Varsity sport senior year

[gill0610]

Since ROTC scholarship applications don't really look at your senior year accomplishments how important is it to play a varsity sport senior year? DS has played baseball since kindergarten and is playing with his high school fall team now as a senior. Fall baseball is not an official school sport so is not a varsity sport. He is struggling with the sport and is considering not playing in the spring. Does this matter? I know ROTC scholarships will be awarded before spring season begins so presumably no impact there. However if he doesn't get a scholarship and then applies again as a college freshman will this have a negative impact? I have suggested track as a spring sport instead as I figure this would at least get him in shape.
Thanks

 

[Falcon A]

Others may know more, but I don't think senior year spring semester high school varsity sport participation will matter for ROTC since national ROTC scholarship awards typically occur before then. Also, the key is being a letterman and a team captain. Performance while at college as a Freshman will matter more for award of a on-campus based ROTC scholarship. Spring semester high school varsity sport participation and achievement probably would matter if applying for a SA appointment while a college Freshman.

 

[Pima]

JMPO, but I do not think it will hurt him if he decides not to play. If asked why not, he can simply state that he knew he would be a walk on ROTC cadet in the fall and did not want to risk any injury that could medically DQ him from doing so.

The cadre knows there are kids that can break an arm or leg, or injure their body that might take 6-9 weeks to recover through physical therapy which means during that time he could not train for ROTC PFT, such as doing push ups and running. Thus, impo I would not see them as seeing it as a negative because part of starting off on a good fit is being physically fit.

I agree with Falcon, performance at college will be more important than if he didn't play a spring sport.

 

[Dckc88]

Regardless of senior year or not, as long as the student has a reason for their decision, (Pima provided a great one), They don't expect anyone to do an activity just to "check a box". My daughter was a dancer and swimmer her whole life then did not do either after her sophomore year. She went on a foreign exchange and came back and did not even swim for her high school season. The PMS asked her why she stopped swimming and dancing. She simply explained that those two activities took up the bulk of her free time and when she returned from abroad she wanted to spend her last two years in high school getting to be involved in more things. Not swimming or dancing allowed her to work, volunteer at the hospital weekly, be a youth leader at church, run cross country both years, participate in running events monthly on her own, etc. I will also tell you that after the scholarship is received if he earns one, no one is going to ask about his senior year activities/sports. Best of luck.