Help Me Help My Son Make A Decision - Visiting USAFA

I

IowaMom

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Feb 19, 2022
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Parents -
My son was blessed with three offers and I can't seem to get anyone on the phone to help us. With sports, he can only get there this Thursday/ Friday/Saturday but it seems the tours are booked. He was hoping to talk to a few current cadets (esp. those who want to be a pilot), any cadets that were descent athletes who walked on in a sport, maybe watching a sports event. He also just wants to walk around and ideally take a tour that is more indepth that the public tour.

If anyone of you are able to give me a few leads I would truly appreciate it. This world is new to us. Thanks, Jackie
 
I am not saying this is the correct answer but if I were the parent I’d be calling the coaches office and talk to someone in the office and tell them a potential walk on would like a walk around and some chatting with current students.

If anyone should be moved to help it should be them.

I am assuming your son is clear to talk to coaches as far as the recruiting regs?
 
justdoit19 said:
Or the candidate should reach out to the coach. Not the parent.
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Recruiting and attending college is a family decision. There is nothing wrong with a parent making that call if that works out better for a family.

Those SA coaches want one thing——more good players. They don’t care how they find them. :)

And this request seems to be on a tight frame. Do what ever works best.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
Recruiting and attending college is a family decision. There is nothing wrong with a parent making that call if that works out better for a family.

Those SA coaches want one thing——more good players. They don’t care how they find them. :)

And this request seems to be on a tight frame. Do what ever works best.
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I’m absolutely sick of parents like you. “Recruiting and attending college is a family decision.”
No,
It’s not your choice,
Your child is a grown adult and they are free to do with their future as they see fit. It’s the parents that are basically applying to college or their child’s behalf that need som serious help. It baffles me that this this group exists on SAF. All that a lot of these parents care about is sending their kid to a prestigious school so they can be viewed more favorably in society… pretty sick if you ask me
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
Recruiting and attending college is a family decision. There is nothing wrong with a parent making that call if that works out better for a family.

Those SA coaches want one thing——more good players. They don’t care how they find them. :)

And this request seems to be on a tight frame. Do what ever works best.
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You could be right. But you may be wrong. These are military academies. Not colleges. They are joining the military. My boys’ SA coaches would have viewed a parent contacting them negatively.

Why risk it? IMO, I wouldn’t advise a parent to reach out to a SA coach, when the candidate, with an offer, is perfectly capable of making the call on their own. Or email. And if they aren’t? That’s a whole different issue…
 
Thanks for your thoughts. I am hopping off on this. I am helping my child because he is a tri sport athelete with straight As, church commitments, music commitments, volunteer commitments and is trying to make a college decision. I do not lobby for him. He got where he is because of who he is. If I can help make a phone call during the day or on a weekend when he is trying to visit another school I am very comfortable doing that.

THis was definitely my first and last post. For those of you that were helpful, thank you.
 
justdoit19 said:
You could be right. But you may be wrong. These are military academies. Not colleges. They are joining the military. My boys’ SA coaches would have viewed a parent contacting them negatively.

Why risk it? IMO, I wouldn’t advise a parent to reach out to a SA coach, when the candidate, with an offer, is perfectly capable of making the call on their own. Or email. And if they aren’t? That’s a whole different issue…
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It was my impression when we were there in January that what is on the website is what is available from admissions. My ds didn't call, though, since he's been there several times already (though not as a cadet candidate). Your ds could do one of the virtual tours to get an idea of the place. Unfortunately, USAFA doesn't offer as many visits as the the other SAs.

I think it is a good idea to contact coaches to find out the chances of being a walk-on or even being allowed to try. Walk-ons are very dependent on sport and he'll probably want to know if he even has a chance.
 
IowaMom said:
Parents -
My son was blessed with three offers and I can't seem to get anyone on the phone to help us. With sports, he can only get there this Thursday/ Friday/Saturday but it seems the tours are booked. He was hoping to talk to a few current cadets (esp. those who want to be a pilot), any cadets that were descent athletes who walked on in a sport, maybe watching a sports event. He also just wants to walk around and ideally take a tour that is more indepth that the public tour.

If anyone of you are able to give me a few leads I would truly appreciate it. This world is new to us. Thanks, Jackie
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Do whats best for you and your family. Coaches dont have any problem talking to parents when it comes to athletics.
 
OkylerO said:
I’m absolutely sick of parents like you. “Recruiting and attending college is a family decision.”
No,
It’s not your choice,
Your child is a grown adult and they are free to do with their future as they see fit. It’s the parents that are basically applying to college or their child’s behalf that need som serious help. It baffles me that this this group exists on SAF. All that a lot of these parents care about is sending their kid to a prestigious school so they can be viewed more favorably in society… pretty sick if you ask me
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Relax tiger..

I have been dealing with different SA coaches (and countless civilian college coaches ) for decades as far as HS players or recruits.,

I have called the SA coaches and talked to them about many players. And in more than a few occasions they have been calling me. Some of those players even related to me. Many played for me. Other players that just wanted some help. People like this parent.

I know if a SA coach had a lead on a potential,player and a short time frame like a few days to get a requested visit the coach would not care who calls. And the coaches are the ones most likely to make this visit happen

Clearly what the family has done so far has not worked,


I saw this OP as having a time related emergency for an important visit they could not otherwise arrange..And who can make this happen at once——the coaches, Not the visitors center,

Debating who calls in such a situation is silly. Who ever is best to get thru quickly and get that visit arranged is what is important. .

