What are the effects of multiple Athletic Commitments given in one county in a small state

[Capt MJ]

I found a decent explanation on this board from 2010. I'll see if I can paste it here.

I did it!!! Anyway, it seems like A LOT of admissions spots get eaten up by athletes who may not even end up playing after sophomore year. And while an athlete may have "good but just ok" stats other than athletics, the athlete could make their way into the SA on slightly lower stats, and stay in regardless of further athletic performance. So, in that case, I can see the athlete's motivation. I still don't like it though. It's a real bummer for someone who has super high stats, but is not a recruited athlete...and, as is my concern from the start, lives in the same area as these recruited athletes.

It’s not just super high stats that make a good officer and leader. Super high stats mean the person has a fine mind capable of performing well academically, which is valuable, of course. That is just one of the elements aming many sought by the SAs. The SAs deliberately look for high-performing candidates with athletic team experience, unlike non-SA colleges who are more focused on the academic expertise. SA and MIT “ideal applicant” elements overlap in some areas, and in many, not at all.

Those whom officers lead do not care whether their officer had a perfect SAT score, eye-watering ACT, impressive GPA and other impressive achievements. They want someone who is fair, consistent, trustworthy, ethical, decisive, agile thnking, a good communicator, respectful of their role and technical skills, capable of building and leading a team in high-pressure situations far from home where lives are at stake, and understanding strategy, tactics, gear and equipment in a way that brings everyone home safely. MIT is not charged with preparing their students for that kind of responsibility.

In several recent threads, posters asked questions about the importance of varsity sports. I copied one of my responses below.

The SAs value sports team participation and leadership not just for the obvious physical fitness, but for traits desirable in future junior officers: peer and team leadership, time mamagement, strategic planning and execution, decision-making in dynamic situations, overcoming failure, adaptiveness, resilience, collaboration, situational awareness, operating under pressure, anticipation, critical thinking, playing through discomfort and exhaustion, perseverance, self-discipline, commitment to a goal. I could go on.
I advised those posters with little to no organized athletics to ensure they did well on the CFA to demonstrate acceptable fitness and to ensure other activities demonstrated the traits and skills found in organized sports and team leadership positions.

With respect, noting SA appointments are “eaten up” by recruited athletes does not come across positively - but that is perhaps because internet chat forums are devoid of vocal tone, facial expressions and eye contact and can flatten meaning. The SAs fully expect many recruited athletes may leave their original sport and move to other sports activities. The are fine with that - no kicking out athletes who “lost their athletic scholarship” - they got what they wanted. Future officers with qualities they are looking for.

The SA application process and 4 years at an SA are essentially a long and complex job interview for future officers, expected to lead people into harm’s way and be accountable and responsible in situations not expected of civilian university graduates in civilian careers (excepting LE, clandestine services, etc.).

For those who put academic excellence at the top of their priorities, a good alternative is ROTC at a top-tier university - though the ROTC path also places a high value on sports participation.

And to put faces on varsity athletes at SAs, read these stories. No one cared about their stats once commissioned and serving - and excelling.

https://parade.com/297011/barryyeom...-side-by-side-at-arlington-national-cemetery/

Travis Manion Foundation - "If Not Me, Then Who..."

Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) empowers veterans and the families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations. In 2007, 1st Lt Travis Manion.

www.travismanion.org

Becky Calder Blazes a Trail for Female Fighter Pilots

In 2002, on her first combat deployment during Operation Enduring Freedom, Cmdr. Becky Calder, née Dowling, flew her F/A-18 Hornet over Afghanistan on a challenging mission. When friendly forces on the ground were ambushed; Calder and her wingman were tasked with supporting them in the air.It...

parade.com

 

[Darcydoo]

It’s not just super high stats that make a good officer and leader. Super high stats mean the person has a fine mind capable of performing well academically, which is valuable, of course. That is just one of the elements aming many sought by the SAs. The SAs deliberately look for high-performing candidates with athletic team experience, unlike non-SA colleges who are more focused on the academic expertise. SA and MIT “ideal applicant” elements overlap in some areas, and in many, not at all.

