USNA Soccer recruit

JP2019TP

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Nov 8, 2017
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My son (TP) attended the USNA soccer camp last summer as a rising Junior. The coaching staff expressed interest in him, and contacted him on September 1st (the first day college coaches can reach out to Junior students directly)

He and the coach have been texting frequently, and the coach has called him several times to "check in". They basically told him that they want him for the team.

TP will apply for Summer Seminar in January.

While we realize that he still has to go through all the proper channels to receive a nomination, etc. can you tell me if being recruited to play a sport has any bearing on his application. Will it increase his chances of an acceptance?
 
If he's a blue chip athlete, it will definitely help. Otherwise, not necessarily.
 
Can you define "Blue Chip Athlete"?

In terms of USNA specifically, blue-chip is a status that says essentially that the recruit in question will be admitted as long has s/he meets the basic academic/character requirements of admission. Each coach gets a certain number of slots to "blue-chip" an recruit so that they can get admitted. Often times these athletes, while not necessarily being poor students, might not be competitive for admission in their area, so the blue chip allows them to be admitted without having to worry about whether they can get a nomination or not. In fact, if you have an athlete that is competitive enough from an academic/professional standpoint for admission without their sports prowess, they will often not be blue chipped even though they might be one of the best in their recruiting class. This "saves" a blue chip spot for another recruit that would otherwise not be competitive for admission.

Example: My friend (recruited swimmer) graduated with honors from the #3 public high school in the country. He was not blue chipped, because he was competitive enough to win a nomination on his own academic/extracurricular merit. They saved that spot for somebody else on the team that probably wouldn't have gotten a nomination based on their grades/ECs.
 
And one point to make... most coaches will not tell you if you are a blue chip. This is because that list will continually change. For example, if your DS was a goalie. He could be #2 on the list. If the #1 is waivering or maybe has some issues DoDMERB, they may wait to see if they use the blue chip on #1. If #1 now commits to State U, then your DS might now become a blue chip. This list is constantly changing, just like any other school that is racking and stacking recruits and figuring out who to make offers to.
 
allows them to be admitted without having to worry about whether they can get a nomination or not

Can someone tell me how "blue chip" athletes are admitted without a Nomination ? The nomination requirement is statutory, not something USNA can waive.
 
Can someone tell me how "blue chip" athletes are admitted without a Nomination ? The nomination requirement is statutory, not something USNA can waive.

I suppose what I meant to say was "congressional nomination". My understanding is that many of these individuals are given SecNav nominations, just like most NAPS M/Cs.
 
I suppose what I meant to say was "congressional nomination". My understanding is that many of these individuals are given SecNav nominations, just like most NAPS M/Cs.

But SecNav Nomination requires being active duty/reserve ? That certainly applies to the athletes who go to NAPS...but is there a way to back door athletes into the academy without nomination or enlistment ?
 
There is a group that is called Presidential or Superintendent that these fall into. If you look at the class make up each year, most of these are covered in the "Additional Appointee" bucket.
 
There is a group that is called Presidential or Superintendent that these fall into. If you look at the class make up each year, most of these are covered in the "Additional Appointee" bucket.
The Presidential is reserved for children of qualified activity duty, reserve or retired military personnel. If a child qualifies for the Presidential nomination they automatically get that nomination. So if a recruited athlete did not qualify under Presidential nomination, they could not have this as an option. I would assume the nomination source for them could then be the Supe or VP nominations.
 
Speaking of sports at the academies, does anyone know what it means to have a draft APR rating? I have no idea what it means except that it's related to sport.
 
Speaking of sports at the academies, does anyone know what it means to have a draft APR rating? I have no idea what it means except that it's related to sport.

Per Wiki:
The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a measure introduced by the National Collegiate AthleticAssociation (NCAA), to track student-athletes chances of graduation.
 
Speaking of sports at the academies, does anyone know what it means to have a draft APR rating? I have no idea what it means except that it's related to sport.

Per Wiki:
The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a measure introduced by the National Collegiate AthleticAssociation (NCAA), to track student-athletes chances of graduation.
Thank you for that. I was reading about the NCAA APR online, and found reference to team APR scores (1000 being the best but 940 average okay), but couldn't find any information on individual athlete scores - like if someone is a 1 or 2 or 3 draft rating on their APR is that a good thing? Is 1 the best, and if so, what's the lowest draft rating for an individual athlete? Sorry, I don't mean to hijack this thread - I hope this question is still on point with the sport recruitment focus :)
 
Supts nom is where athletes with a LOA and no nom typically fall under. Sometimes when candidates live in a highly competitive districts/states, Senators and Congressmen will not put recruited athletes with a LOA on their slate so they can get more constituents into academies. (I know multiple athletes from several sports that this applies to) Not sure if this includes all "blue chip" athletes.
 
Supts nom is where athletes with a LOA and no nom typically fall under. Sometimes when candidates live in a highly competitive districts/states, Senators and Congressmen will not put recruited athletes with a LOA on their slate so they can get more constituents into academies. (I know multiple athletes from several sports that this applies to) Not sure if this includes all "blue chip" athletes.
Yes my DD has an LOA from USNA and USAFA and was told after her congressional interviews that even though her scores are high across the board, they wouldn't nominate her because of the LOA's. They were of the belief that she will get a nomination elsewhere and it is unfair to other candidates in our district without the LOA.
 
Supts nom is where athletes with a LOA and no nom typically fall under. Sometimes when candidates live in a highly competitive districts/states, Senators and Congressmen will not put recruited athletes with a LOA on their slate so they can get more constituents into academies. (I know multiple athletes from several sports that this applies to) Not sure if this includes all "blue chip" athletes.
Yes my DD has an LOA from USNA and USAFA and was told after her congressional interviews that even though her scores are high across the board, they wouldn't nominate her because of the LOA's. They were of the belief that she will get a nomination elsewhere and it is unfair to other candidates in our district without the LOA.
That is a shame that the LOA could be actually working against her in your state. :(
 
Yes my DD has an LOA from USNA and USAFA and was told after her congressional interviews that even though her scores are high across the board, they wouldn't nominate her because of the LOA's. They were of the belief that she will get a nomination elsewhere and it is unfair to other candidates in our district without the LOA.[/QUOTE]
Supts nom is where athletes with a LOA and no nom typically fall under. Sometimes when candidates live in a highly competitive districts/states, Senators and Congressmen will not put recruited athletes with a LOA on their slate so they can get more constituents into academies. (I know multiple athletes from several sports that this applies to) Not sure if this includes all "blue chip" athletes.
Yes my DD has an LOA from USNA and USAFA and was told after her congressional interviews that even though her scores are high across the board, they wouldn't nominate her because of the LOA's. They were of the belief that she will get a nomination elsewhere and it is unfair to other candidates in our district without the LOA.

Have faith! This happened to my DD as well and she is now a plebe at USNA. Her coach was aware of the possibility, as
we live in a highly competitive state for USNA. She received a Supts nom and appointment 2 days after our congressman turned in his slate (Senators were finished earlier). She was given similar feedback in her interviews. Our representatives also communicate and do not repeat candidates on multiple slates.
 
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