Sports on your App. (or the lack thereof)

[EfusaurusRex]

How exactly is your application viewed if you are not able to participate in sports? The class period of my JROTC program interferes with all of my high school's sports except for those after school, and those that are after school are at the exact same time as the drill team practice days for JROTC (which I can't really skip out on since I am a routine commander), my Civil Air Patrol meetings (which are on one of the two free days that drill isn't going on), and my flight lessons (which take up my Saturday and the other weekday that I have free from some sort of JROTC activity). I'm simply worried that my schedule as it sits is negatively affecting my application. I played baseball and football up until the beginning of 10th grade, but I was thrust into higher positions in JROTC, which ate up and still currently eats up a lot of my time.

 

[Boymom73]

How exactly is your application viewed if you are not able to participate in sports? The class period of my JROTC program interferes with all of my high school's sports except for those after school, and those that are after school are at the exact same time as the drill team practice days for JROTC (which I can't really skip out on since I am a routine commander), my Civil Air Patrol meetings (which are on one of the two free days that drill isn't going on), and my flight lessons (which take up my Saturday and the other weekday that I have free from some sort of JROTC activity). I'm simply worried that my schedule as it sits is negatively affecting my application. I played baseball and football up until the beginning of 10th grade, but I was thrust into higher positions in JROTC, which ate up and still currently eats up a lot of my time.

My son was told by a Colonel once that it didn't matter if your sport was tiddlywinks, you need to play one. He has had high positions in JROTC as well (and is the battalion commander now in his senior year), but he figured out a way in his very tight schedule how to include a sport. He plays tennis, which is about the shortest sport season there is, and while he's not great at it, he's still a member of the team. Find something and make it work.

 

[time2]

Published stats from USNA typically show that 90+% of those attending participated in varsity athletics during h.s. All sports are NOT created equal and the general consensus is that physically demanding team sports are more highly valued for a number of reasons such as: teamwork, dealing with adversity, physical conditioning .....etc. (many older threads on this topic).

http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/classPortrait/

The 10% who don't have sports involvement typically participate in multiple other ECA's or similar activities. There is no one formula for what SA's look for in candidates. However, if you only participate in one ECA that is taking up all of your time you have to ask yourself if you are using your time wisely or simply involved in a lot of 'activity' that doesn't serve any real value. Your competition for an appointment are those who tend to excel in MANY things including academics, athletics and various leadership roles & find ways to successfully manage the time these things take. The reality is those are the people you will competing against during the application process.

 

[goforspaatz]

OP, I had no sports. HOWEVER, I did have athletic activities - in CAP, also running and triathlon events. This is where the BGO came in for me, as I could explain the circumstances in a limited way in the essay, but once I talked with him and faced the problem head-on, he got it.

Also, consider club sports (competitive, not necessarily pay-to-play) locally, which might work better with your schedule. Don't forget martial arts.

 

[murfthesurf]

How exactly is your application viewed if you are not able to participate in sports? The class period of my JROTC program interferes with all of my high school's sports except for those after school, and those that are after school are at the exact same time as the drill team practice days for JROTC (which I can't really skip out on since I am a routine commander), my Civil Air Patrol meetings (which are on one of the two free days that drill isn't going on), and my flight lessons (which take up my Saturday and the other weekday that I have free from some sort of JROTC activity). I'm simply worried that my schedule as it sits is negatively affecting my application. I played baseball and football up until the beginning of 10th grade, but I was thrust into higher positions in JROTC, which ate up and still currently eats up a lot of my time.

Oh, Come on!

How did you find the time to create an account and post about not having any time?

That is a funny Troll post, though

 

[Class2020Dad]

My DS was told countless times, "you need to practice good time management", by teachers, coaches, etc. that showed up for 8:20 class at 8:15am and left the school at 3:31pm everyday when they were supposed to have office hours. Do as I say, not as I do

GO NAVY, BEAT ARMY!

 

[dakine]

OP. You played baseball and football till the 10th grade. That is great! At my now-plebes CVW a parent asked this exact question, and the Admissions Officer talked about no-cut sports like track. I believe every single plebe from this region played some kind of organized sport - from D1-level football to participating in martial arts at the local dojo. So, I think the answer from usna would be to find some sport, any sport that will fit into your schedule.

 

[Kangaroo]

My DS is one of few that didn't play sports and got an appointment. Well, he was in karate from 6th to 9th grade, but stopped in Dec of freshman year after earning a blue belt. I'm not even sure he put that on his resume. He was a leader in many other "team" activities though, and maxed a few events on the CFA. And of course he made sure everything else on the application was as close to perfect as possible. It CAN be done.

 

[futuresoldier5211]

My friend and I had nearly identical (1&2 school ranking) applications, his with a Varsity letter, mine without. He got appointment, I did not.

 

[Norfolk63]

DS approached the same problem from a slightly different tack: Civil Air Patrol instead of JROTC opened his schedule enough to allow 3 varsity sports - football, wrestling and track all 4 years. Be creative.