Category: navy sports

Bill Wagner Has a Blog

On By MikeIn navy football, navy sports, Paul Johnson4 Comments

The chances of anyone reading my nonsense anymore just got crushed like an Air Force safety trying to tackle Kyle Eckel. Bill Wagner has started a Navy sports blog. Navy fans now have a blog by someone who actually knows what he’s talking about. Those of you who aren’t interested in the opinions of someone who actually attends practices and talks to players and coaches, feel free to stick around here!

In other news, Ron Snyder has been busy lately. Don’t miss his interview with Paul Johnson as well as his piece on Antron Harper. Antron seems to be the writers’ favorite this year, probably due to a combination of having an interesting background and being friggin’ awesome. His isn’t the only profile out today, though; Christian Swezey wrote a great piece on Clint Sovie.

Speaking of Wagner, he talked with Wayne Hardin about his time coaching Navy and Temple, plus his efforts to sell tickets to Friday’s game. I’m sure there are a lot of people who laugh at Hardin’s goal of selling out Lincoln Financial Field because there’s no way that it’s going to happen. Those people are missing the point. The important thing here is that Temple is making the effort. Aiming high is something that they haven’t done before, at least for football. It’s a good sign for a downtrodden program. I still hope we crush them, though.

Some more Temple talk includes a look at their MAC membership and head coach Al Golden.

Self-Inflicted Wounds

On By MikeIn naval academy, navy sports, usna13 Comments

This is a blog about Navy sports, not general Naval Academy policy. It’s inevitable that the two subjects will collide occasionally, and when they do it’s usually bad news. Unfortunately, this doesn’t appear to be an exception.

It’s always a nervous time for Navy sports fans when a new Superintendent comes on board. Like everywhere in the Navy, the CO sets the tone for the whole command; at USNA, that includes athletics. No one person has quite the same ability to set Navy teams up for success or failure. Some Supes recognize the value of intercollegiate athletics in fulfilling the Naval Academy’s mission. Others pull out the word that keeps me awake at night: “de-emphasize.” And while I haven’t heard him say that word (yet), the new Supe, VADM Jeffrey Fowler, looks like he’s ready to de-emphasize just about everything. Or as he puts it, “minimize distractions.”

It’s apparent that when VADM Fowler arrived at USNA, he didn’t like what he saw and decided that changes had to be made. It’s hard sometimes to separate rumor from fact, especially living in Florida and not Annapolis. I’m extremely reluctant to discuss rumors as if they are facts on this blog, but a few changes have been reported widely enough that I think they’re worth addressing. These changes will have greater consequences than I think (and hope) were originally intended: mandatory study time each night (preventing mids from attending sporting events), and an end to movement orders to football games.

Last week the Superintendent wrote a letter to USNA alumni to share his vision of what the Naval Academy needs to be. He outlined three main ideas, including this:

Face of the Navy. The Naval Academy is a showplace. Every year millions of Americans view the Brigade in Annapolis or on television and walk away believing they have just seen the best of the United States Navy. We must remember that our midshipmen represent Sailors and Marines who have made the ultimate sacrifice as well as those who are forward deployed in harm’s way. Our behavior as an institution must reflect a commitment to excellence in everything we do.

In this, VADM Fowler is absolutely right. The question, then, is why he would want to lock the “Face of the Navy” behind closed doors where the American people will never see it. Navy sports are the single best recruiting tool that the Naval Academy has. Kids see midshipmen in the stands cheering for their team and want to be part of that camaraderie. I should know; I was one of those kids. Midshipmen attending sporting events are the cheapest, easiest way for the Naval Academy to reach the most people, whether it’s on the Yard or on the road. Tens of thousands of people will be at each football away game. Millions more will be watching on television. When people come to see a game at Navy, in any sport, midshipmen in the stands are what they want to see. When recruits make a visit to the Yard to watch a Navy game and see empty stands with no student support, what are they going to think? There are many ways to become a Naval officer; one of the things that set the Naval Academy apart from the others is the esprit de corps of the Brigade. When you keep midshipmen from attending sporting events, you take away the one way the American people– and potential midshipmen– can witness that esprit de corps for themselves. Want to crack down on appearance and behavior at games? Fine. Want to make sure that midshipmen who are struggling academically are focused on their studies and not the big soccer game? OK. But don’t keep the Brigade as a whole from supporting their friends and classmates on the field. Our sports teams will suffer for it, and the school in general will suffer for it. These two things should be unacceptable to an institution committed to “excellence in everything we do.”

