Being recruited for sports, how does that work?

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xray328

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As some of you may have seen in a recent post, our 15 yo DS (freshman) would like to attend the academy based solely on his academic achievements. He also plays soccer though so of course if he could also play for the academy all the better. Does anyone know how that works? Is it still like being recruited for a regular college? Or are you accepted to the academy first then recruited from there?

Thanks in advance!
 
If you will send me a PM when you are able, I can share what we have learned. Would be a little long and boring to post as reply I think.
 
I'm getting an error that says "I'm not allowed to start a conversation with you" for some reason.
 
I think you have to post a certain number of times before sending a PM
 
xray328 said:
I'm getting an error that says "I'm not allowed to start a conversation with you" for some reason.
Click to expand...

There is a minimum post limit you have to reach before you can PM someone. RDG may be able to initiate the conversation and you can reply from there but I'm not sure.

In short it's similar to a regular college but you can be recruited all you want you will still have to be accepted and follow the process. I would recommend waiting to hear from CC (ChristCorp) who knows this process the best. I'll sure he'll be by shortly and answer you question in detail.

In the mean time I would do a search of the site for recruited athlete and read the post that CC has done in the threads that the search returns. Good luck.
 
There are many ways to play Division I sports at the academy. First and foremost, you want to be able to get into the academy based on your application, comprised mainly of academics, test scores, and leadership. Sports also helps a lot. Don't rely on athletics to get you into the academy. That is for very few athletes. Usually, the best of the best of the best. Nationally ranked etc. Not saying you can't but your chances increase exponentially if you not only are a good athlete, but also a stellar student and leader and your application is stellar.

As for playing sports, the first thing you want to do is go to the air force academy athletic website. I think it's www.goairforcefalcons.com . There, you will find a link for you to make yourself known to the academy. You'll mention your sport and so on. It's an online profile you submit to the athletic department of your interest and sport. Then they can keep an eye on you and your achievements in sports.

Also; if you are really good at your sport, your coach can email the athletic department at the academy and make contact with them.

Finally, if you get to the academy and sports isn't what got you there, (Meaning you are a recruited athlete), that isn't the end of it. ALL Academy D1 sports has a "Walk-On" period after you finish Basic Training. Even Football. So you can try and "Walk-On". Best of luck. Mike.
 
A further note. There are NCAA rules at play here. According to the rules, a college coach is not allowed to contact a high school player until sometime during his Junior year or the summer before his senior year (Not sure of the exact date, and the rules may differ per sport. Check the NCAA website). Any high school athlete can contact a coach before that time frame, but only for information. So communication between a coach and your son may be limited.

Also, contact other college coaches with his interest. If he has an excellent academic record and is a strong player, the coach may be interested even if he isn't ranked nationally. Some coaches also look at potential. One other little nugget you can research more on the internet, college coaches NEED good academic students due to the NCAA rules. If your son is a strong player and has an excellent academic record, he will get a lot more attention. Also, coaches can assist getting your child into a college even your son can't be award an athletic scholarship. If your child has an excellent academic record, he might find himself with a nice academic scholarship to a college where he has gotten a coaches interest. The benefit of the academic scholarship is if for some reason he can't participate in the sport, he can still keep the scholarship.

Good luck!
 
Academy coaches get a small concession from the NCAA and can call players earlier than coaches from civilian schools - September 1 of junior year vs. July 1 after junior year, if I recall correctly. This is because it's harder to recruit to a military school and players are committing to much more than just four years of sports.

The NCAA eligibility site has good information on the recruiting rules - worth checking out.
 
Should we fill out the recruiting questionnaire now as a freshman or wait a bit? I see some of the questions might be geared to things happening in the future such as state teams, academy play, class rank, act scores etc.
 
Our son is a sophomore soccer player and wants to earn an appointment to the academy as well. He is attending the soccer camp at the academy this summer.
 
While there are definitely NCAA rules that apply for schools/coaches contacting recruits; (And the academy must also follow these rules); there is NOTHING against an athlete contacting the school and the coaches. They just can't have the coach/school initiating contact except for certain times of the year.

