Athletic Recruit who isn't "into" the military

[LineInTheSand]

Originally Posted by LineInTheSand
How is your study tracking performance, or is it only tracking retention?

"One study which stands out is the promotion to O-4 for the classes of 1981-1985. I can think of no better gauge of performance than promotion and O-4 is the first rank that becomes somewhat selective. The collective rate for non-athletes was 77.2% while that of the 104 football players who graduated during this era was 94.1%, the highest of all team athletes. I would say that definitely the football players are, for lack of a better word, better performers."



Again, using studies that suit your needs. Not only that but studies that are over 10 years old. Maybe for a grad of 1969 these look pretty recent, but for anyone else, who realizes that the Class of 1994 made O-4 three years ago...your stats looks a little dated. I also wonder how much a class of 1981 stat looks when you consider that women had only graduated a year before that class, so...this isn't the most accurate cross section of what you might find today, now that women have been attending the service academies since 1976, and first graduated in 1980. Finally I wonder if your study indicates how many great performers and very qualified Naval/USMC officers went Five and Dive when they figured out the US Navy organization wasn't what they wanted to be a part of.

 

[LineInTheSand]

Quote:
Originally Posted by LineInTheSand
Do I believe football players are superior in performance still? No. And that having visited a bar with a very respectable varsity football player I know.

"Hard to argue with logic such as this who also thinks subsquid's post is immaterial. Maybe subsquid's observation on your leadership capabilities might also flaw your definition of 'very respectable'. I think I am going to crawl back in my hole."


I see it as immaterial for a variety of reasons. First his son, as far as I can tell, hasn't been accepted to the USNA. Maybe he should be, but apparently, despite all of his reasoning, the Admissions Board sees the pats on the back from the teammates and coach, as not enough to "make it work". Am I against team sports? Heck no. I played ice hockey and soccer, and took a brief stab at lacrosse. These are team sports. I appreciated my role on those teams, but does that make me a better officer? I don't think so. Do I think football has a leg up on these sport for creating better officers? No. If I needed a course in leadership, I can assure USNA69 and Subsquid, the last place I would look for that course is from members of the Navy. It is a fine naval force, and I'm happy we have these kinds of ships defending the nation, but unfortunately it takes a little more than wearing a tan uniform to impress.

Maybe he has been accepted, and Subsquids profile is old, if that's the case, I really hope he does well, and does not follow the path of a few leaders like Kyle Eckel, Lamar Jones, or Webster Smith. I do think they are exceptions to the rules, they certainly negate SubSquids bottom line of "Varsity athletes know how to buy into the culture. They know how to win. They know how to lead. All very successfully."


I want to make sure you understand that post was also made with all due respect.