<p>My son lives and breathes anything to do with military history. He is a boyscout and will probably make Eagle scout later this year. At this point he thinks he wants to go to either the Naval Academy or West Point. Academically, there is no problem. However, he is not great at any sport. And from what I am reading it seems that is essential to being admitted...do you have to make a varsity team to qualify for entrance? Thanks...</p>
<p>You don't have to, but it sure helps an awful lot. He has the time to develop skills in a number of sports in which he may have an interest. If he isn't interested in or competitive for team sports, he should try cross country/track. The running will be great prep for CFA, service academy life and military careers. Also, joining an age group swim team will help to develop his swimming skills/endurance. Good luck!</p>
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Academically, there is no problem.
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<p>Nor was it when I was in 8th Grade. Then came my first two years of High School. YIKES!</p>
<p>STUDY, STUDY, STUDY!</p>
<p>Oh, and do what momoftwins said. :)</p>
<p>It's time to develop the study and work habits he'll need to excel in high school; he should shoot for straight A's and try his best to keep it that way. High academic achievement has got to become a habit and a priority in his life.</p>
<p>As for sports, it's best he do something he really enjoys and can stick with for four years. Wrestling is great because it's a contact sport (West Point like that), teaches responsibility for one's successes and failures (it's just you and the other fellow who want's to separate your head from the rest of you), and favors no one physical makeup because wrestlers compete within relatively narrow weight classes. Counter intuitively it’s actually surprisingly safe though injuries are certainly not unknown and your ears can sometimes come out looking funny.</p>
<p>I would agree with WPSON2010 wrestling is really great. My son didn't start wrestling until he was in eight grade and now wrestles at KP. B ut the lessons he learned mentally were as helpful as anything else to him, especially as a plebe.</p>
<p>Also, as a wrestler you're in great cardio and muscular shape so indoc was pretty easy physically as well.</p>
<p>He just went over to the HS and said he wanted to wrestle and they let him practice with the team even as an eighth grader. That first year he spent a lot of time wiping the mats with his back, but he got better and better.</p>
<p>I was not in school-sponsored sports until my junior year. I still managed to make it in (to USAFA) with grades and ECs, but I wish I had joined earlier. You learn a lot and it looks good too.</p>
<p>(Get that Eagle too! Of the things that I am proud of, Eagle and being at USAFA are at the top...and one is partially due to the other!)</p>
<p>australis,</p>
<p>I suggest that you review the profile for the Class of 2010.</p>
<p>Varsity Ahletics - 91.5%</p>
<p>Varsity Letter Winner - 85.2%</p>
<p>While participation in varsity athletics is not an absolute requirement, it is one of the three areas being evaluated by the Admissions Board.</p>
<p>The three "pillars" evaluated by the Admissions Board are: academics, athletics, and leadership.</p>
<p>HIGHLY motivating post count you got there, GA (for now, at least)! ;)</p>
<p>OP, My S was like yours in 8th grade, great grades and no sports but very interested in the military acad. route. He went out for JV Football the summer after 8th grade (never played before, weighed a whopping 135). He had no real skills but lots of grit and never missed a practice. He got in maybe 3 plays of each game the whole season.<br>
Lifted a lot of weights in the off-season, put on 15 lbs. and was starting linebacker and team capt. Soph. year which gave him an automatic spot on the Varsity for the next year.<br>
S changed his mind in middle of h.s. and decided to go NROTC but all the football has stood him in good sted for all the running and workouts he's doing now (his unit contains a lot of MECEPs...hard core workouts).</p>
<p>Bottom line...help your S choose something he would like to do and go for it. Try to figure out which sports at his high school are the least competitive. These are most likely the easiest ones for an unskilled player to get on. He doesn't have to be the star of the team. He just needs to be part of the team. The apps. don't ask how many tackles you made or points you scored.
Good Luck and consider NROTC if the SA plan doesn't work out!</p>