JROTC Varsity Letters?

ChickenNuggets

ChickenNuggets

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I recently wanted to join Army JROTC at a near by school. I also have planned on doing Varsity cross country or track at that same school. I visited another high school about 2 weeks ago and they said that the JROTC special teams such as Raider, Drill, and Air Rifle are considered varsity letters. Is this true?

If so, would these teams (especially Raider) count as Varsity Athletics for service academy applications, skipping the need to do “traditional” Varsity sports?

I still would like to do XC/Track. Just asking in case I am not accepted.
 
Ex. In my school, marching band is considered a varsity sport but in many others it is not. However, to receive all county/league/state awards, the sport has the be recognized in almost (if not all) schools.
 
For the drill team I lead, you need to be on the drill team for 4 seasons (A season is a semester), so someone could get their letterman their early junior year. (This is my school specifically, no clue about other JROTC programs.) Drill team moreso than rifle team is really good because it’s completely team based and has a lot of important leadership roles, so I wouldn’t discount putting it on any applications, as long as you properly list and explain the impact/leadership you had.

When you letter in multiple things, the first group you letter in usually pays for your jacket, and you’ll have to buy each additional patch for any other sports or UIL academic you make varsity for.

I wouldn’t say that this really means you should ‘skip’ a sport, because drill and PT are two separate, complementary foundational things. I lead swim and drill… it’s definitely possible to do both at the same time.
 
ti8pluzce said:
Ex. In my school, marching band is considered a varsity sport but in many others it is not. However, to receive all county/league/state awards, the sport has the be recognized in almost (if not all) schools.
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My school district considers cheerleading a Varsity sport, but alas, NCAA does not. I get it, we can't score on defense, but neither can Baseball lol.
 
ChickenNuggets said:
If so, would these teams (especially Raider) count as Varsity Athletics for service academy applications, skipping the need to do “traditional” Varsity sports?
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I’m looking at my paper application…which is about 20 years ago…but things haven’t drastically changed. Athletic activities were actually listed (“other” was an option, but the list gives you a pretty good idea): Crew, baseball/softball, basketball, rifle/pistol, cross country, football, golf, gymnastics, ice or field hockey, lacrosse, water polo, soccer, swimming/diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, wrestling, and martial arts.

Nonathletic activities were: Boy/Girl Scouts, volunteer service (homeless kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, etc.), CAP, student body, school publications, Boys/Girls state, NHS, music participation (band/chorus/orchestra), drama, JROTC/ROTC, sea cadet, drill team, cheerleader, sailing association, debate team, religious group participation, camp counselor, coach/manager/trainer of an athletic team.

Regardless of how activities are classified, everyone must take the CFA…if you aren’t doing athletic activities that exercise upper body, legs, and cardio…it’s likely you will find the CFA more difficult. I’m certain the 90% of varsity athletics calculation is based on the definition of athletics above…take it for what that is worth.
 
SAs and ROTC evaluate candidates on a whole person score. So JROTC activities and in particular advancement to leadership positions/ impact counts. That being said, look at the statistics for who is accepted to train to be an officer in these programs from the SAs - staggeringly high numbers for varsity sport advancing to captain/ leadership. I can put a pair of reindeer antlers on my dog but that doesn't mean he's qualified to pull Santa's sleigh. OP, you mentioned you might do both JROTC and a varsity sport - recommendation - - go for it if you can manage your time effectively to do so. Remember you are competing against some rock star fellow candidates from your region (SA) and globally for ROTC, so put your best application forward. Plus, all that running would serve you well in preparation for your plebe summer or NSI/ NSO, etc.

In general, it's like comparisons seem to just make the person who says them sound like they are compensating or inflating - Penn State is like an ivy for example is one I hear fairly often (great school, but no, it's not an ivy). Good luck to you - go for it!
 
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Maybe I missed something, but you want to play varsity sports at a school you do not attend? Do schools allow non-students to participate in their sports program?
 