Those whom officers lead do not care whether their officer had a perfect SAT score, eye-watering ACT, impressive GPA and other impressive achievements. They want someone who is fair, consistent, trustworthy, ethical, decisive, agile thnking, a good communicator, respectful of their role and technical skills, capable of building and leading a team in high-pressure situations far from home where lives are at stake, and understanding strategy, tactics, gear and equipment in a way that brings everyone home safely. MIT is not charged with preparing their students for that kind of responsibility.

In several recent threads, posters asked questions about the importance of varsity sports. I copied one of my responses below.

The SAs value sports team participation and leadership not just for the obvious physical fitness, but for traits desirable in future junior officers: peer and team leadership, time mamagement, strategic planning and execution, decision-making in dynamic situations, overcoming failure, adaptiveness, resilience, collaboration, situational awareness, operating under pressure, anticipation, critical thinking, playing through discomfort and exhaustion, perseverance, self-discipline, commitment to a goal. I could go on.
I advised those posters with little to no organized athletics to ensure they did well on the CFA to demonstrate acceptable fitness and to ensure other activities demonstrated the traits and skills found in organized sports and team leadership positions.

With respect, noting SA appointments are “eaten up” by recruited athletes does not come across positively - but that is perhaps because internet chat forums are devoid of vocal tone, facial expressions and eye contact and can flatten meaning. The SAs fully expect many recruited athletes may leave their original sport and move to other sports activities. The are fine with that - no kicking out athletes who “lost their athletic scholarship” - they got what they wanted. Future officers with qualities they are looking for.

The SA application process and 4 years at an SA are essentially a long and complex job interview for future officers, expected to lead people into harm’s way and be accountable and responsible in situations not expected of civilian university graduates in civilian careers (excepting LE, clandestine services, etc.).

For those who put academic excellence at the top of their priorities, a good alternative is ROTC at a top-tier university - though the ROTC path also places a high value on sports participation.

And to put faces on varsity athletes at SAs, read these stories. No one cared about their stats once commissioned and serving - and excelling.

https://parade.com/297011/barryyeom...-side-by-side-at-arlington-national-cemetery/

Travis Manion Foundation - "If Not Me, Then Who..."

Travis Manion Foundation (TMF) empowers veterans and the families of fallen heroes to develop character in future generations. In 2007, 1st Lt Travis Manion.

www.travismanion.org

Becky Calder Blazes a Trail for Female Fighter Pilots

In 2002, on her first combat deployment during Operation Enduring Freedom, Cmdr. Becky Calder, née Dowling, flew her F/A-18 Hornet over Afghanistan on a challenging mission. When friendly forces on the ground were ambushed; Calder and her wingman were tasked with supporting them in the air.It...

parade.com

Interesting read. One of those guys went to my brother's high school.

 

[Firstgo]

Can you explain some parts of this to me? I thought the Falcon Scholarship was for an additional year of prep school. Is that what your DD did? You state that she graduated USAFA, was it a year later than she planned after a year of prep school? Also, can you explain the phrase "pull him off of a nomination if he got one." Does that mean he gets awarded the nomination and your DD doesn't get it (or is it the exact opposite)? I'm trying to learn so much so fast. My brain is exploding!

You are correct regarding the Falcon Foundation Scholarship is an additional year of preparation. Going to college and reapplying is also an additional year of preparation also depending on how you look at it. From my experience though was that those that got the FS were fully qualified for admission to the USAFA but for a various reasons did not get selected from their nomination source into the USAFA on their first attempt which was the case of my DD. My DD just graduated from USAFA with an engineering degree and did get a pilot slot but it took her 5 years including the FFS. Many of her friends at the USAFA were Falcon Foundation Scholars, went to ROTC for 1-3 years before getting into the academy or was prior enlisted. About 25% or so of the cadiets are not right out of high school. Since this other family was friends we were told by them that the coach had told them that he had limited number of Blue Chips to offer and since their son had such high stats in all areas that they would pull him off one the nomination list that he received. Their son only applied for one nomintation source only, which happened to be the same nomination source our DD was on. I do not claim to understand how selection are made from those that are nominated but it just seemed very coincidental late in the acceptance process that the same day he accepted our DD received an e-mail asking if she would be interested in taking a Falcon Foundation Scholarship.

