Women starting to think about university

[Revjess]

My daughter is in high school. Her coaches think that Division 1 gymnastics is a possibility (although a bit of a reach). They have set training goals D1 in mind. In a different conversation, we talked about career goals and possible majors in school. Her career goal is air force pilot with the air force academy as her dream school. air force ROTC is a great option as well. She is SO excited about aviation.
question, she doesn't know how to have this conversation with the coach. She sees it at letting him down or not "fulling her gymnastic potential" In her words "having a D3 school as your dream and a D1 school as your back up is just nuts!" I just hope her coach will understand. Everyone in the gym is so focused on excelling in the sport. I can imagine telling your coach your "big dream" is outside gymnastics is a hard conversation.

 

[MeetDirector]

First, Welcome.

Second, you do know that the Air Force Academy has a Women's gymnastics team and that they are a D1 School, right? Granted, they are not Utah or the Gym Dogs, but if she wants to get to her goal of flying, there couldn't be a better option.

Academy appointments take some work as well as very good academics. If your club coach reaches out to the Academy coaches, I bet he will be surprised.

Good Luck.

 

[Revjess]

thats great news. i thought they were division 3. Must have gotten it confused with the coast guard academy. she is just a freshman so I have a lot more research to do. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[gym_dad32608]

I am not sure I fully understand what you are asking. Last time I checked Air Force is a D1 school? Are you saying you think Air Force is a D3 school? Ultimately, college is for establishing career, if she is able to do gymnastics while in college, then that is just icing on the cake so to speak. The coach is there to help her reach her goals which in this context means competing at whatever university that best fits her and her long term goals. Of course he/she is going to want to maximize their talent to the highest level, and I am sure your daughter wants that too. If she is doing D1 level skills/results, then getting to a D3 program (if that is what fits best) should be a heck of a lot easier than the other way around. I would encourage her to talk with her coaches about her career goals and plans. Any coach worth their salt is going to support that and collaboratively help set target universities and help initiate conversations.

 

[Revjess]

Yes, I was wrong about the academy’s gymnastics program. And I’m glad to be wrong because the more I learn about it the more it looks like a good fit!

I am not sure I fully understand what you are asking. Last time I checked Air Force is a D1 school? Are you saying you think Air Force is a D3 school? Ultimately, college is for establishing career, if she is able to do gymnastics while in college, then that is just icing on the cake so to speak. The coach is there to help her reach her goals which in this context means competing at whatever university that best fits her and her long term goals. Of course he/she is going to want to maximize their talent to the highest level, and I am sure your daughter wants that too. If she is doing D1 level skills/results, then getting to a D3 program (if that is what fits best) should be a heck of a lot easier than the other way around. I would encourage her to talk with her coaches about her career goals and plans. Any coach worth their salt is going to support that and collaboratively help set target universities and help initiate conversations.

 

[Revjess]

I am not sure I fully understand what you are asking. Last time I checked Air Force is a D1 school? Are you saying you think Air Force is a D3 school? Ultimately, college is for establishing career, if she is able to do gymnastics while in college, then that is just icing on the cake so to speak. The coach is there to help her reach her goals which in this context means competing at whatever university that best fits her and her long term goals. Of course he/she is going to want to maximize their talent to the highest level, and I am sure your daughter wants that too. If she is doing D1 level skills/results, then getting to a D3 program (if that is what fits best) should be a heck of a lot easier than the other way around. I would encourage her to talk with her coaches about her career goals and plans. Any coach worth their salt is going to support that and collaboratively help set target universities and help initiate conversations.

Thanks,
Yes I was wrong about the academy’s program. Looks like I really underestimated them. I’m glad I was wrong because it is sounds like a good fit.

 

[gym_dad32608]

Thanks,
Yes I was wrong about the academy’s program. Looks like I really underestimated them. I’m glad I was wrong because it is sounds like a good fit.

