Recruited Athlete and ROTC
- Thread starter Ken
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-Bull-
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Yes, it is. Since I've been in AROTC, we've had people in my battalion do Track & Field, Basketball, Baseball, Football, and Cross Country. All at a D-1 SEC school. However, these people were beyond busy. The guy who did basketball eventually decided to stop playing because he decided Basketball, ROTC, and Biological Engineering were a little much.
It will all depend on how well you can manage your time. Depending on your cadre, there can be a little give and take. The Track guy would occasionally miss PT because of Track workouts and maybe miss a Thursday lab because the team went to a meet. If you're able to balance it all, I'd say go for it. HOWEVER, the second you feel like it is becoming overwhelming, take a step back and think about 1) Who's paying for your school (The sport? ROTC? Parents?) and 2) What you're planning on doing after graduation (Go pro? Commission?). If ROTC is paying for your school and you know you don't have a future in the sport post graduation, it may be time to read the writing on the wall and buckle down for ROTC. The last thing you want is to have the sport affecting your GPA and standing in ROTC if that is your ultimate goal.
Yes, the trick is getting the National Scholarship to the same school that is recruiting you for athletics.
If you do receive a scholarship to a different school you can apply for a transfer, not a guarantee but possible. You can always just enroll in ROTC and compete for a Campus ROTC Scholarship.
There are options.
Best of luck.
txpotato
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I'm glad someone asked this question. We'd been wondering the same thing. After championships in February, there will be another signing day in April. Swimmers workout every morning and afternoon, so I'm not sure if it's compatible with ROTC. One of the schools on our son's AROTC list, however, has recruited our son for swimming. We are not ready to close any doors.
I've played a few years of collegiate sports and we worked out a deal with our ROTC program here. What happened was that I was excused from PT, but had to make up the PT tests on my own time with a friend. The only thing I was not excused from was lab and class (obviously). In my program at least, they do not have many collegiate athletes so they are often very accommodating with PT vs. practice.
It's all about communication. I'm currently running Track and Field as well as AROTC. I have a plan set with my cadre and coach for about two weeks in advance at a time. Bull is right, I have more loyalty to ROTC since that is the scholarship that I'm currently using. Luckily my coach understands that and we were able to work around it. I had to make it clear that Thursdays (lab day) I couldn't always make practice because lab is essential to the ROTC progam. At the same time I didn't want to undermind the T&F program by not fully committing so I do have to miss some ROTC things, mainly PT. I'm definintely busy as a student having all my classes in the morning and practice in the evening. Time management is also key and Bull pretty much summed it up. Good luck with both of your scholarships and hope everything can work out.
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A6&F18driver
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I would echo Bull's statement about college athletes who are also in ROTC being "beyond busy." My DD is headed off to her freshman year this August with the plan to accept her NROTC scholarship, play DIII soccer, major in mathematics and minor in Chinese.
She has always been very good at multi-tasking, and even though the NROTC Unit and the soccer coach understand there are overlapping PT obligations, I think she is going to have her hands full.
Looking back on my own NROTC experience, I would suggest you remember to prioritize class academics first, and then decide if the sport of the service opportunity are more important to you - and decide that before you start your sophomore year.
Regards and best of luck!
She has always been very good at multi-tasking, and even though the NROTC Unit and the soccer coach understand there are overlapping PT obligations, I think she is going to have her hands full.
Looking back on my own NROTC experience, I would suggest you remember to prioritize class academics first, and then decide if the sport of the service opportunity are more important to you - and decide that before you start your sophomore year.
Regards and best of luck!