Recruited Athlete

DS is hoping to be recruited as an athlete in swimming (we have been in contact with the coach for over a year now). We have left nothing to chance. We know that academics and SAT's fall with in the normal ranges. We will be finished with his App before October if it kills me! He is an Eagle Scout(14 yrs old when he received it). Point, everyone has something they are great at! This is my second time through. DD received her appointment in May of 2010. Though a high school athlete, academics were her forte. DoDMERB was our sticking point. I guess my point is she is proud to be a NARP (non-athletic regular person)! She was accepted to Stanford, Notre Dame, Johns Hopkins, and a host of other fancy named schools. In the end, she followed the family lineage and decided to serve her country as her father and I have for a combined total of over 40 years. By the way, DS, will be proud to be a NARP if the swim team doesn't want him. He just wants to serve his country proudly.
 
How do you know if you are a recruited athlete or not? I got an email from the swim coach at the academy saying that he wanted my GPA, test scores, etc so that he could blue chip me (this was back in April). I was just wondering because he really liked my swim stats: 3x national team member, nat. age group records etc. But said that my test scores were below average and needed them to get up or it would be prep school with me, which i am PERFECTLY fine with.
 
Nothing wrong with the prep school, but still, if the coach is telling you those test scores need to come up, what are you waiting for? Get those test scores up. (Good advice for any college at which you are looking)
 
We knew from the get go, that our swimming stats were just about average on the recruited side. DS has Junior National cuts, was called recently by the swim coach, I believe because his application was totally complete. I will believe completely when we have the appointment in hand, in writing and not a day before. They can promise you the world, but if you don't have it in writing, I don't believe. Like I said before, he would be honored to swim for AF, but will be totally fine as a NARP. We will just breath easier before Christmas if everything is taken care of by then.
 
I had my interview today with my ALO and found out that I am now a Blue Chipped Recruited Athlete!!!! :shake:
 
No... I have not yet... When do they do this/how? Could you fill me in on this whole signing?
 
My daughter signed her agreement on the day of her sports Letter of Intent signing day. Since USAFA is non-scholarship,the letter of agreement is mainly to assure the coach you are coming. I don't know if they will do it if you don't have a LOA/appointment and nom yet.
 
When is/was the sports signing day? And no, I do not have an appointment/LOA/nomination...yet...
 
Depends on the sport. You can check on the NCAA website. The letter of agreement is non-binding compared to a Letter of Intent. I would contact the coach who is recruiting you.
 
1st: Any "letters of Intent" for athletics that you sign for the academy, is non-binding. The air force academy does not give out scholarships, so there are no NCAA rules that bind you to a particular school. The academy has a "Signing Day" simply for the benefit of the applicant, and it's totally ceremonial. Nothing binding about it whatsoever.

2nd: Each coach uses the words "BLUE CHIP" differently. For football; all "Blue Chip" means is that you don't have to "TRY OUT" for the team. You aren't a walk on. You are on the team. It doesn't mean that the coach or athletic department is giving you any special nomination or extra help in getting an appointment. It simply means that "IF" you receive an appointment, then you are on the team. Now; does the athletic department have a certain number of Superintendent nominations that can be used for athletes? Yes. There's not a lot of them, but they definitely have some. Now; whether or not your coach in that sport uses the words "Blue Chip" to mean he can help you get a nomination/appointment with one of his/her limited slots, is something you need to check with them. But I can tell you that the football team had about 50-60 recruited players, and all of them are considered "Blue Chip"; however, they had to get their nominations and appointments just like everyone else. Only a small number were in the category of possibly getting one of the limited slots allocated to the athletic department.

Hope this helps explain it a little better. Bottom line; you need to talk to your coach at the academy to see what this means for you. best of luck.... mike....
 
Christcorp said:
Now; does the athletic department have a certain number of Superintendent nominations that can be used for athletes? Yes. There's not a lot of them, but they definitely have some.
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There may be a lot, nobody knows for sure how many the athletic department has. What is known is that USAFA will not release the information to the public on how many they give out.
Christcorp said:
But I can tell you that the football team had about 50-60 recruited players, and all of them are considered "Blue Chip"; however, they had to get their nominations and appointments just like everyone else. Only a small number were in the category of possibly getting one of the limited slots allocated to the athletic department.
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Again, nobody on this forum has ever revealed what the "small number" actually is. Fortunately for "Blue Chip" athletes if your stats are not good enough for USAFA, or if you are unable to get a nomination, USAFA can admit you to the prep program without a congressional nomination. "Virtually" everyone that completes the Prep School course of instruction, and that wants to transition to the USAFA, will receive an appointment. Bottom line is that if the athletic department wants you they can get you into USAFA one way or another.

The following thread might be on interest:
http://www.serviceacademyforums.com/showthread.php?t=19860&page=11

Good Luck!:thumb:
 
I am a little confused on the recruited athlete process. In one of our correspondences from the coach it said "for those who have completed the application process prior to mid October, we will be able to make an 'Offer of Appointment" before the (NLI) early signing date in November." The problem is our MOC is not going to interview him until early December and won't announce the results until late December. If I have read the earlier posts correctly getting an Offer of Appointment does not mean a whole lot, since there is still a chance he might not get the MOC nomination (we live in a very competitive area in Ca). He really wants to go to the USAFA but it appears that according to the NCAA regulations if he signs with the Academy he can't accept any of the other college offers he has received (including some Ivy's and a very well known West Coast private university) . So he is running the risk of losing out on all of his offers of scholarships and early admissions for what appears to be just a chance at getting into the academy. Am I missing something here?
 
RSR - talk to the coach for clarification. Please don't rely on anyone in the forum for accurate answers on sports recruiting questions. The stakes are just too high and the chance of misinformation too great.

Best of luck!
 
billyb said:
RSR - talk to the coach for clarification. Please don't rely on anyone in the forum for accurate answers on sports recruiting questions. The stakes are just too high and the chance of misinformation too great.

Best of luck!
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In addition, if they had any ties with the SA, no matter how tenuous, They would probably be in violation of NCAA regulations.
 
In our situation, we were told there is a slot reserved regardless of MOC nomination.
 
Thanks to everyone for taking the time to respond. I think that I will have him contact the coach for clarification.
 
There will be some athletes that do have nominations. They are usually children of parents who were/are military. They qualify for the Presidential nomination. Not trying to confuse the matter, just explaining how one could already have a nomination.
 
DD was a recruited athlete. The coach called Friday the 13th to say she received her appointment. She went for her MOC interview on Saturday the
14th. On Monday the 15th, the MOC called to say she had a nomination :thumb:
 
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