I have been going through this recently with my son. First, if you are getting recruited by D1 schools, likely you will be on track for the academies athletically (even if they are not the top tier). We have been to the academies with multiple recruitable athletes. I will say, their academics are often a problem and limits what the coach can do for them (probably 3 out of 10 of the athletes that have been on the recruiting trips meet the academic standards that enable the coach to help them (w.r.t. LOA's)). Certainly if they really have the athletics, if they are boarderline, the coach will still likely be able to help out some later to push them over. Academics come first, though athletics do open doors. Getting on the team versus being a recruited athlete are two separate matters. Never hurts to email the coach to get on the radar so he might watch for your results. My son did not contact them, the coaches contacted him (they will have a short list). They have a difficult time recruiting, it is much more involved. Knowing an athlete is interested in joining a service academy and meets their academic profile helps them keep from wasting their time. Division 1 schools are technically not allowed to recruit until (July 1, I think). You can, on the other hand, contact them before that. The academies have a bit more ability to recruit early because the application process is so lengthy at least we were hearing things quite a bit before that date, but depends on the coach and their interpretation of the rules. The Universities strictly abide by this but the academies get a little bit of grace on this. Do the best you can at your sport, make sure your SAT's are in the range of their average, and take courses that would indicate you are on track to do well at the academy.