shooting vs. lacrosse

Man2112

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Hello.

As far as sports goes, what does the Academy look for in sports? are they looking for the teamwork aspect of it? Are they looking for the leadership aspect of it? Physical? Dedication? Or all of the above?

The only reason why i ask this is because last year (my freshman year) i played lacrosse, and the next season is about to start pretty soon. However, i'm not that good in lacrosse, and its not really my favorite thing to do. Recently, though, i've been informed about a couple of shooting organizations around my area that i want to look in to. Shooting has been part of my life since, well, as young as i could hold a gun, and its something that has always been there for me; so it wouldn't be hard for me to transition in to a shooting sport instead.

My question, however, is how would the academy view this? Would they even acknowledge a shooting team as a sport? Any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Joey
 
This advice is more to military schools in general, but it certainly applies with USAFA.

I don't think you should participate in any sport that you don't enjoy; it is supposed to be fun. For what it's worth, while I didn't go to USAFA, I was a member of the pistol team during my senior year at VMI. In our region, we competed against teams from Navy and Coast Guard (club level sport). I'm certain USAFA had a team too, they were just a little far away from us. Rifle is an NCAA sport, and Air Force fields a team for intercollegiate competition. Thus, I would think that if you excelled in a shooting sport (maybe you could try to be a captain?), not only would that make you happier, it would look better to USAFA than you being miserable as a lacrosse player. No matter what, keep fit and go for leadership positions....don't participate in a sport that you hate.
 
Hello.

As far as sports goes, what does the Academy look for in sports? are they looking for the teamwork aspect of it? Are they looking for the leadership aspect of it? Physical? Dedication? Or all of the above?

The only reason why i ask this is because last year (my freshman year) i played lacrosse, and the next season is about to start pretty soon. However, i'm not that good in lacrosse, and its not really my favorite thing to do. Recently, though, i've been informed about a couple of shooting organizations around my area that i want to look in to. Shooting has been part of my life since, well, as young as i could hold a gun, and its something that has always been there for me; so it wouldn't be hard for me to transition in to a shooting sport instead.

My question, however, is how would the academy view this? Would they even acknowledge a shooting team as a sport? Any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Joey

I think it's both teamwork and leadership. Also, I'm 99.99% sure USAFA has a shooting team. Do a sport you enjoy, if you don't, you'll end up like me: Spending your time doing a sport you no longer like because you don't want to quit.... :p
 
Hello.

As far as sports goes, what does the Academy look for in sports? are they looking for the teamwork aspect of it? Are they looking for the leadership aspect of it? Physical? Dedication? Or all of the above?

The only reason why i ask this is because last year (my freshman year) i played lacrosse, and the next season is about to start pretty soon. However, i'm not that good in lacrosse, and its not really my favorite thing to do. Recently, though, i've been informed about a couple of shooting organizations around my area that i want to look in to. Shooting has been part of my life since, well, as young as i could hold a gun, and its something that has always been there for me; so it wouldn't be hard for me to transition in to a shooting sport instead.

My question, however, is how would the academy view this? Would they even acknowledge a shooting team as a sport? Any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Joey

See if you can find a sport that involves shooting at lacrosse players(joking)
if you don,t enjoy the sport, don't do it, find one you do enjoy it will make a world of difference in performance level and those around will see that:thumb:
 
Do the sports you want to do.

Yes, the academy has shooting teams.
The NCAA team does olympic rifle (I think they do pistol as well, but I'm not sure).
The Combat Shooting Team is still working on becoming permanent, but it is geared more toward IDPA/3-gun stuff. It is very much a work in progress, so changes may occur.
 
Do the sports you want to do.

Yes, the academy has shooting teams.
The NCAA team does olympic rifle (I think they do pistol as well, but I'm not sure).
The Combat Shooting Team is still working on becoming permanent, but it is geared more toward IDPA/3-gun stuff. It is very much a work in progress, so changes may occur.

yeah, i know that i have talked to you about the combat shooting team before. that sounds like the better of the two teams; but where would you find teams like that in the civilian world?
 
Short answer: you wouldn't.

Shooting is an individual sport, generally speaking. Unless you practice with other competitors, you won't likely find a team.
 
Short answer: you wouldn't.

Shooting is an individual sport, generally speaking. Unless you practice with other competitors, you won't likely find a team.

well then, how would i be able to consider that a sport on my application? lie how did you do it?
 
Well, I didn't. I only really got into shooting after I got here. I got lucky. I went up to the guy starting the team and asked "How do I join?" He said, "If you want to, you just did." :biggrin:

As for how to make a resume point, go to competitions (winning helps even more, of course). You can list it in the "other" section for ECs. If you like more practical shooting, IPSC and IDPA are good places to start. There are also some other, regional organizations that may be good.
 
Well, I didn't. I only really got into shooting after I got here. I got lucky. I went up to the guy starting the team and asked "How do I join?" He said, "If you want to, you just did." :biggrin:

As for how to make a resume point, go to competitions (winning helps even more, of course). You can list it in the "other" section for ECs. If you like more practical shooting, IPSC and IDPA are good places to start. There are also some other, regional organizations that may be good.

alright. so did you do another sport in high school to count as your sport during the application process?
 
Yeah, I did tennis and a bunch of other ECs.
Sports/athletics were my weakest point.
 
Yeah, I did tennis and a bunch of other ECs.
Sports/athletics were my weakest point.

see there is my problem,i only have time for one sport. its either shooting or lacrosse.
 
I'm pretty sure shooting is a sport, and I think you should go with shooting, since you don't really sound like you like lacrosse.

You're still pretty young, you would have time to try out other sports :D But anyway, do the sport you enjoy, don't try to mold yourself into what you think the academy wants.

Sure, a large number of cadets admitted into the academy played a sport and earned varsity letters during high school, but that doesn't mean having a varsity letter or playing a sport in high school is an absolute requirement, especially since you're going to be involved in a sport outside of your high school, right?
 
I'm pretty sure shooting is a sport, and I think you should go with shooting, since you don't really sound like you like lacrosse.

You're still pretty young, you would have time to try out other sports :D But anyway, do the sport you enjoy, don't try to mold yourself into what you think the academy wants.

Sure, a large number of cadets admitted into the academy played a sport and earned varsity letters during high school, but that doesn't mean having a varsity letter or playing a sport in high school is an absolute requirement, especially since you're going to be involved in a sport outside of your high school, right?

well im in my sophomore year right now. Last year i played lacrosse for a club team (since AZ schools dont have lacrosse teams) and i'm getting a varsity letter for drill team. So shooting would be an "out of school" sport, yes, buti wouldn't be doing any "in school" sports, unless you consider drill team a sport
 
Oh, then I would say do shooting since you really like it! I don't think it would hurt you if you do shooting over lacrosse, if that's what you're worried about.
 
yeah thanks you very much. i also want to see if fleiger 83 has an opinion, and see what the general consensus is
 
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