<p>Anybody familiar with the USAFA Track and Field team? My ALO said it’s a lot easier to get in if you go the athletic route. I want to high jump for the team, and I filled out a recruitment questionnaire but no one has returned an email. I’m currently a junior with a HJ of 6’ 2", and only need 1 more inch for states. I was looking at the stats and I am right there with the current HJ’ers on the team.</p>
<p>I still have one more to improve (I’ve improved 5 inches every year). I’m hoping to jump 6’ 7" to break the school record and hopefully win states.</p>
<p>What’s it like being on a sports team at the academy? Do you find that you have less time for things?</p>
<p>I went to an open-house type thing a few months ago hosted by a local AFA parent's group at Kent State University in Ohio and the cadets that were there told us that being on an IC team allows you to take your classes in the morning and then have the afternoon "off" to practice with the team. I'm not sure if that is true for all cases, though, as he played football.</p>
<p>I am on the Track team (distance runner, but i can still tell you anything you want to know), so if you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask. </p>
<p>But as for being on a team at the Academy, yes, you definitely have less time for things than everyone else. I've been "on season" (practice every day from like 3 until ACQ at 7), every single day this year up until last week. I was amazed at how much free time I had. You'll still have 3-5 hours a night, depending on when you go to bed, for things like HW and other things you need to get done. But as zachogden said, you do get all morning classes, so you can have practice early in the afternoon.</p>
<p>Patriot,</p>
<p>About how competitive are the jumpers at the Academy? Do you think my jumps (even though I'm only a junior) would be enough to be a walk-on? I'm actually skipping football this year to focus on training for track.</p>
<p>PatriotCPM:</p>
<p>I'm a distance runner too. I'm not very good, but I really like running track. My best mile this season was a 5:39. If I brought that down closer to a 5:00, would I be able to run for the team? How does selection for track work? Thanks.</p>
<p>the biggest thing about IC is PERCEIVED separation. SOME ICs, b/c they practice so much, are not as involved in the squads. it takes extra effort for ICs to be involved b/c they miss the squad teambuilding time of training sessions. most of the ICs tho in my squad make an extra effort to be involved with the squad, and its impressive. i don't know how they can manage everything i do plus an IC sport: i have loads of respect for those who are still involved</p>
<p>Joshrk22-I'm not sure exactly how competative the jumpers are, I would imagine probably mid 6's, if I were to venture a guess. You can check results of meets and stuff here:
<a href="http://goairforcefalcons.cstv.com/sports/c-track/afa-c-track-body.html%5B/url%5D">http://goairforcefalcons.cstv.com/sports/c-track/afa-c-track-body.html</a></p>
<p>Zachogden- We've got a really competative XC/Track team in terms of distance. Pretty much all the freshman, who are traditionally the worst on the team (what with the rigors of 4 degree year and not being used to altitude), are down around 4:20 right now after outdoor. Of course, we had a whole bunch of kids who walked on this year, I know of one that ran a 4:50 in high school. Theres no way to know for sure unless you just come out and try to walk on to the team. Basically how it works is you talk to the coach, and he'll let you run with the team for a few days before our pre-season time trial. At this time trial, coach will look at how you do and use that to determine whether you made the team or not. All I can say is train really hard and give it all you've got and you've definitely got a shot.</p>
<p>eagle36- That is very true. Even being an IC myself, I get pretty angry at how some of the other IC's act. Even before I got here, my ALO, knowing the anti-IC sentiment that a lot of people feel, told me to try to stay involved in the squadron and represent yourself as a positive impact on the squad, and a cadet first in addition to an IC. So I've made a concerted effort to be active in the squad and try to get to things. I was very happy with my LAS comments, most of them mentioned something about being real accessible and visible and helpful in the squad in addition to having those hard practices every day.</p>
<p>PatriotCPM: thanks for the tip. I'll be doing just that.</p>
<p>With regards to the HJ and the mile, the best jump and time of the season look to be 6'6" and 4:13 respectively. Using the link Patriot posted above, I found a list of the AFA's best marks of the season - check them out here: <a href="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/afa/sports/c-track/auto_pdf/mbm0501.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/afa/sports/c-track/auto_pdf/mbm0501.pdf</a></p>
<p>Very impressive numbers, by the way.</p>
<p>Those times are dated, I know my times on there are from like the first meet and we all improved a lot over the course of the season. We have people who have run 4:06 in a relay this year. I know that our best 800 guy can go 1:47, steeple is low 9's, best 5k is 14:11, best 10k is 30:50. Those are the numbers I can pull out of my head from this season.</p>
<p>what are the track practice workouts like?</p>
<p>Well I guess it depends on how much I improve this year. 4 inches really ain't that much, especially since I'm only 5' 8" and have probably another 4 inches just in height growth.</p>
<p>Well, for distance, it's basically like this: 1.)meet in fieldhouse at 2:45 for about 10-15 minutes 2.)Run, do everything else you need to do 3)shower 4)head back up to the hill at around 6 to eat dinner 5)ACQ</p>
<p>simple enough...how much do you run a day on average?</p>
<p>Probably like on average 9 miles a day 6 days a week, some people do as much as 13 or 14 miles a day 7 days a week</p>
<p>Is the Academy's height a problem for anyone on the team? I assume there's a few weeks between arrival and practice (especially for 4-digs, with BCT and all), would I be correct?</p>
<p>Definitely, I still have trouble with it (granted, a lot less than at first). But it takes at least a year to get "fully acclimated", and for people from sea-level, you never fully get used to it. Just be ready to be huffing and puffing from walking up one flight of stairs when you get here.</p>
<p>Oh wow, I didn't know it was that long! I suppose that would be why they're not having us do much PT at summer seminar... having kids passing out/dying would not be good press for them. When do track practices start? October?</p>
<p>You guys have talked a lot about IC sports but what about the majority of us who will not be good enough or have enough time to be on a team? We still have to participate in a team right? How much time will we be likely to put into it?</p>