When announcing these and other policy changes to the Brigade, VADM Fowler used the example of the Eisenhower Battle Group, which recently had a 7-month deployment with only 15 days of liberty. “Our midshipmen need to understand that’s what our Sailors are going through, and that’s who they’re going to lead,” he told reporters. I’m sure that VADM Fowler has been on enough deployments like that to understand what they do to people. They are draining, to say the least. I remember standing watch in CIC on my last deployment while my ship was pulling into Bahrain. Like several other ships, we had a telescopic video camera (with a monitor in CIC) that we used to help ID contacts and as a navigation aid. While making my way from station to station to make sure that everyone was doing their jobs, I noticed that the camera operator had locked the camera on something in the distance. It was a tree. I told him, “FC3, I don’t think that staring at that palm tree is going to keep us from hitting a fishing boat in the channel.” His response? “Sorry sir, I just forgot what a tree looked like.” I chuckled to myself because after 62 straight days underway, I think I had, too. That’s what a long deployment will do to you. The Sailors and Marines returning from cruise are exhausted. If you try to turn the Naval Academy into a 4-year deployment simulation, then the Ensigns and 2nd Lieutenants that you send to the Fleet will be exhausted too. That’s the last thing that our Sailors need. They need junior officers who are focused, excited to be there, chomping at the bit to get qualified, and injecting some energy into the Fleet. This doesn’t mean that USNA needs to be a “country club,” but it does mean that locking down the Brigade just to make them feel like they’re on a deployment probably isn’t the best approach.

Among the other changes that VADM Fowler is reportedly making is limiting what extracurricular activities are available to midshipmen. I’ve heard rumors about what ECAs might be on the chopping block, but as they’re only rumors at this point I won’t pass them on. I will say this, though: I hope the Supe is very, very careful about what ECAs are deemed as too “distracting” from Naval training. There’s a familiar quote that has been the basis for the training curriculum received by every Naval officer in this country’s history. Every plebe commits this quote to memory in order to remember what he or she is to become at the end of 4 years in Annapolis. As many of you already know, it begins like this:

It is by no means enough that an officer of the Navy should be a capable mariner. He must be that, of course, but also a great deal more. He should be as well a gentleman of liberal education, refined manners, punctilious courtesy, and the nicest sense of personal honor.

Naval officers that have served this country for generations were trained according to this philosophy, including the Superintendent himself. What VADM Fowler may consider “distracting” now could just as easily have been considered essential for over two centuries, through peace and war. Saying that “we are a nation at war” is no excuse to limit opportunities for midshipmen to grow and develop themselves in all kinds of endeavors. Naval officers are supposed to be renaissance men. They are expected to try new things and be exposed to the world around them. ECAs are as much a part of the shaping of Naval officers as their EE class. To tamper with that philosophy is to tamper with success.

There’s a lot more to this than just changing liberty policy. Those things come and go. This is a more fundamental shift in the idea of what a Naval officer should be, and I am afraid that it isn’t for the better. “Minimizing distractions” is one thing. Tunnel vision is another.

Making Lemonade

On By MikeIn lacrosse, navy lacrosse, navy sports, usna10 Comments

With the recent introduction of Cindy Timchal’s first full recruiting class, about the only thing left for the fledgling Navy women’s lacrosse program to do is to play their first varsity game. That will probably happen in February, and I’m sure it will be a feel-good event with plenty of smiles and comments about what a great day it is for Navy sports. I’ll probably join in the celebration. My celebration, though, won’t be without concern.

I have nothing against women’s lacrosse. My unease is over any sport being added. It just seems to run counter to everything that’s been said about adding another varsity sport at the Naval Academy over the last few years. One of the best things about the athletic department at Navy is their openness, especially when compared to a lot of other schools. The “Ask the AD” section on Navysports.com, for example, is a great way for fans to get straightforward answers to their questions. Questions about adding another varsity sport are among the more common topics. Here’s one about ice hockey:

Q: An April 8, 2004 article on USCHO.com mentioned the Naval Academy recently received funding for a new hockey arena. This appears to be a big step in the direction of hockey becoming a varsity sport at the Naval Academy. In a previous response to a similar question, you said “…the two biggest hurdles we have to cross are finding appropriate resources and an adequate facility.” With the facility problem out of the way, what else stands in the way? Is there a possibility of fielding an NCAA Division I hockey team for the 2005-06 season? I would be interested in any information you can give me on your progress. Thank you. – asked by: Lance Wheeler –

A: Lance, the biggest hurdle we have is generating the annual resources necessary to sustain a competitive Division I hockey program. The operating budget can be close to half-a-million dollars for travel, uniforms, equipment, staff, supplies, and other related expenses. One thing we don’t want to do is field a varsity team without a chance to succeed.

I’m not into doing anything half way, and supporting 30 programs at this time is a real stretch on our resources. Taking on the addition of ice hockey would be another stretch, and the money would have to come from existing allocations. Unless we can find a way to generate supplemental funding in a realistic and legitimate way, we’re going to have to continue to study ice hockey as a potential varsity sport. I am, however, ambitiously approaching this project in hopes that varsity status could become a reality somewhere down the road.

