<p>Go Kings Point - Beat Coast Guard!
Nov. 12, 2005
USMMA - Kings Point - 21<br>
Coast Guard - 5
New London, CT - On a beautiful day at the United States Coast Guard Academy, Davey May put forth the best performance of his collegiate career with an 127 yard rushing performance and two big touchdown runs to give the United States Merchant Marine Academy Football Mariners their second straight win to end the season in the 25th Annual Secretaries' Cup over the arch-rival Bears.
"This is the reason why I came back to the Academy to win this game," remarked first year head coach Mike Toop. USMMA ended the year on a high note retaining both the Hoffman and Secretaries' Cup for the second straight season.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard finished 2-7 overall and winless at 0-7 in the conference in its final year of existence as a member of the Liberty League.</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome. I really enjoy all the service rivalry comments, they make me chuckle. I have a younger son (in 8th grade right now) that is interested in the Air Force. If he ends up there what will I do when Army plays Air Force?!</p>
<p>To Jamzmom...I know I will be a mess, I already am. I like to plan things way ahead of time, so with my luck, he will get offered an appointment the day before R-day! I am trying to learn to just roll with the punches and not think too far ahead.</p>
<p>WAMom,</p>
<p>Good thing this isn't a tough question. You always root for Army over another service academy. D) (what? no big grin? what happened to my smilie?)</p>
<p>Go ARMY!
BEAT AIR FORCE!</p>
<p>Also a good thing that you chuckle about all of this. It really is just in fun, in spite of what Zaphod says.</p>
<p>The Army, Navy and Air Force Academies compete for the Commander-in-Chief trophy in football. Navy won it the past 3 years, but traditionally Air Force has dominated over the years since it was first awarded in 1972. Air Force (16) Navy (8) Army (6).
See <a href="http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=274c2hegtjfa0?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Commander+in+Chief%27s+Trophy&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc08a&linktext=Commander%20in%20Chief's%20Trophy">http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery;jsessionid=274c2hegtjfa0?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=Commander+in+Chief%27s+Trophy&curtab=2222_1&sbid=lc08a&linktext=Commander%20in%20Chief's%20Trophy</a></p>
<p>WA mom- the West Point alumni (recruiters?) are awesome from this area. Also when you attend the WA academy ball in December you will see the uniforms are indeed spectacular. (unfortunately no female cadets attended from USMA in '05 (Haven't seen one up close yet--want to see those pearl buttons for myself) (Well anyway the mothers there were justifiably proud of the boys, even if they had gold buttons, not pearls!!!) My daughter was really impressed on her trip to W. P. ---it was a tough decision for her--all things being equal it's kind of nice to have only one hour time change instead of three. (fyi-my daughter has really "blossomed" at the AFA --she really likes her classes, is working hard, is on an athletic team, and also is volunteering at helping with some of the social activities. She has a horse in the stables there and she said the trail system could cover 4 states if you had time. Heading out on the wonderful trails there is true happiness for her. She says every cadet there is "a great kid". She even enjoys using the research capacities at the library as it contains powerful search capabilities. She was raving about how interesting her research paper is. We were just hoping she would find college "interesting" so she would stick it out. (any college) We think she's just about as happy there as any of other friends who are away from home, some of which have been extremely homesick. Even during the summer training, her one phone call was only 40 seconds-- "I love it here" when we said that she could come home if she wanted to. We were expecting some depression --she said she misses the rain but that's it. As parents she are thrilled that she is happy--you know they're so busy that time flies by for them. It's a good thing. Kind regards, (from Bellevue, WA)</p>
<p>Lotsofbooks, "She has a horse in the stables there"? TRULY?? I didn't know they could do that. How very neat!! Is it her very own or owned by the academy? Is she responsible for it's care & tack at all times? I'm amazed to hear this. Is it a club type thing where just a few kids participate in? That is the greatest thing! Congrats on your daughter by the way.</p>
<p>Yes, it's true!! Her very first college fair as a 9th grader was memorable --because all the recruiters remembered the girl who said, "I want to swim", and "I want to do horses". She said the Coast Guard academy rep really "latched onto her" when he found out she was homeschooled and a swimmer. (who knows what he said about the horses?) . My Coastie friend explained to me that at the academies homeschooling is not ncessarily a disadvantage--and the math program we did really paid off (it just took awhile). So later when she was recruited by a swimming mailer from West Point (it had a horse on it ,you know!), I realized she could be considered if homeschooling isn't necessarily bad. When she went out to West Point they found the stables on the website, but no one knew where they were exactly. At USAFA they are right across from the prep school. (about 4 miles away, but on campus--they could point to them!! She wasn't sure of the time commitment, either. She was afraid her Arabian would get too cold, but then she saw them later there but with a heavy winter coat. It's a lot easier to buy a horse, than sell, let me tell you!! It took 4 monthes to sell her horse, and only two weeks to find a new one! We found a nice retired couple to deliver to her a Missouri Fox trotting horse- and let her "try before buying" He is stable on trails and has a smooth gait. She is delighted with him, and he is just