In-District/School Competition

B

Bonanza501

Member
Joined
May 5, 2019
Messages
18
A young man from the same school as my DS has been posting that he is going to be playing football for Army next year (21/22). Of course we are happy for him, but I don’t know what the process is in situations like this—does that mean he automatically gets a MOC slot, or is that separate? DS is a little discouraged that he’s going through this arduous selection process, but may have fewer nomination opportunities if that’s the case.
 
Everyone goes through the application and selection process.

Over the years, there have been many threads on recruited athletes who “commit” to a SA. That means nothing until an appointment is in hand. They still must be scholastically, athletically and medically qualified, with at least one nom from some source.



The advice here on SAF to applicants is not to torture yourself by looking left or right. There are other sources of noms other than the elected officials, and there is no way of seeing who has what, much less seeing the totality of any applicant’s package. Keep focusing on submitting a quality application.

Nothing guarantees a nom from an elected official.

Your son might find it helpful to slog through the detailed reading on nom sources at this link:


Take note of the “qualified alternates” described in the text on Non-Congressional noms, starting on page 6.
 
Last edited:
Agree with everything Capt MJ stated.

An example... I sat on a MOC board this year and there was a young man who stated he ‘committed’ to Air Force to play football. His stats were solid, slightly above average or average in all areas, but not off the charts. Went to a very good high school and had a very well rounded resume. He got a Nom from us but if had ranked them he probably would of been 9th on the list. He is at prep this year.

Consider any person who states this to have a big asterisk next to committed. That asterisk is ‘if they are 3Q, get a Nom and are offered an appointment.’ Every year we see recruits state this and not land at a SA.
 
There’s a saying that I think I first heard here, and I’m not sure it’s a naval one, but it’s apt nonetheless: “Eyes in the boat.” Which I take to mean: Focus on what you can control and don’t worry about the things you can’t control.

A couple years ago, DD was invited by our MOC to a reception for all his nominees. She entered the room flying high, the proud holder of nominations to two SAs. She exited the room completely dejected, having met several nominees who had already received LOAs or, even better, actual offers of appointment. She cried on the way home, convinced that her window had closed. She was miserable for a while.

Just a few weeks later, she received an LOA. And then another LOA. And the MOC called her twice to congratulate her. So yes, she needlessly jumped to conclusions. For OP and lurkers in a similar situation: Eyes in the boat!
 
Search “recruited athletes” for TONS of discussion about this subject.

Football especially seems to have a whole social media aspect to their marketing. It’s all part of the game. Especially Twitter. Part of it is on the athlete, marketing themselves. Part of it is xxx SA (or any other college) marketing THEIR program. It’s recruiting.

The thing unique to a SA (beyond the already discussed 3Q requirement), is that it’s not binding. Everyone attending a SA is on scholarship. And every athlete on “scholarship” can drop their sport, and still remain at their SA. And coaches/programs can change their minds, should another recruit come along that fits their needs better (that’s a whole different, searchable, discussion...).

We read here each cycle it seems, about a family not understanding the nuances of a SA recruitment/appointment. This last year I read a “blessed to receive a USNA offer” post from a kid who was bragging about doing his 4 years, in only two bc of his college credits he was transferring in from high school. And as a cadet (ummm...they are Mids) studying criminal justice (no such program....). I wasn’t even sure he knew there was a service requirement. Point is, make sure you UNDERSTAND your ACTUAL situation. Eyes wide open!!
 
My DS (2017 grad) was a recruited athlete and received a Supe Nom. The West Point Superintendent can give up to 50 nominations per year, we have no idea why it happened that way but it did. So DS did not take a MOC slot away from someone else. Lastly, it happened early, he received his appointment around mid December.
 
Bonanza501 said:
A young man from the same school as my DS has been posting that he is going to be playing football for Army next year (21/22). Of course we are happy for him, but I don’t know what the process is in situations like this—does that mean he automatically gets a MOC slot, or is that separate? DS is a little discouraged that he’s going through this arduous selection process, but may have fewer nomination opportunities if that’s the case.
Click to expand...
Recruited athletes do not automatically get nominations.

Assuming that the young man is actually a "blue chip" recruited athlete, his status as a recruited athlete will not affect your son's chances for an appointment, as long as your MOC does not mishandle the nomination by giving the recruited athlete a Principal Nomination.

USMA handles recruited athletes very carefully to avoid the perception of an unfair or underhanded process and works closely with MOC offices to help them understand the process. The MOC however, may nominate any candidate they choose using any method of evaluation they want.
 
2019 and a good friend of his both were selected from the same H.S and samev year....it happens...
 
There are several categories of appointment and sources of nomination. Two categories of appointment in particular, Qualified Alternate and Additional Appointee, require a nomination from any source (MOC, Presidential, Superintendent, etc). Most recruited athletes are appointed as Additional Appointees.

A well informed MOC using a Ranked Slate will rank a recruited athlete or any other candidate with an LOA at the bottom of the slate, thereby increasing the likelihood of multiple appointments from the district. The nomination guarantees the qualified LOA holder an appointment, while leaving the MOC's opening available to another qualified candidate from the district.

Most MOC's submit an unranked slate, in which case USMA ranks them according to WCS score. The highest score wins the district, if qualified, irrespective of recruited athlete or LOA status. LOA holders without the highest score receive an appointment from another category, although how admissions eventually charges the appointment may be very different from how the appointment was determined.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top