Note the comment about the “real stretch on our resources.” But that’s for hockey; everyone knows that hockey would be a huge financial commitment as far as coaching, facilities, recruiting, equipment, and travel. Adding a women’s lacrosse team should be a little less demanding, right? The women’s lacrosse section seems to have disappeared from the site. There is a question about it tucked away under “Lacrosse,” though:

Q: Will Navy ever field a women’s lacrosse team? The sport is growing tremendously. – asked by: Dan Collins –

A: I think the Club women’s lacrosse program has done an outstanding job over the last few years, and I believe that women’s lacrosse in Maryland, at any institution, is a natural. Right now, however, we’re fielding 30 Division I programs, which is a stretch on our resources and support. There are a number of Clubs that would like elevation to varsity status, but it’s going to be difficult to do that until we find more opportunities for funding. I would, however, like to see it happen in the short term, if possible.

Once again we get a comment about a “stretch on our resources” and the need for an additional funding source. Well, we have a women’s lacrosse team now. Does that mean we received the funding for it? According to Chet in the official release announcing the team, “resources have been allocated.” That doesn’t sound like a new funding source to me; that sounds more like rearranging what we already had. There’s no mention of a new funding source in Bill Wagner’s writeup, either. There was something else, though:

Bolstering the case for adding women’s lacrosse is the fact Naval Academy leaders recently decided to increase the percentage of females in the Brigade of Midshipmen. That figure is growing from 17 to 20 percent, which means there will be approximately 150 more women in the brigade within a few years.

And there’s the key. Without a new revenue stream to apply to a women’s lacrosse program, the push to add women’s lacrosse wouldn’t have come from inside the athletic department. It had to have come from above; that means the superintendent.

VADM Rempt made it his mission to change the culture of the Naval Academy. More specifically, he wanted to change the way female mids are perceived by their male counterparts and create a better environment for women in general. Among the more high-profile examples of this were the changing of the lyrics to the alma mater and pushing the (COUGHridiculousCOUGH) Lamar Owens sexual misconduct court martial. Rempt’s aforementioned decision to increase the percentage of women admitted to USNA is another measure taken to reach that goal.

Adding a women’s lacrosse team would be a good way to account for 35-40 of the 150 women that the Naval Academy will add over the next four years. I firmly believe that athletics programs help to attract good candidates who otherwise would not consider the Naval Academy. That being said, I have two basic problems with the whole situation:

In case you haven’t been able to tell, my first problem is with the money and resources needed to maintain the team. If a new funding source hasn’t been identified, that means women’s lacrosse is being funded by budget cuts for the other 30 varsity teams. It isn’t like any of them were rolling in cash to begin with, either. Being forced to tell existing programs to suck it up is a lousy way to start a new program. Hopefully this won’t lead to any of our other sports eventually going the way of the now-defunct fencing team. That might be a little on the drama queen side, and it’s pure speculation on my part; but I’d still watch my back if I played squash or sprint football.

Money isn’t the only resource that’s at a premium. Land is too. As in practice fields. Where is this team going to practice? With football, men’s lax, men’s and women’s soccer, sprint football, platoon drill, and intramurals, grass is in pretty short supply on the Yard. If any club sport wants a field to use, they’re apparently going to have to reclaim more land from the Severn.

The second problem is that VADM Rempt’s plan isn’t going to work. (CAUTION: Non-sports-related rambling ahead.) The Supe was right about one thing: the Naval Academy could be a better environment for women. I wrote in another post here that people with an axe to grind against athletes at USNA use the mistakes of one as an indictment against all of them. The same can often be said for women. When one screws up, there are some who start grumbling about women in general. One woman is left being held indirectly accountable for the mistakes of someone else, even if in reality she’s a model midshipman. The way to eliminate that kind of mindset is not to admit more women. In order to admit more, the school will have to lower admission standards for women so that there are more to choose from. Doing that is going to mean more “screwups,” which will reinforce bad attitudes rather than eliminate them. The answer is to be even more selective so that the ones that do come to USNA are a bunch of fire-breathing ass-kickers ready to shine. Opinions are personal decisions that are made by individuals.  They aren’t going to change by authoritarian means; to make the attempt will only breed resentment. The culture will change when these people realize that their ideas are being proven wrong. Jennifer Harris singlehandedly changed more attitudes as her name was etched into the walls of Memorial Hall than any superintendent could ever do. As they say from the moment you first step onto the yard as a plebe– leadership by example. It’s what every midshipman respects.

