we are looking forward to seeing you soon".
 
He has indeed informed the coaches, according to him they were understanding and their reply was "to bad about this year but we are looking forward to seeing you soon".

That's great news, I assume Dodmerb was OK with everything as well.

Good luck to your son in the coming years.
 
Haven't heard from Dodmerb yet but from what the letter from his doctor says (basically he is positively physically fit an can resume any workout he wants to as of next week), we don't believe that that should be a problem. The good thing is that this particular doctor said he has done this before for a few other SA candidates in the past.
 
Haven't heard from Dodmerb yet but from what the letter from his doctor says (basically he is positively physically fit an can resume any workout he wants to as of next week), we don't believe that that should be a problem. The good thing is that this particular doctor said he has done this before for a few other SA candidates in the past.

My son had a similar issue, he had an Avulsion Fracture of the hip, got it during a sprint for track practice of all things. This is actually what brought me to this forum, looking for advice.

We were told by someone who had gone through it to get a letter from his doctor saying simply, "Son is cleared for all unrestricted athletic activity and is cleared for all strenuous Military Training" We had that letter along with all the records pertaining to the injury, PT, and subsquent healing. That information seemed to be what they were looking for and he sailed through without a problem. The advice we received from those on this board was great, it allowed us to have everything ready before they asked for it.

Good luck to your son and congratulations on his appointment.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience Jcleppe , it definitely made us feel better. You are correct when saying that we all receive some great advice from this forum during these anxious times.
 
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