If I knew the coach and could have helped I’d have offered to make the call myself.

In this particular case it’s not the call it’s the visit that is important.

I hope you get better soon :)

Good Luck to the OP
 
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IowaMom said:
And for the last time I am not contacting coaches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am trying to set up a tour!
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Please let us know after if you dId get what you have said you want without calling the coaches.

The coaches set up these ad hoc individual sort of meet and greets a lot. For recruits and potential walk ons. They don’t care about filled tours that others are waitlisted on or turned away from

I’d not put as much faith in the people at the visitors center or the physics dept doing the same one on one short notice tailored visit you are looking for.
 
@IowaMom hey hang in there. This forum is an awesome resource. But you won’t always get responses you want to hear here.

You do what you need to do for your family.
Sounds like you have a time crunch issue and a scheduling issue. Who doesn’t go through those? We all do as do our kids.

You can assist and advocate and support your kiddo without packing yourself into their duffel for the day they report. It is possible. I am proof. My kid handles his stuff. I was his temp secretary during his application cycle. He handles his s#*% now. He earned the ticket. Not me.

You do you. And I am sure that if you reach out or your kiddo reaches out (optimal) to coaching or admissions they can make some adjustments and hopefully make the calendar conflicts work.

Don’t let a naysayer make you leave a great resource like this forum. So much good here.
 
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If he has not been recruited then trying to get in touch with a coach this week would be very tough. Coaches are inundated by potential recruits. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but tough.
It might be better to see if a current coach can reach out as well, say a club coach who might have a contact.
Also, depending on the sport your son wants to work on being “an invited walk on”, someone the coaches know about and actually give a look during tryouts.
Good luck. I know you’re trying to do what’s best.
 
Try reaching out to the parents club! They may connect you with their Cadets!

As an SA parent, you will need your own support group - that's why there are parents club and other groups you can join at the class level to stay involved and get good information while staying on your side of Northgate, including coming to SAF from time to time and sharing your DS's experiences and advice. I highly encourage you to reach out to parents club with your dilemma and this may spark connections for both you and DS to make the most of his USAFA tour. NOTE: to be contacted, at least in our parents club, your child MUST check the box for permission for us (the club) to contact you (the parent).

Regarding the debate of who calls - as @Heatherg21 says, You Do You.

I strongly disagree with the tone and part of the message of post #5. On the latter, it COULD be a FAMILY decision regarding civilian colleges. It would have been a $300,000 per child had my DDs wanted to go to prestigious private schools with no merit scholarship. We would be paying full freight - or saddling DDs with student loans. $600,000. So therefore, it is a FAMILY decision in that regard.
 
IowaMom said:
Thanks for your thoughts. I am hopping off on this. I am helping my child because he is a tri sport athelete with straight As, church commitments, music commitments, volunteer commitments and is trying to make a college decision. I do not lobby for him. He got where he is because of who he is. If I can help make a phone call during the day or on a weekend when he is trying to visit another school I am very comfortable doing that.

THis was definitely my first and last post. For those of you that were helpful, thank you.
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I hope you were able to get your DS in contact with people which could give him an idea of what USAFA is like and what the AF can offer him as officer. I would implore you to take note and review responses to your post. The negative response was from one poster, and that was his/her only post ever. I know it seems like a megaphone when it is coming at you, but it was one person. Who knows where that post is coming, and there situation.

This such an amazing forum with knowledge not aggregated or shared in any other place. I hope you do not let this one instance deprive you of it. Go Air Force! Go Navy!
 
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My $0.02 . . . there are two different issues here. First is the issue of what school someone attends. Family should certainly be involved from a financial standpoint (not an issue with SAs but definitely with other schools). They also can give an opinion about the pros and cons of other schools -- parents typically bring wisdom that an 18-year-old doesn't yet have. However, the ultimate decision (other than financial) should rest with the student because "forcing" one's child to attend a particular school usually doesn't end well.

A second issue is contacting the school, coaches, admissions, etc. The candidate should make every effort to initiate contact. This is especially important for SAs. This might require calling during a free period or during lunch at school. In my experience, most students have at least some free time each day between 9 and 5 -- they certainly find the time to text each other! If the student's time is extremely limited, the student can leave a message stating that he/she is in school during the day and the person can either leave a VM or could call the home number (where the parent would answer).

My personal view is that parents calling should be the last resort, at least with SAs.
 
As far as athletics go there are so many variables in that part of the decision in and of itself... I would rely on my High School coach for some grounding. I don't think I saw what sport is in play mentioned here, but the chances of walking onto a ranked team decrease. ask your high school coach, (as an example) "do you think I have what it takes to play football at USAFA?". Keep in mind... Overall a little over 7% of high school athletes (about 1 in 13) go on to play a varsity sport in college and less than 2% of high school athletes (1 in 57) go on to play at NCAA Division I schools. Also the academies, in my opinion, have another tool at their disposal that makes it harder for walk-ons. They have prep schools for blue-chip athletes who need a little extra help. It's an additional pipeline. Another variable, Do you want to "make" a team or contribute to a team? My DS had a few D1 looks from some less competitive programs, he opted for USMMA, D3, but he will have an opportunity to compete for playing time as a freshman. So many variables, such a personal decision. Ground yourself in reality.
 
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