Advice before I get crazy...

seacadetmum

seacadetmum

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Apr 26, 2016
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DD is a new freshman and they didn't offer diving at her school. She decided to pick soccer up since she has played it in the past. Today I get an email that she has scheduling conflicts. Originally 9th grade soccer was the last period of the day, they moved it to 3rd period, the same time as her band class. She will NOT give up band, it's her life. The counselor and her band director are trying to find a workaround because they both know about her USNA aspirations and the necessity of a HS sport.
Are we being overly ambitious about this? USNA looks at athletics for 2 reasons (that I've gathered from our site here), it's either to gauge leadership potential or athleticism.
She has no intention of trying to play soccer at USNA, her plan has always been to do crew or sailing as a sport there. She has Sea Cadets/Student Council/YoungLife/Student Leadership at church to show the leadership aspect.
Should we just drop the idea od a HS sport so she can focus on what she loves (band) and just finger crossed USNA looks at everything else over the fact she doesn't have a sport?
On one hand I want to make sure we set her up for success but I also don't want to stick her in a HS sport she has no interest in just to check a box.
Hopefully that makes sense...I really respect the opinion of the people on here that have "been there...done that".
 
Are we being overly ambitious about this? YES! She needs to do what she loves. She is just a kid once. If she is qualified USNA will offer her an appointment if she is not they will not. She will need to be able to pass the Physical Readiness Test. Running and pull-ups/hangs, sit-ups.
My advice is let her be a HS kid and enjoy HS. My daughter did this and was offered an appointment to WP, USNA and USAFA. Relax and enjoy her HS time it passes quickly.
 
seacadetmum said:
On one hand I want to make sure we set her up for success but I also don't want to stick her in a HS sport she has no interest in just to check a box.
Click to expand...
> Absolutely ...merely going through the motions and being on the team to check a block is meaningless, and could be counterproductive. There are alot of ways to demonstrate leadership and athleticism . DD should pursue what interests her ...not what she thinks someone else thinks she should be. Does that affect chance for USNA ? Perhaps, but admission to USNA is no guarantee even with all the blocks checked.

Out of curiosity ,,,how is Soccer practice in the middle of the School day ? What happened to sports after school ?
 
parent said:
Are we being overly ambitious about this? YES! She needs to do what she loves. She is just a kid once. If she is qualified USNA will offer her an appointment if she is not they will not. She will need to be able to pass the Physical Readiness Test. Running and pull-ups/hangs, sit-ups.
My advice is let her be a HS kid and enjoy HS. My daughter did this and was offered an appointment to WP, USNA and USAFA. Relax and enjoy her HS time it passes quickly.
Click to expand...

Best advice I have ever seen offered

My DD did nothing to boost her resume for USNA or USAFA- she did what she loved and it es enough to get appointments to both
 
Since she is only a freshman, I do recommend she do a sport of some type. Is there a club diving team she could join, since her school doesn't offer it? Or maybe try a spring sport. She could do track and field (a great sport to get her in shape for all the running at a service academy), for example, which may not conflict with band? If she was a diver, she would be a great pole vaulter, just sayin! :D
 
The guidance counselor called me at work. The soccer coach is considering putting her on JV but if that doesn't happen we are not going to "fill the void". She's very athletic to begin with and may enjoy track (pole vaulting) in the spring but instead of rushing into something we are going to let it ride. Band has been registered for because it was never a thought to not do that. She just worked her butt off learning their show for the season and isn't about to give that up.
She did club diving for years but it got to the point that we had to decide to home school since she was crossing into USA National level, we were told 6 nights a week and at least 4-5 mornings before school. That and spraining her back at the end of last season made us take a step back.
Someone above mentioned sports during the school day...that's Texas! The football team is actually double blocked. Soccer is just one period.
Thanks for all the input! That's why I come here. It's easy to get caught up in trying to put your kid in the perfect position but really if it's meant to be, it will be and if not...there are plenty of Plan B/C/Ds.
 
Don't give up Band....my oldest DS played TE and Free Safety on the football team PLUS the trombone at the home games (in helmet and pads, though).
 
