How does one become a recruited athlete at USAFA (wrestling)?

goairforce96

goairforce96

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Asking on behalf of a current HS Junior .... how does USAFA identify and recruit high school athletes, either in general or for wrestling specifically? Does the candidate indicate a desire to wrestle on their Pre-Candidate Questionnaire Question to get the ball rolling? Email the coaching staff? Other?

Thanks!
JJ
USAFA '96
 
Getting recruited at USAFA is no different then any other D1 university or for that matter any other college at any level, you sell yourself. Fist and foremost be honest with yourself and talk to your current high school and club coach to see where you stand and what level of college they think you can perform at. Have an online video of yourself a few minutes long that shows your performance. Go to ID camps specifically for the schools you have an interest in attending. Email coaches to get on their radar if you aren’t already. Call the coach and see what positions or weight class they are specifically looking for on your graduation year. There is much more to it but that’s a start. If you are a junior in high school and not already doing these things you are very behind the curve. Get started today. Whatever level you and your coach feel you can play at have them reach out to potential coaches for you as well if they have the contacting ability. Club coaches in general are better contacts than HS coaches as they usually are higher names with a lot more contacts.
 
JJ, This winter is the application widow for the student to apply for Summer Seminar. Another option would be summer Sports Camp as a way to see the campus and experience the facilities and coaching staff. Here is the Wrestling Recruit questionnaire:

Welcome to Teamworks Compliance + Recruiting

questionnaires.armssoftware.com questionnaires.armssoftware.com
 
I have had players I coached and kids in the family recruited to a SA for sports.

many of those kids had no interest in a SA at first and the interest came initially 100% from the school.

Others had their club coaches or high school coaches know they were interested and the SA became aware of the interest that way.

some called the school directly or had a coach do so. I did that when asked.

Others fill out the form provided for that purpose.

if you are a potential D1 or D2 type of recruit the SA should be interested. And they will be happy to hear from you.

good luck
 
Thinking a bit more on this

as long as their HS or club wrestling coach , thinks the world of your HS jr , I’d have that coach call or email the USAF Academy coaches direct and sing their praises. Coach to coach speak.

Ability on the mat , character, grades, and a great desire to go to the USAFA and be an officer. ((or USNA or USMA if they really want to increase their chances)

Assuming the above is true , and it should be true , there is a name for it:

A gift wrapped present for those SA coaches who have someone they want and they did not have to work hard to get .

What the coaches will be most interested in?

The ability on the mat

There is always prep school
 
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Small Team Bacsi said:
Thinking a bit more on this

as long as their HS or club wrestling coach thinks the world of your HS jr I’d have that coach call or email the USAF Academy coaches direct and sing their praises. Coach to coach speak.

Ability on the mat , character, grades, and a great desire to go to the USAFA and be an officer. ((or USNA or USNA if they really want to increase their chances)

Assuming the above is true and all really needs to be true for the SA coaches to be interested there is a name for it:

A gift wrapped present for those SA coaches who have someone they want and they did not have to work hard to get .
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Agreed, I think we'd be lucky to have him. This young man earned a 35 ACT in Math and 31 ACT overall on his first attempt. Has a 4.3 GPA, taking multiple AP courses and is ranked 2nd overall in his weight-class statewide going into the season. Wants to wrestle collegiately, study engineering and fly. Plans to apply to both USAFA and USNA. Worth a strong look in my opinion.
 
Small Team Bacsi said:
Thinking a bit more on this

as long as their HS or club wrestling coach , thinks the world of your HS jr , I’d have that coach call or email the USAF Academy coaches direct and sing their praises. Coach to coach speak.

Ability on the mat , character, grades, and a great desire to go to the USAFA and be an officer. ((or USNA or USNA if they really want to increase their chances)

Assuming the above is true , and it should be true , there is a name for it:

A gift wrapped present for those SA coaches who have someone they want and they did not have to work hard to get .

What the coaches will be most interested in?

The ability on the mat

There is always prep school.
Click to expand...
It takes a lot more than your HS coach loving you to become a D1 wrestler. There are only 78 D1 programs - unless you are top 3 in your state, your chances are VERY long (unless you are from Iowa or PA, in which case you might have a shot if you are top 10).

goairforce96 said:
Agreed, I think we'd be lucky to have him. This young man earned a 35 ACT in Math and 31 ACT overall on his first attempt. Has a 4.3 GPA, taking multiple AP courses and is ranked 2nd overall in his weight-class statewide going into the season. Wants to wrestle collegiately, study engineering and fly. Plans to apply to both USAFA and USNA. Worth a strong look in my opinion.
Click to expand...

Well, there you have it! Maintain that ranking and he will definitely have a chance. Have his coach reach out to the Air Force coach, and he should email the coach as well. Many programs pay no attention at all to those recruting questionnaires, and with good reason. Anyone can fill those out without regard for whether they are remotely qualified. Dont waste your time unless the coach asks you to fill it out.
 
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goairforce96 said:
Agreed, I think we'd be lucky to have him. This young man earned a 35 ACT in Math and 31 ACT overall on his first attempt. Has a 4.3 GPA, taking multiple AP courses and is ranked 2nd overall in his weight-class statewide going into the season. Wants to wrestle collegiately, study engineering and fly. Plans to apply to both USAFA and USNA. Worth a strong look in my opinion.
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I hate to jinx anything

But this sounds an awful lot like what is often referred to as a future cadet or midshipman.

Good Luck
 
goairforce96 said:
Agreed, I think we'd be lucky to have him. This young man earned a 35 ACT in Math and 31 ACT overall on his first attempt. Has a 4.3 GPA, taking multiple AP courses and is ranked 2nd overall in his weight-class statewide going into the season. Wants to wrestle collegiately, study engineering and fly. Plans to apply to both USAFA and USNA. Worth a strong look in my opinion.
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From a wrestling perspective the USNA definitely, with Cary Kolat as the coach. His kids coming in from the prep school year, along with the incoming freshman, lots of fellow PA medalists there.
 
Agreed. When I was sitting down with him and he shared those numbers, I almost high-fived him and his folks right then and there. He's got a bright future, wherever he lands.
 
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