Joining a sport team you have no experience in at USMA

airassault

5-Year Member
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Apr 3, 2011
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I have a few questions regarding sports to those already in USMA, or know the answer.

Is there a definitive list of the activities you can do for your 'sport'? I heard about rock climbing, but I was also wondering if any MMA-type fighting was a sport allowed.

Also, the sport I would be most interested in- boxing (and I have heard it is a requirement Plebe year anyways) I have no formal experience in. Would my lack of experience prevent me from joining the team, or is there intramural boxing teams I can be a part of?

Thank you!:thumb:
 
Regarding a "MMA-type fighting" sport, W.P. has a Judo Club/Team as well as a Martial Arts Club/Team.

-TheChicagoan
 
Wrestling

Howdy, I was wondering the same thing and was actually going to ask the same question before I stumbled across this thread. I would like to do wrestling at West Point but I have never done it as a sport. Can someone help me out also?:confused:
Thanks in advance. :w00t:
 
I have a few questions regarding sports to those already in USMA, or know the answer.

Is there a definitive list of the activities you can do for your 'sport'? I heard about rock climbing, but I was also wondering if any MMA-type fighting was a sport allowed.

Also, the sport I would be most interested in- boxing (and I have heard it is a requirement Plebe year anyways) I have no formal experience in. Would my lack of experience prevent me from joining the team, or is there intramural boxing teams I can be a part of?

Thank you!:thumb:

If you're just referring to intramurals, you shouldn't need much (or any) previous experience to participate in a sport. Check out this from the USMA faq section http://admissions.westpoint.edu/faq_athletics.html#four and this previous thread from this site http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=17359
 
Some of the intramural teams like soccer and wrestling have a lot of experienced players on them simply because they didn't continue it at the NCAA level for whatever reason. With the intramural teams (which tend to be more commonly played sports), there are no tryouts. If you sign up and there's room, you get to play.

For the less popular sports (which tend to be club sports),like boxing or rugby, no experience is required and a lot of people who have never played before end up joining those teams, like me. I've never played rugby before and I'm on the Women's Rugby team here. Unlike intramurals, however,there are tryouts for club sports and some teams are more competitive to make.
 
I'm actually in the same boat myself. As a soccer goalkeeper I am fairly talented although there are already 3 goalkeepers on the roster, none of which graduate this year. Thus I am considering hockey, although it has been a while since I played and it is only offered as a varsity sport at WP (one ice rink says the MALO). I am seriously considering speaking to the coach although I feel with a sport like hockey it may be too late to start back up again.
 
What sports give you full athos, and excuse you from drill and other extra training?
 
What sports give you full athos, and excuse you from drill and other extra training?

I've read from the link someone posted above that all of the 'club' type sports provide these, although it shouldn't be a deciding factor in picking a sport :)
 
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I've read from the link someone posted above that all of the 'club' type sports provide these, although it shouldn't be a deciding factor in picking a sport :)

I know, there are just so many sports I could do :) ahhh decisions -_-
 
I've read from the link someone posted above that all of the 'club' type sports provide these, although it shouldn't be a deciding factor in picking a sport :)

I've previously posted the link to the USMA Club sports page. You can see what the clubs are, contact information, and one of the pages even lists the "authos".

I'm only familiar with a couple, but my understanding is that not all club sports get the same authos. It's apparently dependent on how many hours of practice the club does and level of attendance.
 
With the intramural teams (which tend to be more commonly played sports), there are no tryouts. If you sign up and there's room, you get to play.

This will vary. You express preference for the sports offered that semester, and you'll be placed into a sport based on priority. (With Plebes being lowest)

There seems to be some accommodation for female cadets that do not wish to play football, etc. But everyone will do some sport whether corps squad, Club, or company.

More info on club & company (intramural) athletics can be found here:

http://www.westpoint.edu/dpe/competitivesports/csclubs.htm
 
Hawk, thanks for sharing all your insight with us! :thumb:

Glad it's useful. Most of this info is documented on the USMA DPE website, it's just not well known.

Google USMA whitebook and look for the most recent one if you want to know the curriculum and exactly how DPE & Athletics work.

Same for redbook on the academics.

To be clear, it's not required to know of these, or may not even be of interest. But it's the reference in case you have questions about what you may be facing. Recognize these are updated periodically, and things may change.
 
Hawk,
Thanks for the correction. I'm not as knowledgeable about intramural sports :redface:.

Hawk is right about the authos and club sports.
 
Hawk,
Thanks for the correction. I'm not as knowledgeable about intramural sports :redface:.

You could be right as well, your company could have done things differently! :smile: The thing the candidates need to be keep in mind is that all of this input is indicative, will likely be directionally accurate. But specifics may vary by company and or by policy change.

And in general I'd recommend taking the input of a current cadets on this type of thing over a grad or parent like me as stuff changes & varies in even a given year.

In DS's company he indicated slug plebes usually did not get their preference. Other companies may use a different system. Or you may be interested in the sport that is not in demand by upperclass slugs.

Likewise some clubs apparently will take some cadets with minimal experience, some have hard tryouts and require experience, and some experience does not matter, it's a smokefest to get in. It just depends on the club and your individual situation.

Based on DS's experience and input from other cadets... your beast performance can even make a difference.... Cadre who knows you from CBT turns out to be on the club team you want and puts in a good word for you at tryouts. Or maybe not if you held the squad back. Or worse, if you were a profile ranger or blue falcon.

But that's true of many things... common input from cadets is that your rep starts in CBT, and builds. It impacts how your chain of command treats you, how often you get tested on knowledge, whether they cut you a break if you missed one, how your prof's treat you, pretty much everywhere.
 
Also, the sport I would be most interested in- boxing (and I have heard it is a requirement Plebe year anyways) I have no formal experience in. Would my lack of experience prevent me from joining the team, or is there intramural boxing teams I can be a part of?

I am also very interested in boxing, but i hear the team is very competitive. I hope to impress the coaches by showing them that I have been trying. I have been working out with great intensity to build strength but I use no weights just a lot of calisthenics. Before and after each workout I shadowbox to work on hand speed and the five basic punches.
I have never had any real training, I just box with my brother for fun sometimes and learned everything I could about boxing online.
 
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