In my heart I knew my post was going to rattle people, but I felt it was important enough that it needed to be posted.
Heck, I know you study your arse off for a competition, just like sports. I know emotionally it hurts just as much to lose.
The point I was also making was:
1. Athletics includes training when school is out.
~~~ For the third time, if you want to be in clubs during the school year, and not do sports , that is their choice, However, if you look outside of the box, you can get that squared filled over the summer. Don't want to lifeguard, fine. You can become a counselor for organizations like Young Life and teach equestrian. Teach tennis or canoing at a local day camp. Show some type of athletics in your portfolio/resume while you stay true to yourself.
2. ROTC is a lot of PT. don't pass the APFT upon arrival, and the scholarship will not be activated.
~~~Please look at threads in the Aug/Sept timeframe. There are hs athletes, non-recruited college, that bust this exam. Hence, another reason why they want to see athletics.
3. No offense, but again how hard is it to overcome a torn ACL and comeback for Quiz Bowl or FBLA? I am not taking anything away from these ECs. I am trying to illustrate that from the military many career fields will deal with physical risk and strength.
Finally, the real reality is they own the cards. They decide what parameters they set for selection. To them, athletics is part of their equation.
You can get over not having any sports, but you need to hit the rest out of the ball park to make up the loss in points for nothing in the athletic column,
I personally, don't bite off on the I can't do it because of all my clubs. The reason why is because serving in the military means personal sacrifice. The question is how bad do you want it? The other reason is because as I keep saying, you can fill that square if you are willing to think outside of the box.
Many people have given unique ways to fill the square without giving up any club. They can toss those options in the circular filing cabinet, they can make justifications of why they can't or they can decide to re-evaluate and move forward. However, in the end it is their life and they asked for our opinions, only they can decide what is in their best interest.
I get defending clubs. I do. I am just saying while you defend the clubs, be open to the reasons why they place an emphasis on athletics too. IOWs don't kill the messenger because you don't like reading the message.