Good, I would also add then that the service academies are like the Ivies in a way, in that gymnastics skills almost have nothing to do with getting into the school. The admissions criteria are pretty intense including not only outstanding grades, but excellent service and unfortunately some political maneuvering since you must be sponsored by a senator or congressman/woman for a spot (at least I remember many moons ago when I applied to the naval academy lol). Managing expectations is an important process on this journey, so while you don't want to discourage high goals, you should also be realistic.

 

[MeetDirector]

I would also add then that the service academies are like the Ivies in a way, in that gymnastics skills almost have nothing to do with getting into the school.

While definitely true for the Ivies, the Academies athletic departments have a lot more "input" into admissions. Yes, the academic criteria at USAFA is tough, but it is doable.

Good Luck.

 

[gymgal]

While definitely true for the Ivies, the Academies athletic departments have a lot more "input" into admissions. Yes, the academic criteria at USAFA is tough, but it is doable.

Good Luck.

You still need a Congressional nomination, which can be significantly harder than the academic criteria, depending on where the recruit lives. And the closer you live live to AFSA, the more that difficult is because the recruit pool is so much larger.

Be sure to start researching AFSA criteria, not only academics but also medical and also specifics for aviation. She will need community service, leadership roles that she can highlight, teacher/leader recommendations, etc.

Also if she is looking at ROTC, she may want to look into Navy, since they have a lot of pilots as well. It would double her chances, going for both Navy and AF.

 

[JBS]

I can imagine telling your coach your "big dream" is outside gymnastics is a hard conversation.

Not at all. Just tell the coach and get it out in the open.

 

[skschlag]

Not at all. Just tell the coach and get it out in the open.

I agree. One thing when looking at colleges is to consider whether or not you would want to be at that college without gymnastics. THat was huge when my son was looking!

 

[Jenny]

If she has been at her gym any length of time the coach will surely already know of her passions. Usually coaches know their gymnasts very well. I wouldn't trust a coach who didn't.

 

[Muddlethru]

Good, I would also add then that the service academies are like the Ivies in a way, in that gymnastics skills almost have nothing to do with getting into the school.

That’s not entirely accurate. My daughter is a junior at an Ivy gymnastics team. Their athletic teams can “support” 3-5 freshmen per year. They give some academic leeway to their chosen athletes. They still have stringent admission requirements but not quite as harsh as someone just going through the regular admission process. Their version of letter of intent is called a ”likely letter”. What it is called has no bearing on the commitment it carries.

My daughter might have gotten in on her own with her scores and grades but nothing is guaranteed. I know kids with perfect scores being declined admission. Remember, admission rate at an Ivy could be anywhere from 5%-11%. So if you have good skills and the coach likes you, a support from the coach can guarantee admission.

 

[gymgal]

That’s not entirely accurate. My daughter is a junior at an Ivy gymnastics team. Their athletic teams can “support” 3-5 freshmen per year. They give some academic leeway to their chosen athletes. They still have stringent admission requirements but not quite as harsh as someone just going through the regular admission process. Their version of letter of intent is called a ”likely letter”. What it is called has no bearing on the commitment it carries.

My daughter might have gotten in on her own with her scores and grades but nothing is guaranteed. I know kids with perfect scores being declined admission. Remember, admission rate at an Ivy could be anywhere from 5%-11%. So if you have good skills and the coach likes you, a support from the coach can guarantee admission.

Good, I would also add then that the service academies are like the Ivies in a way, in that gymnastics skills almost have nothing to do with getting into the school.

Not really accurate with the service academies either. Yes, they need to still meet the minimal requirements and obviously obtain a nomination, but once that is done, being a recruitable athlete places you in higher standing than a regular applicant pool, if the coach wants you. Each academy has a "prep" program where a lot of athletes go for a year before being accepted into the academy - mainly because their academics are not on par with the rest of the class. Now, whether a sport such as Gymnastics would be included in this is debatable but it certainly happens in the bigger sports