Recruited Athlete

pvgabe

Member
Joined
Jul 18, 2020
Messages
57
Hi all,
I had my BGO interview last week and my BGO asked me if I was a recruited athlete, I told him I wasn’t sure, but I had received a few emails from the track & field recruiting staff. He checked their data base and I guess it had me as a recruited athlete according to him. What’s this supposed to mean for me? Thank you!
 
We were told that, at present, the determination of "recruited athlete" in the BGO system is a self-determination. IOW, the candidate self-identifies him/herself as recruited. That may or may not mean the USNA coach/team is interested in you. Even if you are "recruited," the next question is whether you are a "blue chip" recruit -- someone USNA really wants. If that is the case, you may or may not know it. Also, someone who is a blue chip today could lose that distinction tomorrow b/c a better athlete comes along or for some other reason.

Coaches may be able to get a small or substantial bump for certain blue chip athletes. The number and how much influence depends on the sport. Obviously, football gets more than golf or volleyball.

If you think you can be a varsity athlete at USNA, contact the coach. It can't hurt but it may or may not help.
 
You can also search around the forums...tons of discussion about recruitment!
 
I would take exception, gently and respectfully, with 1985.

I have gone thru this with my own kids, my grandkids, and many players that I coached..

The USNA coaches will not lie to you. Not that I ever heard of.

If you are being recruited they will make it very clear.

If you are being highly recruited they will ask you , to not take other college offers , and then they ask you to commit to the admissions process at the USNA. Turning down everyone else.

An admissions process they feel very confident you will do well in——assuming no problems at or with the physical, etc.

If someone comes along who is a better player after the coaches have made an “offer” to you ,will you then become a non blue chip recruit—-no this is where the lying would come in to play..

Does being a recruited jock help a lot with admissions? Yes. A lot. Not a little.

In the case of highly recruited jocks , Navy is almost always coming after you , asking you to not not take another offer , asking you to enjoy all the joys that annapolis has to offer ——it’s usually not the other way
 
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And for the record, none of my kids nor my players that were highly recruited and given “offers” by Navy coaches were football players.

But it’s clear as 1985 stated above that football would get the majority of the spots.
 
I would take exception, gently and respectfully, with 1985.

'85's comment was in the context of the new BGIS system, not the overall context of athletic recruiting, The new system has a block indicating whether a candidate is "recruited", and we have been told that this is self reported. There is currently no interconnectivity between the Admissions system and NAAA/Coaches. (At least as off my last word a couple weeks ago; the new BGIS program is being rolled out and access is being expanded every day).

In the bigger context, athletic recruiting for USNA is very different than "normal" schools. First, everybody gets a scholarship , regardless of whether a recruited athlete. In addition, recruited athletes still have to be 3Q, including Admissions Board qualified (although some will argue that the bar is "adjusted" for certain recruits). However, being recruited can be a boost when it comes to using one of the USNA controlled nominating sources and competing for the Appointment within a nomination pool. The effect of the boost depends on the level of recruiting (ie. blue chip or not) , and the sport (some sports have more pull than others).
 
The biggest thing that recruited athletics have in their favor , as far as admission to the USNA , and for graduating from the USNA is NAPS.

My comments should have really been made in the context of NAPS not having anything to do with direct admits.

I am a really big fan of NAPS :)
 
And for the record, none of my kids nor my players that were highly recruited and given “offers” by Navy coaches were football players.

But it’s clear as 1985 stated above that football would get the majority of the spots.


I would take exception, gently and respectfully, with 1985.

I have gone thru this with my own kids, my grandkids, and many players that I coached..

The USNA coaches will not lie to you. Not that I ever heard of.

If you are being recruited they will make it very clear.

If you are being highly recruited they will ask you , to not take other college offers , and then they ask you to commit to the admissions process at the USNA. Turning down everyone else.

An admissions process they feel very confident you will do well in——assuming no problems at or with the physical, etc.

If someone comes along who is a better player after the coaches have made an “offer” to you ,will you then become a non blue chip recruit—-no this is where the lying would come in to play..

Does being a recruited jock help a lot with admissions? Yes. A lot. Not a little.

In the case of highly recruited jocks , Navy is almost always coming after you , asking you to not not take another offer , asking you to enjoy all the joys that annapolis has to offer ——it’s usually not the other way

I don’t think one can make blanket statements like these. There are many, many different coaches/sports. And recruiting by each sport/coach is different. So, it depends on the person doing the recruiting. They all have their own style.

I had one high level, who never knew he was (blue chip? Don’t even know...but he was given the VIP treatment, flown out and dined). Got his own noms so didn’t end up mattering.

Another child that was also recruited, that was eventually just dropped.

A student may or may not know where they stand. Mine didn’t. Neither one. The point that’s important to remember, IMO, is to forge forward the best that you can. And attend for the honorable reasons of service to country. Not to play your sport. That’s just an EC. Go in eyes wide open.