as happy to stand out in the pasture (complete with icicles on him) so the board is about 1/3 of what we paid here for a stall. You know, on the trails there are animals out, and you don't want a horse that spooks easily. So I don't know how the Arabian would have worked out. (He saw coyotes here in the city but that's about it) The trails kind of thrash through the streams up there, I guess. There is currently a club and club house at the AFA for their meetings. She said everyone is very friendly. Horses are available to rent or lease. She tried renting one but it made her miss her own horse and that's why she looked into the board arrangements. They are trying to start up the equestrian team again, next year, which will travel to other colleges, and use the host college's horses. (I saw the list of interested cadets and its about 7/8ths girls!) I think it's open to anyone and I think they have a few extra horses. One of her teachers lives across the street from the barn, and he offered to visit her horse if needed. I think she takes her friends out to see the horses for an outing-even if they weren't necessarily horsey people. She said the cadets miss their animals. (pets) One of her new friends she met at the barn, brought her own horse up from Texas. We have encouraged her to use her horse to see the area, and she enjoys the trail riding as much as the ring-type competitions. She said that she just figured out one trail that is from a train right of way that goes forever, or she can access Nat'l Forest land after she gets tired of the 13,000 acres of the Academy. The only difficulty is to find a ferrier who has base clearance, as they take the shoes off for the winter (ice) and they replace them in the spring, as well as normal shoeing duties. I helped with calling as the cadet time is limited as to when they can call.) Re the tack: of course horses always need something, don't they? I think she's saving up for some newer things. We help her with the direct horse expenses but we really don't give her much other money. I think one good thing about homeschooling is that she had the time to develop and really enjoy hobbies and sports. We went 4 years without any TV -and later I never let them turn it on. (she said they also have a nordic team that she could try out for if she wanted) I.e., At Wash. State U. the Horse barn is on the campus map, complete with phone number, but when you got there you found out the college had gotten rid of the horses years ago. The next nearest stables were 8 miles from campus. Goes to show you-nothing like seeing for yourself. We are just appreciative that she's enjoying herself at least so far, and if the horse helps, then it's worth it!!</p>
<p>lotsofb - welcome to the forum & congratulations!</p>
<p>Which Math program did you use? Just curious - thanks!</p>
<p>Wow-thanks for asking-I'm sort of embarassed about the length of my last post. She did Indiana University High School program, and I am a big fan of theirs. Upon going through the math sequences back then the texts were older and quite inexpensive. They were as follows- Alg.1- Prenhall '93, Alg 2 A-W probably the same vintage, Geometry was UCSMP (also older, but it's the only one anyway). Then - transferred to two dual credit University courses for the College Algebra (Swokowski) and another course was the Trig (by Lial), then back to HS level which was Stuart 3rd Ed. Calculus'95. (she only had time for one semester of the calculus) Actually I was looking at IUHS and the courses have been updated, so the books are similar, but newer. (except for the geometry) They have also added a Precalculus at the HS level. The reason this works is because you have a 2 hour midterm (first half) and a 2 hour final (second half) Together they count perhaps 60% of your grade. The trig was one 3 hour final covering the whole book, 72% of your grade I think! She has memories of 14 page exams for Algebra 1 (no calculator) and barely finishing in time. That was starting in 9th grade! I gave her challenge quizes where she couldn't look at the book to prep her and if she wasn't ready then she had to postpone the test. (you take it when you're ready) (it's proctored) I found that the assigned problems really aren't enough , so it's up to someone to make sure you have done more than the minimum. With my younger one I have been looking at the other University based high school math programs, and you know--they are all good. It's what you do to prepare for the tests. She said this type of education prepared her for the academy. All courses have this type of format. The history was 2 hours of essay twice per semester. You can get help on the daily work but in the scheme of things it's the tests that make your grade. I don't think she was ever allowed a graphing calculator on the exams. My husband hid them so she wouldn't practice with them. The ones at the academy are called "honors calculators" she said, because the graphing one isn't allowed yet for exams. A lot of kids struggle with the algebra --they said in the letter before she went that you had to do well in this area (and w/o a calculator) or you wouldn't get into calulus even if you had had calculus in hs. If you don't get into calculus you are put on a different track and certain majors aren't available in that case. We were thankful she got into the calculus as it got real hard her senior year with the Stuart Calculus. I must add that this wasn't exactly easy-especially when the kids want to take the tests without spending a lot of time preparing. And it's not how her friends in school do it either--they study in groups and the tests are in smaller increments. However-she knows how to study for a two hour test and a few times she's called home and said "I got a 100 on my math test" or something and "I really had to work at that it wasn't easy-" We feel great (Now) that we did something for her by our hard work, sweat, and time, that improved her opportunities for life.</p>
<p>lob - thanks for the post. I thought I was going to get a simple answer (i.e. "Saxon")!!