This is one semester of one year, and sports or lack thereof for that one period won't make a difference. That said, I suggest that, over the next four years, your DD does participate in competitive sports. There are three seasons of sports during the Ac Year and also the summer. That's 15 chances over the next four years (excluding the summer after senior year).

While some candidates are admitted without sports, it is NOT the norm. 90% of successful USNA applicants are varsity athletes. Why make it harder than it needs to be?
 
Well we got surprising news this morning...
Over the summer dd participated in "House of Pain", a strength and conditioning camp for student athletes. The JV soccer coach ran the workouts for the soccer kids. She remembered dd from the workouts and told the guidance counselor "that kid is a little beast...I'll take her". So she got moved up from freshman to JV soccer! She is super excited (a little scared because...10th graders) but they think she will do fine as long as we are okay with her not playing starter (ummm yeah not that type A of a parent).
Also got word that she has been given a permanent place in the band marching show!
@usna1985 That was my feeling. I'm far from being a helicopter but I want to help her get everything in place now so when she starts the "on her own" parts she's in a good place.
 
seacadetmum said:
Well we got surprising news this morning...
Over the summer dd participated in "House of Pain", a strength and conditioning camp for student athletes. The JV soccer coach ran the workouts for the soccer kids. She remembered dd from the workouts and told the guidance counselor "that kid is a little beast...I'll take her". So she got moved up from freshman to JV soccer! She is super excited (a little scared because...10th graders) but they think she will do fine as long as we are okay with her not playing starter (ummm yeah not that type A of a parent).
Also got word that she has been given a permanent place in the band marching show!
@usna1985 That was my feeling. I'm far from being a helicopter but I want to help her get everything in place now so when she starts the "on her own" parts she's in a good place.
Click to expand...

IMHO - helicopter parenting includes: filling out application; writing essays; managing their workout schedule. Learning the process, so you can help guide a teenager through what can appear to be a strange/difficult process is simply good parenting.

Plus - this forum can't really do much to help the rising senior as their resume is cooked. It is good to understand the game early - even if later your daughter decides she doesn't want to participate in it. (We looked at a lot of schools as much to determine what she didn't want to do/go as much as to determine where she did want to go)
 
Cerberi said:
parent said:
Are we being overly ambitious about this? YES! She needs to do what she loves. She is just a kid once. If she is qualified USNA will offer her an appointment if she is not they will not. She will need to be able to pass the Physical Readiness Test. Running and pull-ups/hangs, sit-ups.
My advice is let her be a HS kid and enjoy HS. My daughter did this and was offered an appointment to WP, USNA and USAFA. Relax and enjoy her HS time it passes quickly.
Click to expand...

Best advice I have ever seen offered

My DD did nothing to boost her resume for USNA or USAFA- she did what she loved and it es enough to get appointments to both
Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words. It seems that some of the parents on this site are so focused on getting their child into any of the Academies. I am asked by many parents what is the secret to getting your daughter into the academy, share with me the magic formula. Boy do I wish there was a magic pill or formula. I could make millions! LOL!
The academies have a process and know what they are looking for in a prospective student and future officer. Can a parent give support and guidance to their child. Hell yea!
But it must always be the child who takes the initiative and does the work. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE parents quit living through your child and let them find their dreams and work toward making them a reality. Even if they work hard and it is not enough they have still learned and grown as a person.
 
Our goal as parents is to make sure this is HER decision because I honestly believe that unless THEY want this, they are increasing their chance of failure. You have to want to experience Plebe summer because I can't think of any sane person that would put themselves there if they didn't.
She recently announced after watching "Megan Leavey" that she was going to become a K9 handler in the Marines. When we reminded her that job probably is enlisted, we got "oh nevermind...I still want to go to the Academy". If at anytime she decided she really did want to enlist we would support her 100%.
 
Your daughter should 100% do the things she's passionate about over checking boxes for an application. I can assure you that it is better when she sits down in front of a panel of interviewers for her to be able to speak of her passion and hard work in a club/sport/activity than for them to ask her about a bullet point she doesn't have much to say about.
 
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