Good luck to every, we should start hearing appointments soon!
 
Thank you for all the replies! I was just wondering what the significance of that being. Of course first and foremost I want to be a naval officer!
 
Good luck to every, we should start hearing appointments soon!

Careful with this ..we need to manage expectations this year. Even though some Appointments may trickle through early, even in a perfect year the majority of Appointments don't come out until MOC has submitted their nominations and all candidates on a particular slate have been reviewed by Admissions. Admissions has already extended the deadline for submitting Applications to accommodate the February SAT/ACT ; so I would expect the majority of Appointments to come later this year. Bottom line --don't look at historical trends to have any meaning this year. Be patient.
 
I have a sample size of one, so take this for what it's worth. DD was a nationally ranked athlete in her sport, but she was not contacted preemptively by any of the coaches from the service academies. Instead, she emailed the coaches at Navy, Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard. She received positive interest from all four and subsequently an LOA from Coast Guard. Both Air Force and Army reached out to her with participation offers after she sent her emails. However, the Navy coach did not reach out to her until after she had submitted her completed application packet to the Academy. Once that happened she received, out of the blue to her mind, a personal call from the Navy coach who invited her on recruiting trip which she gladly accepted. He told her that he would not be using an LOA for her, but that she really didn't need one. She is currently a member of the Navy D1 team.

The other takeaway is that coaches have access to admission data and can review the packets of applicants that spark their interest.

I would certainly encourage any athlete to reach out to the respective coaches at the various academies. After all, nothing ventured -nothing gained. A small sample set, but DD initiating contact certainly resulted in positive impact.
 
Careful with this ..we need to manage expectations this year. Even though some Appointments may trickle through early, even in a perfect year the majority of Appointments don't come out until MOC has submitted their nominations and all candidates on a particular slate have been reviewed by Admissions. Admissions has already extended the deadline for submitting Applications to accommodate the February SAT/ACT ; so I would expect the majority of Appointments to come later this year. Bottom line --don't look at historical trends to have any meaning this year. Be patient.

Completely agree! The DIY appointment thread is loaded up...and things will slowly start moving that way. Its another exciting cycle, churning ever slowly forward. Whatever that looks like this year, it will happen 🙌.

Good luck, ‘25!
 
Our story has a happy ending but it was painful getting there. DD dreamed of playing her sport at USNA since the 6th grade, attended every camp, went to games, got to know the coaching staff and actively contacted said staff, who promptly left when the head coach did her sophomore year of high school. After a family move, she started with a new travel squad, new high school and much more competition. As she excelled in sport, she got excited only to be told by the new coach that he would NOT be recruiting her the spring of her junior year. So... she continued to bust her fanny in school, won a state championship as a captain in sport and then, a month before the start of plebe summer, she got an appointment off the wait list, with no help from coach. However, she did email him after being accepted and fast forward a few months, she is now an official member of the varsity team she so desperately wanted to play for! How’s that for a feel good 2020 story!😜⚓
 
Our story has a happy ending but it was painful getting there. DD dreamed of playing her sport at USNA since the 6th grade, attended every camp, went to games, got to know the coaching staff and actively contacted said staff, who promptly left when the head coach did her sophomore year of high school. After a family move, she started with a new travel squad, new high school and much more competition. As she excelled in sport, she got excited only to be told by the new coach that he would NOT be recruiting her the spring of her junior year. So... she continued to bust her fanny in school, won a state championship as a captain in sport and then, a month before the start of plebe summer, she got an appointment off the wait list, with no help from coach. However, she did email him after being accepted and fast forward a few months, she is now an official member of the varsity team she so desperately wanted to play for! How’s that for a feel good 2020 story!😜⚓
I was a walk on for my sport at USNA and thirty-some year later, my son was also a walk-on.
 
Our story has a happy ending but it was painful getting there. DD dreamed of playing her sport at USNA since the 6th grade, attended every camp, went to games, got to know the coaching staff and actively contacted said staff, who promptly left when the head coach did her sophomore year of high school. After a family move, she started with a new travel squad, new high school and much more competition. As she excelled in sport, she got excited only to be told by the new coach that he would NOT be recruiting her the spring of her junior year. So... she continued to bust her fanny in school, won a state championship as a captain in sport and then, a month before the start of plebe summer, she got an appointment off the wait list, with no help from coach. However, she did email him after being accepted and fast forward a few months, she is now an official member of the varsity team she so desperately wanted to play for! How’s that for a feel good 2020 story!😜⚓
It can also go the other way...a recruit can get CUT from the team without ‘scholarship’ consequences. When someone better comes along!!
 
An old time college coach (I was a walk on who eventually earned a small scholarship) told me a great line every PARENT should hear: "The minute that coach walks out your door he's looking for someone better than your kid."
 
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