Recruited athlete waiting..advice?

jamnatmc

5-Year Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
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2
My son is a rising Senior and was recruited this summer to play a sport at the Academy. He was told by the coach that he had to wait until at least November until a slot dedicated for Varsity athletes opened up to receive an appointment. He is being recruited by other Division 1 schools, but wants to go to the USAFA. The problem is that he is being asked to commit to his second choice of schools well before November and he does not want to de-commit on a verbal commitment to another school if a slot opens up at the Academy. Anyone else have a similar experience or any advice?
 
What sport? Also nothing is binding for other Div. 1 schools until National letter of Intent is offered and signed. ( not applicable to USAFA) I think most Div 1 schools/coaches would understand if an athlete chose a service academy.
 
My son is a rising Senior and was recruited this summer to play a sport at the Academy. He was told by the coach that he had to wait until at least November until a slot dedicated for Varsity athletes opened up to receive an appointment. He is being recruited by other Division 1 schools, but wants to go to the USAFA. The problem is that he is being asked to commit to his second choice of schools well before November and he does not want to de-commit on a verbal commitment to another school if a slot opens up at the Academy. Anyone else have a similar experience or any advice?

2 of my former students were recruited to represent USAFA athletically (football (class of 2016) and gymnastics (class of 2018)). They were faced with the same challenge. I believe (I don't recall for sure) that the football player agreed to accept the football scholarship at the DII school while expressing the condition that he would attend Air Force if appointed. The gymnast was selecting between Air Force and Navy (he chose wisely :w00t:) so it was not a problem. I recomend that your son contact the Air Force coach recruiting him regarding how to proceed. The coach should be able to give him helpful insight on how he should proceed.

Best wishes to your son. :thumb:
 
2 of my former students were recruited to represent USAFA athletically (football (class of 2016) and gymnastics (class of 2018)). They were faced with the same challenge. I believe (I don't recall for sure) that the football player agreed to accept the football scholarship at the DII school while expressing the condition that he would attend Air Force if appointed. The gymnast was selecting between Air Force and Navy (he chose wisely :w00t:) so it was not a problem. I recomend that your son contact the Air Force coach recruiting him regarding how to proceed. The coach should be able to give him helpful insight on how he should proceed.

Best wishes to your son. :thumb:
Thanks, the AF coach said to talk to the other coach to let him know the situation and hopefully he will understand the situation. An admission slot is not guaranteed, so we will secure a spot at a civilian college as a next choice.
 
Please remember, aside from just commitment/national letter of intent day: if son is injured or just gets sick of doing XXX sport, he will probably lose his scholarship at ABC College. At USAFA, many "recruited" athletes later opt not to continue on in their sport - due to time commitments, lack of desire, tougher than expected academics, etc. One can still continue on at USAFA whether or not one participates in Div I athletics, with no change in monies.
 
Please remember, aside from just commitment/national letter of intent day: if son is injured or just gets sick of doing XXX sport, he will probably lose his scholarship at ABC College. At USAFA, many "recruited" athletes later opt not to continue on in their sport - due to time commitments, lack of desire, tougher than expected academics, etc. One can still continue on at USAFA whether or not one participates in Div I athletics, with no change in monies.

I think this definitely sets the school apart. There are a lot of tough choices made at the Academy including a division 1 athlete's decision to opt out of their sport so they can focus on new priorities.

Athletics are wonderful and I've subscribed to them for most of my life, but I think they are more of a means to an end. The end being a healthy body and mind. The fact is that the Academy is designed to graduate officers.
 
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