We're in a bit of a quandry because we're thinking of starting the homeschooling again for son#3. Son #1 was homeschooled (5th, 6th, 7th & 1/2 8th) while we lived in Italy for three years (he's the one w/ the appt). Son #2 is a Freshman, but no plans to homeschool at this time. Son #3 is in 6th and I'm thinking of jumping back into it to give him a foot up on the math etc. So much has changed in the years since we were at the game. In any case, I thought Saxon for Alg I & II would be good since it worked so well for son #1. Apparently there are alot more options than Saxon nowadays! What would you suggest for 7th & 8th (Alg I & II)?
Thanks for your help & suggestions LOB!
Sorry to hijack the thread guiys!
Cheers all!</p>
<p>To lotsofbooks...I do have to agree the USMA alumni (field force people) are great. They have given us alot of good information and are very helpful when we have questions. Glad to hear your daughter is doing so well at Air Force.</p>
<p>Re the Algebra Programs for Alg 1 and 2--I found a Powerpoint presentation on the web a couple of years ago-actually done by a Professor from the AFA talking to the community in Colorado Springs locally about Math programs.( as the school district was going to "adopt a new program) He ranked most of them, and I believe he liked the Glencoe quite well. The UCSMP got just an OK, I remember, and the one in our school district here got a "poor" (which is what I thought myself) When I have some time I will try to find it again, it was interesting, at least to me! My friends also now like the Singapore math, others still use Saxon. I really like Glencoe for all subjects as you can go on the website and print off work sheets, and take online chapter quizzes, all for free! I also bought on ebay the new Prentice Hall book and interactive CD. I think the older ('93) is tougher and has more problems but the newer looks like fun. My friends also really like the Teaching Company which gives a 30 minute lecture, and a workbook. I like it too, but as a supplement. There's a course for Alg. 1, 2, and Geometry. Personally, my younger daughter just works the problems and doesn't worry about tests. (she's 6th grade) She has tests in the other subjects. My older took the timed two hour tests starting in 9th grade, and you know that was the best thing for her. She had to prove to me she could do a variety of problems, all mixed up, before I would let her take the test. The test preparation took a long time--but that's what finally took her to the "next level" in algebra, and she is reaping the benefits in college, now. BTW this spring she has "only" FIVE 4 hour finals (all comprehensive) at the end of this semester. So she really has practiced the systematic review for these tests, because I set up schedules, quizes, and posted them on the wall above the breakfast table as intermediate steps. Now-ask me how much fun it was!!!</p>
<p>So moving right along what was taffys admission decision ?????</p>
<p>Uh yea... Where oh where has our Taffy gone (or going)? Oh where or where will he be? I personally have been waiting ten months for this decision. I haven't asked because I don't want my wee little heart broken. I know he didn't consider USMMA although he shoulda. Taffy post it already will ya!</p>
<p>JM- I thought taffy WAS interested in USMMA- and crew! </p>
<p>my memory must be shorting out again~</p>
<p>Via other threads, I believe he is going to the University of Illinois.</p>
<p>I saw him on the U of I threads sometime last week. That's my bet. It's a great choice if he's not going to West Point. ;)</p>