Sports Requirement?

[Jafapressmom]

I have a son who is a Sophmore, he is very interested in going to the AFA. We are residents of Colorado Springs for 17 years, so it is something we have seen and loved for a while now. He is an excellent student with a 4.25 GPA, he is in marching band/concert band, he is in ROTC/ and drill team. He has received many awards, Academic ROTC team, drill team awards, leadership awards, etc. My question is this, he is very strong in drill team competes in spinning, and it is very rigorous. Would this be considered a sport? He was doing so Parkour for fun, so he is somewhat athletic. He did play soccer for around 11 years, and was competitive for 5 yrs. Is this enough or should he pick up something else?

 

[fencersmother]

He's a rising soph, so 15? Played soccer since he was 4, now quit. His junior high competitions won't count.

Spinning is riding a stationary bike? I can't speak to that since I have zero knowledge of it. If it is a competitive sport, with actual certifiable competitions, it may count, though again, I don't know what this is.

 

[USMA 1994]

There is no perfect answer and you never know who your son will be competing against. If you look at the class profile, something like 98% are varsity athletes and most of those will also have individual awards associated with those sports. I would say that he will have a lower WCS in the athletic area and will need to be at the top end of the curve in other areas to offset. You mention his GPA but the test scores and class rank are really more important. There are a ton of post that discuss GPA and how class rank comes into play.

If your DS's dream is to attend the AFA, by all means he should apply and do his best. I would not recommend trying to do a sport just to make his resume look better. Coach him to do things that he may like and expand his opportunities.

 

[Stealth_81]

I don't think any of what he has will equal a varsity sport on his application. I would suggest trying to do a sport. There is a sticky at the top of the USAFA forum that is about sports and your academy application. Read the first post in there by Christcorp. It explains why sports are so important.

Stealth_81

 

[AROTC-dad]

Agree with Stealth that adding a varsity sport now while still a sophomore would be helpful to your DS's profile.

Here is a link to the USAFA class profile demographics. You can see the breakdown of varsity sports on this list:
http://www.neoafapa.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/2020_-_Demographic_Profiles.28172549.pdf

 

[Christcorp]

As stealth mentioned, there is a sticky on sports and the importance the academy puts on it. Once you read that, you're realize that it has very little to do with being "Athletic". But at the same time, you'll realize too that drill team is not considered a sport.

Also, posting in the summer that someone IS a sophomore, Junior, etc. is misleading. WAS he a sophomore 3 months ago and WILL BE A JUNIOR in 3-4 weeks; or was he a freshman and WILL BE A SOPHOMORE in 3-4 weeks. If he WILL be a Sophomore, then he has plenty of time to get involved in sports. I'm not going to explain here why it's important. There's an entire sticky dedicated to that subject; read it. But I will say, that sports he did in elementary school and junior high, "Don't Count". And the reason will be obvious once you read the sticky.

Best of luck.

 

[seacadetmum]

I'm kind of in the same boat with mine. She did competitive JO springboard diving for years but quit after spraining her back, there was also the decision to be made of...if she wanted to stay she almost had to homeschool because practice would bump to 6 "2-a-days". Now she is in a bit of limbo in regards to sports. She is a rising freshman and will be participating in freshman soccer, like yours she played that from 3 until she took up diving. The coaches think she will do fine.

 

[fencersmother]

seacadetmum: does your daughter like soccer? If she is a rising freshman, let her pick up a new sport (even one NOT at school!). It's not like she's locked into her life's work at age 13.

 

[Billberna]

our DS didn't really have a sport at all entering high school. He took up tennis, finding it a bit easier to break into this sport at the advanced age of 14. He has taken tennis classes ever since year-round and is playing for a school tennis team. Although he isn't a super player, his actual match record isn't good, he has been committed to improving his game throughout high school. Tennis has taught him to hang in there even when things aren't going so great. Now he is a senior and plans to play tennis for the school next season as well.

 

[falconchic88]

I'm kind of in the same boat with mine. She did competitive JO springboard diving for years but quit after spraining her back, there was also the decision to be made of...if she wanted to stay she almost had to homeschool because practice would bump to 6 "2-a-days". Now she is in a bit of limbo in regards to sports. She is a rising freshman and will be participating in freshman soccer, like yours she played that from 3 until she took up diving. The coaches think she will do fine.

If she was a diver, she might want to try pole vaulting! Gymnasts and divers do exceptionally well at pole vault, and there are not many female pole vaulters, so lots of chances to excel.

Jafapressmom, if your son did parkour he may enjoy and excel at Pole Vaulting as well!

 

[falconchic88]

My son did basketball and competitive club soccer before starting high school. Played freshman basketball and was drafted to be a kicker for the football team his freshman year. Spring sports season came around and he debated between soccer (he was getting burned out) or track and field. He decided to do track and on a whim take up pole vaulting, a sport we had never even thought about before. He dropped basketball and football after his sophomore year to train for PV. Fast forward to his Junior year, and he is now the 7A state Pole Vault champion! So its never really too late to take up a new sport, and they just might find their niche!