 

[Darcydoo]

That's a great story! Thanks for sharing. Your daughter sounds so impressive, and she certainly has perseverance!

 

[JacoAZ]

It is easy in a smaller community or school to look left or right to other applicants as your son's direct competition but there are sooooo many different slots that have to be filled by candidates across the globe who also must be pristine physical specimens, emotionally committed to serve, intelligent, and not being chased by a more enticing option (whatever that may be for that applicant.) Read that Sue Ross book on USAFA admissions, it'll help address any parent hand-wringing angst. You'll see that it is the admissions process marathon that is the thing most important to understand and it is not relative to other potential in-state applicants, LOA athletes, military kids or DEI candidates cause they have their own set of factors or more to contend with .

 

[TexasMom2028]

I think I maybe didn't phrase my question correctly. The athletes wouldn't be serving at all, correct, unless they knew they were CERTAINLY getting an eventual appointment.

So this is what I want to ask: Unless an appointment is already a foregone conclusion to being in a mutual verbal commitment situation, why would a D1 athlete use up their "sport recruit clout" early-on for an uncertainty? I don't think they would. I guess what I'm really asking/understanding/stating is that all the sports recruits really are in the front of the line in terms of appointments, are they not? I've gone back and read some old threads now, and it seems that's the case, unless the athlete injures him/herself really, really badly. Are my powers of deduction on point? ( I am talking now about getting an appointment, not a nomination)

Good morning. My apologies for the delayed response as I haven't been keeping up with this forum as much as of late.
As the mother of true D1 athlete that is now in BCT at USAFA, let me answer your question.

On signing day, athletic recruits do NOT sign a binding agreement with the SA they have chosen (please see the attached photo-enlarge it and read the last line). This is due to the rigorous process of actually attending an SA. This is unlike a ‘regular’ institution where once they ‘commit’ they are legally tied to that institution and ‘off limits’ to all others.
This means that they can absolutely change their minds and go somewhere else up until the very last second in case they do not meet the SAs standards. Example - my DS was still receiving D1 offers up until the day after he went to BCT which was 6/26/24 (I have access to his Twitter). Coaches of regular institutions will use that time to get the very best “package” together that they can offer to a recruit which usually means higher NIL funds.
Please understand what that means. For the most part, the ICs truly are all in at that particular SA if they don't waiver, so yes, they are there for more than just the opportunity to play a sport.

Allow me to tell you a little about my football player. He graduated Valedictorian of his class (it was 605 of them) with a 4.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale, his class rank never fell below #1 his entire 4 years of high school, he was a 3-year Varsity starter on the football team (2-year captain), a 3-year varsity track (he was more of the field part of track and field ) athlete 3-year captain, and a 3-year varsity powerlifter 2 year captain. He graduated with his AA (86 college credits actually) and a level 1 phlebotomy certification with a perfect 4.0 GPA. On his own, he received 4.3 million in scholarships. He was the NHS President for 2 years. He logged about 200 hours of community service a year. He scored 1430 on the SAT and only took it once. He was in the top 98% in the pSAT which put him in the category of a Rhodes Scholar. I could literally go on and on…but I told you all of that so that you understand just what type of “athletes” USAFA is recruiting. They are the definition of a SCHOLAR-Athlete.
With the large number of ICs at the Academy, it for sure seems like it is a quality they are really looking for.

Your DS sounds amazing!!!! They all are…which makes for a really awesome journey for the cadets. Good luck to y’all.