Sports period & walking on Division 1 teams

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Gonavy10108

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Jun 26, 2026
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Good evening,
DS is trying to walk on the track team. I told him that he needs to want it and to work hard for it. He has backup options as well, in case things don't work out for him.
How does walking on work over the summer? I know track has many recruited athletes, so I was curious as to what it would look like for him.
 
As far as I know he can attend sports period with them and it is up to the coaches how he can earn a spot on the team (may differ year to year, I’m not sure). He can also sign up to compete in the track smoker (plebe summer track meet) regardless of if he is on the team or not.
 
Is he a sprinter or a distance runner?
I ask because there are different cultures and standards to the different teams.

I can only really speak to the distance running team during the Coach Cantello era, but there is ample opportunity to walk onto the distance team.

I believe Coach Lanzel runs his program similar to Cantello. There will be some very fast recruited athletes, but in my year, Cantello took 25 plebes total, so quite a few walk ons too.

The standards were rather generous: a sub-5 mile time is around the slowest I believe Cantello allowed to walk onto.
 
Gonavy10108 said:
Good evening,
DS is trying to walk on the track team. I told him that he needs to want it and to work hard for it. He has backup options as well, in case things don't work out for him.
How does walking on work over the summer? I know track has many recruited athletes, so I was curious as to what it would look like for him.
Click to expand...
From what my friends on the track team have told me, last year zero walk ons made the team

Crazily enough even some of the recruits did not make the team either.

Track is very hard to walk onto, but of course if a walk on is a absolute stud then they’ll make the team.

The marathon team is a club ( I think), and apparently very accepting of new people. No personal experience with that though because the PRT is enough running for me.
 
They seem to bring in a lot of new/young talent. Probably because being a D1 athlete is exhausting and a ton of work. There is a reason you don't see a lot of 2/C and 1/C on the team.

If distance runner, better be a 4:45 miler to walk on. My kid had a recruited runner in his company, and the kid ran the PS mile and a half around 7:30 for his time. :eek2:
 
GO NAVY 2029 said:
From what my friends on the track team have told me, last year zero walk ons made the team

Crazily enough even some of the recruits did not make the team either.

Track is very hard to walk onto, but of course if a walk on is a absolute stud then they’ll make the team.

The marathon team is a club ( I think), and apparently very accepting of new people. No personal experience with that though because the PRT is enough running for me.
Click to expand...
Oh wow! Ok, well then my information is very dated.
Looks like things have changed quite a bit.
 
As mentioned earlier, I’ve heard good things about the club marathon team. There’s also the endurance team and club triathlon that are active on the yard. The runners on those teams are beasts while also being less time commitment than varsity/D1 track. There’s also The Training Team, Infantry Skills Team, and Combat Arms Team that aren’t purely running-focused but run and work out frequently as a team.
 
GO NAVY 2029 said:
From what my friends on the track team have told me, last year zero walk ons made the team

Crazily enough even some of the recruits did not make the team either.

Track is very hard to walk onto, but of course if a walk on is a absolute stud then they’ll make the team.

The marathon team is a club ( I think), and apparently very accepting of new people. No personal experience with that though because the PRT is enough running for me.
Click to expand...
Oh, wow. Not surprising, though. I saw they performed very well this past spring. Will he be notified over the summer? Or before his academic year starts? He loves running, so im sure he will try the marathon team.
 
FormerMid2012 said:
Is he a sprinter or a distance runner?
I ask because there are different cultures and standards to the different teams.

I can only really speak to the distance running team during the Coach Cantello era, but there is ample opportunity to walk onto the distance team.

I believe Coach Lanzel runs his program similar to Cantello. There will be some very fast recruited athletes, but in my year, Cantello took 25 plebes total, so quite a few walk ons too.

The standards were rather generous: a sub-5 mile time is around the slowest I believe Cantello allowed to walk onto.
Click to expand...
He is a distance runner. Which is why, in my opinion, if he is unable to walk on, he can try the marathon club. There’s so many opportunities for him. It’s incredible. I told him if he doesn’t make it - don’t fret. He can try other things! 😅. Thank you so much for this information - it’s very helpful. I appreciate it!
 
Gonavy10108 said:
Oh, wow. Not surprising, though. I saw they performed very well this past spring. Will he be notified over the summer? Or before his academic year starts? He loves running, so im sure he will try the marathon team.
Click to expand...
Lots of good input above. But Step 1- has he emailed the coach or someone on the coaching staff to ask about the possibilities or requirements to walk-on? Or even to schedule a telephone appointment? I would recommend this if he is interested and I would do it sooner than later. After initial contact, then he can set periodic communications with the coach. I know you're looking for a walk-on spot, but walk-ons make contact with coaches just like recruited athletes do.
 
TotallyNotTheIG said:
Lots of good input above. But Step 1- has he emailed the coach or someone on the coaching staff to ask about the possibilities or requirements to walk-on? Or even to schedule a telephone appointment? I would recommend this if he is interested and I would do it sooner than later. After initial contact, then he can set periodic communications with the coach. I know you're looking for a walk-on spot, but walk-ons make contact with coaches just like recruited athletes do.
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I think I have lost the bubble here. Is the person we are talking about in ‘30 and already at PS? Or someone in the early days of application cycle?
 
I do like the forward approach. DS emailed the club coach of the sport he is interested in immediately after receiving the Appointment.
 
Gonavy10108 said:
He is a distance runner. Which is why, in my opinion, if he is unable to walk on, he can try the marathon club. There’s so many opportunities for him. It’s incredible. I told him if he doesn’t make it - don’t fret. He can try other things! 😅. Thank you so much for this information - it’s very helpful. I appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Would you mind sharing his times?
 
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