Also, as an ALO, we have the legal position to make known to the coaches of potential athletes. (Assuming we believe they are all around qualifying applicants). As a freshman however, we as ALO's are not too involved with that age group. That's why it's important to go to the athletic website and do the online profile. The coach in charge of recruiting your part of the country will be able to put you on his/her radar to watch your progress. E.g. Newspaper articles, internet articles, videos, etc.

But most importantly, as a potential student/athlete, the NCAA doesn't forbid you to make contact to the schools you are interested in. Simply that the schools can't do the initiating except for certain times of the year.
 
Please contact the coach when your child is a junior (use the online form).

Remember: your child may be the best soccer player (or fencer! ) anywhere, but unless he has the grades/scores/leadership/etc. to go with it... well, you get my drift. You may pm me if you'd like to hear the Fencing Odyssey (or the Nordic skiing odyssey, which was concurrent).
 
Face time with the coaches helps a lot also. Get to their camps early if you can. The sooner you get on their radar the better!
 
I actually joined this forum when I saw this because I believe my experience may be of use.

I am a recruited athlete for USAFA and also have a family member and several acquaintances who are in the process of being recruited for soccer at various NCAA schools. The first thing you should know is that being a recruited athlete at a SA is quite different than being recruited at a civilian college. SAs will (for the most part) require high scores and GPAs regardless of how good at a sport you are. My experience with the process showed me there are certain minimums recruited athletes are required to meet before a coach can justify supporting them before an admissions board. This tends to go along with the terms 'blue chip recruit' or 'bluechipping'. A 'blue chip recruit' is an athlete who the coach will support for admittance.

Another thing I've learned from watching my family member deal with soccer recruiting is that the process starts VERY early for soccer players. To the extent that many schools and coaches monitor potential recruits from as early as 8th grade. I would consider having your son send the coach or assistant coach an email introducing himself and then sending progress updates or informing them of tournaments he'll be playing in, although there isn't too much to say until junior year. Ultimately, you want them to know your name, so the sooner the better.

Oh and there are always Walk-Ons.

Take it for what it's worth, I'm just a dumb kid who managed to stumble through the process.
 
Thanks for that freefall. Do you play for USAFA soccer by chance?

There's all kinds of questions I have about the path he should be on regarding odp, school vs club, academy vs. mrl vs school. Does playing academy look better than being a 3 or 4 year varsity player? He played JV as a freshman and should be varsity this fall, he won offensive mvp with 17 goals for the season. He's currently the captain of his club team. If he plays academy next year, he can't play school though. My son emailed the head usafa coach some of these questions but never heard back.

Thanks again.
 
Unfortunately I do not play soccer, however when I was talking to the coach for my sport I did ask about what I should focus on. For college recruiting, exposure is most important. Where is he going to be seen by the most college coaches? Where is competition the best? For my school and sport it was more important that I focus on the club aspect instead of ODP or Varsity as much. Also, club teams generally have better connections to college coaches in my sport, not sure if the same is true for soccer.

About not hearing back: Since it's still pretty early in the game for your son it isn't overly surprising that he hasn't heard back. Don't let that discourage him or you. My mom told me that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. At the same time it's important to not inundate the coach with emails, your son is, after all, a freshman and that puts limits on what the coach can do/talk about. Also, you have to understand he/she is most likely preoccupied with both their current team and their current recruiting class. A potential recruit a few years down the line is probably not at the forefront of his mind. The best move, as I see it, is that your son introduce himself and send periodic updates on his play over the next few years.

Also, when the time comes to talk to his ALO for his application, I'm pretty sure he/she can tag him as a potential recruit for the coach to see.

As a side note, part of college recruiting is talking to multiple schools. Just because a school isn't your number one pick doesn't mean you shouldn't talk to the coach. Coaches talk and perhaps your son's name will come up and trigger further research by the Air Force coach.

Good luck to you and your son. If I survive USAFA and he gets in I may very well be his cadre!

(Please forgive any continuity errors, it's late here and I've been editing lines here and there)
 
For those that attended soccer camp at USAFA, how was the experience? Do you guys think it's better to attend the soccer camp or the summer seminar? DS (sophomore) has been emailing coaches as well. Any info on the recruiting process would greatly be appreciated.
 
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