I think USNA considers marching band, drill, etc. to be ECAs, not varsity sports. You could certainly list them in the application as a "varsity sport" if the school considers them such and the USNA application doesn't define "sports." However, USNA is unlikely to give them the same "athletic" value as a traditional athletic sport.
 
Wow - cheerleading isn’t a sport? My appreciation for their athleticism has grown over the years with social media. Unbelievably fit, gymnasts.
 
I think it depends on the school system. Around here, it is. And I can imagine in some of the football powerhouse areas (the South), the level of competition corresponds to the quality/capabilities of the cheer teams as well. The ones that do the competitions and dance/floor routines are gymnast level, for sure!
 
Schools are different. At my school, which has a huge JROTC program, for Raiders, you have to compete on the varsity team at the National Championship in order to letter. Not sure about other JROTC activities here (we have armed drill, rifle team, cannon crew, cavalry angels, robotics, color guard, and junior guard). But in our school, Raiders is the single biggest extracurricular activity (about 150 kids participate) and is cult-like.

That said, play varsity in more than one sport and play all year long. I think AT LEAST one of your sports must be physically demanding and require lots of teamwork. Find something you're passionate about. Demonstrated leadership is critical both in sports and other activities so think through that.

If you do Raiders, make sure you articulate what it is on applications because although it's fast-growing, it's not well understood. That said, our varsity Raiders have an unbelievably high percentage attending USMA, USAFA, USNA, and getting 4-year ROTC scholarships of various colors.
 
Thegirlinthefireplace said:
My school district considers cheerleading a Varsity sport, but alas, NCAA does not. I get it, we can't score on defense, but neither can Baseball lol.
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competitive cheerleading in my area is a varsity sport. There are states and everything! Competitive cheerleading looks very difficult and I would consider it harder than some other sports... However, lets not start that debate ;)
 
I would also encourage everyone to read the view book.

You can see how USNA views sports/athletics vs. ECA. Beyond a checkbox, and what some have hinted at, your leadership in either athletics or ECAs might have as much value, if not more, than the check mark. Hence one of the reasons we do BGO interviews…to really understand how you led an activity and convey that to the admissions board.
 
A1Janitor said:
Wow - cheerleading isn’t a sport? My appreciation for their athleticism has grown over the years with social media. Unbelievably fit, gymnasts.
Click to expand...
IronmanDaremo said:
I think it depends on the school system. Around here, it is. And I can imagine in some of the football powerhouse areas (the South), the level of competition corresponds to the quality/capabilities of the cheer teams as well. The ones that do the competitions and dance/floor routines are gymnast level, for sure!
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It's state/district specific I think, but it's not considered a sport by the NCAA, even though they have NCAA Cheerleading competitions. Considering that cheerleaders are usually at the top of the list for sports related injuries, it's definitely not a soft athletic option. If you're not in great shape, you won't make it through competition season, and maybe not even sideline cheer.

There are a lot of reasons thrown around about why NCAA doesn't count cheer as a sport, but most of them are based in an old system that was nothing like cheerleading today. Back in the 50's and 60's Maggie Jo wasn't getting tossed super high in the air by three other girls and completing a flip and twist before the girls catch her. She also wasn't doing anything close to the tumbling passes we do now. Not to knock Maggie Jo, because I'm sure she'd have been great at them if they were a thing back then. Cheerleaders are also still seen as a "support" for other sports, instead of a sport on its own. It used to be mostly guys football and basketball, but that's changed a lot too. We cheer for guys and girls' basketball, soccer, hockey, volleyball, and any other sport that has a big game and would like some of us there. At my school we actually take a group to our robotics competition, which is fun for me and another girl since we are both on the robotics team too. We've never done a debate or academic team competition, but I'd imagine that wouldn't go over well lol.

Sorry, I went way off topic because it's something I'm passionate about. Or maybe I'm just bitter that I went from nine varsity letters according to my district, to six for colleges lol.
 
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