Varsity Sport

cravius

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Is participation in a D1 Sport doable in AROTC? And does it count for extra OML points?

Thanks
 
Is participation in a D1 Sport doable in AROTC? And does it count for extra OML points?

Thanks

Yes, it is possible. Most units encourage athletics participation because of the team building aspect. It is an additional burden on the Cadet. They need to be able to manage their time. The Cadet will receive extra points for Accessions.
 
My son is a Freshman, AROTC, and Div III athlete. The stress of giving 100%, which is expected by each endeavor, is very intense. The time commitment it is heavy and it's definitely a lot of work. He is up at 5:30am 4/5 days for PT or team weight lifting, 2 hour practices three days a week in the evening, team meetings, events, in addition to MS class two days a week, homework, and lab once a week. AND he plays a Spring sport, so this is the off season!
It is doable and many have done it, but have no doubt, it will be very difficult. You must be sure that you are willing to give all of your time to those three things: ROTC, sport, and classes. That's all there is time for and there is barely time for all three. There will be scheduling conflicts that you must resolve. My son had to ask for permission to miss 2/3 weekly PT's for his morning sport work outs. There may be games that you must miss. You wont be able to participate in Ranger Challenge or other extra AROTC opportunities.
Think long and hard about the commitment to both.
 
I totally agree with laxmom8. I have three children who have participated in Army ROTC at very demanding colleges. Two of them are DivI athletes.

DS 1 could not manage the demands of the DI sport, very intense ROTC and very difficult academics and keep everyone happy. He tried to do it all for a year, but all of the factors were too demanding at his school. He felt like he couldn't give 100% to all three and his personality did not allow anything less.

DD is Div I athlete at a different school and now senior. She definitely finds it challenging. She would say it is very difficult (every weekday morning for her is a 5:15 am wake up and basically all her weekends are taken up by the sport or ROTC) both her coach and PMS allow her some flexibility, but conflicts arise...sometimes MAJOR ones (for her it was a conference championship or a BN FTX--both the coach and PMS demanding she attend each).

As far as points on the OML the answer is yes a varsity athlete receives the 1.5 but so does anyone who played on a community or intramural team. Having just gone thru the Accessions Process my daughter felt like the sport probably hurt her because her lack of ROTC activities and her PMS OML was low because her focus was not solely ROTC. (Many other cadets dedicated much more time to ROTC).

DS 2 is at same school as DS 1 and is not a varsity athlete. He is enjoying everything that is available in ROTC. (Ranger Challenge/Color Guard/volunteering/retreats...) His core group of friends are ROTC--he is definitely getting much more from the program because he is not a varsity athlete. (and the way it looks now (he's a soph) he will be higher on the OML because he has the time and enjoys making ROTC his priority).
 
As far as points on the OML the answer is yes a varsity athlete receives the 1.5 but so does anyone who played on a community or intramural team. Having just gone thru the Accessions Process my daughter felt like the sport probably hurt her because her lack of ROTC activities and her PMS OML was low because her focus was not solely ROTC. (Many other cadets dedicated much more time to ROTC). .

which raises the following question: Does one year of intramural coed croquet earn the same 1.5 OML points as do three years of decathlon competition on the track & field team?
 
A lot depends on the Battalion, coach, and cadet. You've got to make sure you have a good understanding of the expectations of the Battalion and the coach if both activities are equally important. If the goal is to be a pro athlete upon graduation, it will be difficult. If the goal is to be a successful commissioned active duty officer sports will have to take a back seat at some point. I have 5 DIII athletes in this years freshman class. I stop in to see a couple of the coaches every week to make sure we are all on the same sheet of music. I'm sure there are Battalions out there that expect their athletes to choose ROTC every time, and there are Battalions like the Golden Knight Battalion that will work to allow athletes to participate in their sport. We definitely want the type of cadet that is a successful athlete. The skills and values they bring to us are what we want.
 
which raises the following question: Does one year of intramural coed croquet earn the same 1.5 OML points as do three years of decathlon competition on the track & field team?

Hey! Wait a minute. Croquet can be a grueling sport. Especially when it's coed! :rolleyes:
 
A lot depends on the Battalion, coach, and cadet. You've got to make sure you have a good understanding of the expectations of the Battalion and the coach if both activities are equally important. If the goal is to be a pro athlete upon graduation, it will be difficult. If the goal is to be a successful commissioned active duty officer sports will have to take a back seat at some point. I have 5 DIII athletes in this years freshman class. I stop in to see a couple of the coaches every week to make sure we are all on the same sheet of music. I'm sure there are Battalions out there that expect their athletes to choose ROTC every time, and there are Battalions like the Golden Knight Battalion that will work to allow athletes to participate in their sport. We definitely want the type of cadet that is a successful athlete. The skills and values they bring to us are what we want.

I hope at least some of those five, if not all, are hockey!
 
The real question isn't if it is doable, the real question is if you are willing to risk injury for your military future.
 
Currently, I play DIII ice hockey and am a MS3. Let's just say I do not have much time for anything else other than the occasional homework. If I were in one of the STEM majors, I would definitely be sinking very quickly. For my company, my cadre allow for me to participate in my sport rather than partake in PT sessions because my practice is at 5:30am, but I do have to miss practice once a week for Lab. For my leadership position, a 1SG, I do tend to spend a lot of time in the office outside of class, if I am not there I am either in the gym, sleeping, or trying not to fall asleep while doing homework. I would say let him play the sport for the year and see how it goes because as a freshman you will not have many obligations as opposed to a MS3. At least with his experience of being a MS1 and an athlete he should be able to develop some time management skills better than his peers.
 
