Sports at USMA

GoArmy2022

GoArmy2022

USMA 2022
Joined
Oct 29, 2017
Messages
445
Hey! So I know I’ve been posting a lot of responses lately but I have a question. Because I’m not at the Point yet and haven’t spoken to anyone who is really well versed on what people in different sports do, I thought this would be a great place to ask!

So I’m looking for a sport that will keep me in great shape to be in the Army. I am thinking about Sandhurst—I know what the competition entails but what is their training like? Do they do enough running, push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups to keep every member in fine fettle?

Responses are appreciated!
 
If they train how we did for Ranger Challenge it’s more likely to be skills oriented training (e.g. one rope bridge, marksmanship, 9 lines/TCCC, UXO reports, land nav, knot tying, movement to contact, etc). What physical exercise they do have will probably be more along the lines of ruck marching, litter carries, and the like.

I’m sure the actual training regimen will be tailored to the strengths and weaknesses of your team if you make one.
 
I also heard Sandhurst is more challenging than EIB Qualifications. You can look up EIB and compare what it requires. EIB is a coveted tab for many in Infantry. You cannot take or wear EIB unless you’re in Infantry. It is more respected you earn EIB and wear it than CIB since anyone in Infantry doing a tour and have been fired on can wear the CIB Tab. There’s detail on the West Point site and even document exist on the Sandhurst topic.

GoArmy2022 you seem very ambitious. I think in Plebe year doing well academically, passing the swim test and boxing well, and doing well in all leadership classes should be your main focus as a Plebe. If you swim well and box well you can max out in Athletics portion of your Cadet ranking. From what I know same breakdown in Cadet ranking at West Point: 60% Academics, Leadership 30%, 10% Athletics.

Sandhurst can wait and you’ll be even better informed once at the Academy. For now I would prep for Chem Calculus Physics and Writing classes at West Point. Many have hard time in Chem and Physics.
 
As a young lady who is not on a Corps squad team, the chances of getting "drafted" for Sandhurst will be pretty high. There must be a female on each team and the upperclassman tend to stay away.

Once the academic year starts, there is a "club" night similar to a regular college. Find something that you are passionate about and try to have fun with it. Everyone there will find a niche.

You do seem ambitious but the best advice right now is to just take a deep breath and enjoy your time at home. Make sure you stay in shape, break in your boots and relax.
 
jl123 said:
I first heard USMA referred to as "The Point" in a Leave it to Beaver episode (a sitcom that ran from 1957 - 1963). It came across as pretentious and rubbed the Cleavers the wrong way.

Best to stick to USMA or West Point. Unless you are talking to someone from USNA. ;)
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Really? I've heard it called The Point alot. Even done it myself. Better correct myself if that's the case. I figured it is a regional slang. I have even heard it referred to as "The Rock", but that is definitely NOT A term I personally would use as it connotates Alcatraz [emoji23]
 
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onepercenter2021 said:
jl123 said:
I first heard USMA referred to as "The Point" in a Leave it to Beaver episode (a sitcom that ran from 1957 - 1963). It came across as pretentious and rubbed the Cleavers the wrong way.

Best to stick to USMA or West Point. Unless you are talking to someone from USNA. ;)
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Really? I've heard it called The Point alot. Even done it myself. Better correct myself if that's the case. I figured it is a regional slang. I have even heard it referred to as "The Rock", but that is definitely NOT A term I personally would use as it connotates Alcatraz [emoji23]
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I grew up close to West Point and we locals actually call it "The Point". Spent a lot of time there with my grandparents (grandfather was retired CSM) and they both referred to it in that way. Would always ask if we wanted to take a ride with them to The Point!
 
June Cleaver clearly rolled her eyes at the expression causing the "Beave" to ask if the offending neighbor was "giving us the business".

How it's perceived is situational. Locals referring to USMA as "The Point" is a colloquialism and comes across as unaffected. Talking about your time at "The Point" or "Haaaavad" at a cocktail party creates a different impression. Exception - someone with a genuine Boston accent can pull off the Harvard reference.

A few decades ago we looked askance at a cadet calling it "The Point". But we also frowned on vanity license plates. Times change.
 
jl123 said:
June Cleaver clearly rolled her eyes at the expression causing the "Beave" to ask if the offending neighbor was "giving us the business".

How it's perceived is situational. Locals referring to USMA as "The Point" is a colloquialism and comes across as unaffected. Talking about your time at "The Point" or "Haaaavad" at a cocktail party creates a different impression. Exception - someone with a genuine Boston accent can pull off the Harvard reference.

A few decades ago we looked askance at a cadet calling it "The Point". But we also frowned on vanity license plates. Times change.
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I would tend to agree that that context (and company) in which it is used could give it a different "air" about it.
 
My DD's JROTC instructor refers to it as "The Point" when he talks about it. He did not attend. I just assumed it was how retired officers referred to West Point.
 
"The Point" always makes me think of the TV movie Women at West Point. Great flick. I seriously did not think that anyone still calls it that today!
 
I'll weigh in as an "old grad". I have never heard any of my classmates refer to it as that and do not see it as very flattering.
 
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known as West Point, Army, Army West Point, The Academy or simply The Point, is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in West Point, New York, in Orange County...Wikipedia. I don't think you are "old grad" enough @USMA 1994 to have heard it too often :) like I said my grandfather who would have been 99 was stationed at "The Point" and that's all I ever heard it called growing up just 15 minutes away. There was no bad connotation to it, just what it was called. I think unless you are a "local" the term has since died off. As an aside maybe Cadets or grads never called it that...my experience was with an old school CSM lol. DD never heard it called anything else until we moved south 9 years ago!
 
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Also one of the reasons locals call it that is because of the way it juts out when you are headed north up the Hudson River from Haverstraw Bay. By boat you have to go around "The Point" to continue north. It's a point of reference when navigating the river.
 
onepercenter2021 said:
USMA 1994 said:
I'll weigh in as an "old grad". I have never heard any of my classmates refer to it as that and do not see it as very flattering.
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What is it not flattering @usma1994? I guess I'm confused at what is so PI about calling it "The Point".
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"The Point" is not itself an unflattering term. Using it in reference to a place or giving directions conveys no negativity.

It sounds pretentious and affected when cadets or alumni use it to refer to their college/alma mater. A little too clubby and snobbish for old grads.

We also called USMA, "Hudson High"
 
jl123 said:
"The Point" is not itself an unflattering term. Using it in reference to a place or giving directions conveys no negativity.

It sounds pretentious and affected when cadets or alumni use it to refer to their college/alma mater. A little too clubby and snobbish for old grads.

We also called USMA, "Hudson High"
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Well, regardless of what it is called and by whom, there is something about it to me ( non-grad, limited Army past, current cadet parent) that is magical, regal, elegant and breath taking. I've only driven through the gates at Thayer a handful of times but every time I get the chills [emoji169] and think about all those who have walked those cobblestones in years gone by and those who are yet to place foot.
 
onepercenter2021 said:
Well, regardless of what it is called and by whom, there is something about it to me ( non-grad, limited Army past, current cadet parent) that is magical, regal, elegant and breath taking. I've only driven through the gates at Thayer a handful of times but every time I get the chills [emoji169] and think about all those who have walked those cobblestones in years gone by and those who are yet to place foot.
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And I am looking forward to doing so. Walking the paths on which former generals and presidents trod is a great honor reserved for our great Nation’s finest—it makes me wonder what they were like when they were my age.
 
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