High school sports?

[bosoxnation33]

They don't offer a whole lot of sports at my school; I play softball and it's a big commitment. Even though it's still the offseason, workouts are everyday after school during the activity period. They're not mandatory, but I love going. I'm not on varsity because I'd rather be on JV and play the position I love than get a letter for sitting on the bench for four months.
I was wondering how the academies view sports. Is it the more the merrier or do they take into consideration that you stuck with one sport throughout your high school career? (I used to play basketball, but the program I played for ended after a certain age group and I never really learned the "fundamentals of the game" like positions and such.) I want to focus on softball 100%, but I want to know how the academy sees this.

EDIT: Also, can you play sports at the academy even if you've never experienced playing them before? (directed towards club sports, not NCAA.)

 

[Craig]

Softball

My daughter only played Softball and is a plebe now. She also had a few quality ECA's.

 

[nstovallkurtz]

Now this is just my opinion, but if I were you, I would have taken the letter and sat the bench. USNA loves to see varsity letters and moreover, the more years you are on varsity, the better chance you will be selected as captain junior or senior year (being a captain, of course, is a big addition to your package). The fact that you are only playing one sport isn't going to hurt you if, and only if, you have great EC's and community service to fill in your off seasons. Good luck!

 

[GoSox]

They don't offer a whole lot of sports at my school; I play softball and it's a big commitment. Even though it's still the offseason, workouts are everyday after school during the activity period. They're not mandatory, but I love going. I'm not on varsity because I'd rather be on JV and play the position I love than get a letter for sitting on the bench for four months.
I was wondering how the academies view sports. Is it the more the merrier or do they take into consideration that you stuck with one sport throughout your high school career? (I used to play basketball, but the program I played for ended after a certain age group and I never really learned the "fundamentals of the game" like positions and such.) I want to focus on softball 100%, but I want to know how the academy sees this.

EDIT: Also, can you play sports at the academy even if you've never experienced playing them before? (directed towards club sports, not NCAA.)

I think you are a sophomore, right? You've got two seasons (this spring and junior year spring) in which you can try to earn a varsity letter -- one of the things you get credit for in the admissions process. If you aren't a super jock who plays three sports, in my experience it's not a problem to focus on one sport, show a depth of commitment, and check off the "earned varsity letter" accomplishment. However, softball is not the most aerobic sport so make sure that you are working on your running and overall fitness so that you can also do well on the CFA and make clear that you are a good physical bet for an academy.

Yes, you can play a sport at the Academy if you've never played it -- depends on the sport, of course. Women's crew (which is a varsity sport) gets a fair amount of novices, and there are some clubs that have good opportunities for newcomers as well. You can use a CVW or NASS as an opportunity to find out more about the range of clubs through conversations with current mids.