I agree with AscoreD. Give it a try for a year...my DS felt it was too demanding after 1 year and had to make a choice, yet my DD wouldn't trade a moment of her 3+years doing both.
 
So, do you get the 1.5 points for the OMS even if you only play a sport for your freshman year? Or do you get 1.5 points for each year you participate in a sport, whether it's varsity or club? I'm not sure how the point system works.

I have a feeling my DS may not continue playing his sport after this year so that he can devote more to AROTC. He was very disappointed not to be able to participate in Ranger Challenge when they asked him. He, too, has a hard time not giving 100% to each commitment, and the work load is difficult now. I can't even imagine how he would handle everything as an MS3
 
So, do you get the 1.5 points for the OMS even if you only play a sport for your freshman year?
Per the slides I have seen, the 1.5 points OMS encompasses Varsity sport, Club Sport, Intramural sports. 1.5 is the max for all three years combined. It might be 0.5 points per year of athletic participation, but I don't know.

Here are the current OMS components (I have made up a few summary titles):

OMS Max.

GPA 40
APFT campus Fall MSIII 1.69
APFT campus Spring MSIII 2.36
APFT at LDAC 9.45
on-Campus Athletics 1.5
PMS MSIII CERT OML 6.75
PMS Accessions OML 4.5
PMS Accessions Potentional Cmnts 4.5
Cadet Training & ECs 4.5
Language/Cultural 2.25
LDAC E/S/N 6.75
LDAC LTC TAC eval E/S/N 11.25
LDAC Land Nav (1st Score) 4.5
100

Bonus

ADM4 1.0
ADM3 0.5
LDAC Top 5 1.0
RECONDO 0.5
 
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A lot depends on the Battalion, coach, and cadet. You've got to make sure you have a good understanding of the expectations of the Battalion and the coach if both activities are equally important. If the goal is to be a pro athlete upon graduation, it will be difficult. If the goal is to be a successful commissioned active duty officer sports will have to take a back seat at some point. I have 5 DIII athletes in this years freshman class. I stop in to see a couple of the coaches every week to make sure we are all on the same sheet of music. I'm sure there are Battalions out there that expect their athletes to choose ROTC every time, and there are Battalions like the Golden Knight Battalion that will work to allow athletes to participate in their sport. We definitely want the type of cadet that is a successful athlete. The skills and values they bring to us are what we want.

Clarksonarmy: thanks for all the helpful info....have been browsing the internet for weeks looking for info relating to ROTC and Athletics, and not only is yours the MOST helpful, it's the most applicable since my son is very interested in SLU (clarkson on the list too!). I presume you must be involved in the ROTC program at Clarkson in some capacity and had a couple other questions for you.....my son is looking to play soccer (we've visited a couple times, met with coaches etc), and also possibly considering the ROTC program. From the postings by you and others, I see this is possible. Have you had experience with the SLU soccer coach/team? They are a very competitive, serious program so I wasn't sure how receptive they would be to this. Second, I was curious about the logistics of having the ROTC stuff at another campus. I know the schools are close, but wondered if that poses a hassle especially for athletes. Thanks for your time!!!
 
Clarksonarmy: thanks for all the helpful info....have been browsing the internet for weeks looking for info relating to ROTC and Athletics, and not only is yours the MOST helpful, it's the most applicable since my son is very interested in SLU (clarkson on the list too!). I presume you must be involved in the ROTC program at Clarkson in some capacity and had a couple other questions for you.....my son is looking to play soccer (we've visited a couple times, met with coaches etc), and also possibly considering the ROTC program. From the postings by you and others, I see this is possible. Have you had experience with the SLU soccer coach/team? They are a very competitive, serious program so I wasn't sure how receptive they would be to this. Second, I was curious about the logistics of having the ROTC stuff at another campus. I know the schools are close, but wondered if that poses a hassle especially for athletes. Thanks for your time!!!

SInce it's only a 15-20 minute commute at worse I wouldn't think ROTC would pose any more difficulties for an athlete at SLU than an on campus athlete at Clarkson. At least from that perspective. I attended Potsdam 40 years ago and was able to quickly commute by thumb from Clarkson to SLU back then. Having an automobile (a necessity for this I would think) would make it even easier. It's not like the area has changed much in the past 40 years. Yeah, sure, they have electricity now, but... :biggrin:

I suppose there could be issues in the winter during a blizzard or something but I'm willing to bet they pretty much keep route 11 open except in the most extreme conditions. At least they did while I was there. The other issue would be a good battery in the winter so you aren't searching for a jump. Of course winter pretty much corresponds with the academic year.

Your DS has picked some great schools. SLU is a gorgeous campus and both Canton and Potsdam are great little villages/towns. I really miss being in that part of the country and I think going to a smaller college there is a terrific experience. Wish my own DS had elected to go somewhere similar but he's in love with being a Gamecock!

I'll have to leave specifics about SLU soccer to Carksonarmy.
 
Soccer at St Lawrence is pretty good. Watched them beat St John Fischer the other day. I think they are climbing back up the national rankings (got bumped from #2 earlier this season). Coach Steinrotter used to coach at Clarkson before moving down the road to SLU. I have not worked with him directly, but I'm sure he knows who we are, and I certainly know who he is. I'm the enrollment officer here, and have been here for close to 9 years now. St Lawrence is closer than most partner schools at other programs. It's a little bit of a hassle in the winter, but the Cadets do OK with it. We hold PT at St Lawrence on Mondays for our SLU and SUNY Canton cadets to save them a trip and get some visibility on campus. You can contact me directly if you have any more questions or concerns.

I know this info may not be germane to the group or thread. I shared it to illustrate the kind of knowledge I feel ROOs should have regarding their campus and the opportunities their cadets have and I think any time the inner workings of a Battalion are shared it's helpful.
 
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