It’s ironic that the timing of all this talk of a new “flagship” women’s program is at a point when the Navy women’s soccer team just completed the most successful season in any women’s sport in the history of all three service academies. They were Patriot League champions, had a win over a top 10 team, were a legitimate top 20 team themselves, and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. Add a nationally respected coach and one of the finest facilities in the country… If that isn’t a flagship program, then what is? This isn’t the time to be cutting their budget. This is the time to scrape together as much money as we can find to try to add to the momentum.

My concern over the women’s lacrosse team should not be interpreted as malevolence. These women are still going to be wearing the Blue and Gold, and as such they will be one more team for me to live and die by. My worries are no reason not to offer the support and admiration I give to every other team. But it’s that support of the other 30 teams that causes me to worry about the effects of the 31st.

It isn’t like there’s anything sinister behind this. Hell, I could be completely nuts and there actually was a new funding source. I doubt it, though. So for now I can only sit back and cheer the team on while Chet G. tries to make lemonade out of the apparent lemon that was handed to him. Time will tell if he succeeds.

My Apologies…

On By MikeIn air farce, going pro, navy sportsLeave a comment

I have to apologize in advance here for bringing up an article about Air Force. I hate Air Force. I kind of hope that the Yellowstone Caldera pops its top and buries the school Pompeii-style. But this article in the Colorado Springs Gazette touches on a topic of interest to Navy fans, so I’ll bite the bullet for now.

The topic is the old “should service academies let athletes go pro” question. Usually it divides Navy fans into two camps: the “great PR for the school” camp and the “that’s not the mission of the school” camp. It’s a tired old debate that I don’t particularly feel like hashing out at the moment. There’s one quote in the article that I do want to comment on, though:

“Hopefully (Air Force officials’) minds are open to the opportunity this thing brings,” Nwaelele said. “It looks good for the academy. It only brings positive stuff. Antoine’s doing it, and he’s doing a good job off and on the court.”

Only brings positive “stuff?” Who is he kidding? There is no faster way to get service academy athletic departments shut down than to start sending graduates into professional sports. That’s just begging for a congressional inquiry, especially when the military is as heavily tasked as it is nowadays. I’m sure it looks good for the basketball program, but how does that look good for the school? And what kind of positive “stuff” is anyone getting out of Antoine Hood? How many people even know that the NBDL exists? Let’s be real; we aren’t exactly talking about David Robinson here.

I’m sure this subject will present itself again, so I won’t dive too deep this time. I’m curious about what the Air Force will decide.

My I-Day Manifesto

On By MikeIn football, I-Day, lacrosse, navy basketball, navy football, navy lacrosse, navy sports, plebe summer, recruiting11 Comments

The two best pieces of advice you can give to someone who’s about to head off to Plebe Summer are to keep a sense of humor, and to remain anonymous as long as possible. Don’t do anything that will make a detailer remember you. For my plebe summer roommate, that second part was a bit of a problem.

It wasn’t any fault of his own, really. He is the best athlete I’ve ever known, recruited to play both soccer and lacrosse. When you are that high-profile of a recruit, the detailers already know who you are. Everyone ends up getting some time in the “spotlight” eventually during Plebe Summer, but my roommate had the honor of being first. When the detailers wanted to drop the platoon for pushups, it wasn’t unusual to hear the process begin with one of them yelling, “You’re just here to play lacrosse!”

Fast forward a few years to 2003. In his book, Recruiting Confidential, David Claerbaut chronicles the college recruiting process experienced by his stepson, Chicago running back James Velissaris. James committed to the Naval Academy, and his family made the trip with him to Annapolis to see him sworn in on I-Day. When it came time to take the oath, though, James didn’t do it. Reading over the commitment papers, he felt that he was only there to play football; to him, that wasn’t reason enough to sign. Velissaris would end up playing for Harvard.

Two different stories, but with similar themes: sports as the primary motivation in choosing to attend the Naval Academy. As I was reading James Velissaris’ story, the same thought occurred to me as when I would hear my Plebe Summer detailers barking at my roommate: is there really anything wrong with that?

June has arrived. It is the time when a select group of high school seniors across the country are about to trade the cap and gown of the graduate for the dixie cup and whiteworks assigned to the Naval Academy’s lowest of the low. Included in this group preparing for the challenge of Plebe Summer are the athletes recruited to fill out the rosters of Navy’s several varsity sports. On I-Day, these athletes are going to face decisions of their own. Like James Velissaris, they might find themselves questioning their own motives. They shouldn’t. It is perfectly acceptable that being recruited to play a varsity sport would be someone’s main attraction to the Naval Academy. It should be expected, and in a lot of ways, encouraged.

Plenty of Academy alums would bristle at that thought. Some of these graduates seem to think that every midshipman-to-be that passes through the gates of USNA does so because each one of them is driven to have a career as a Navy or Marine Corps officer. Some of them are. Or at least they think they are. Let’s be real, now; how many 18 year-olds coming straight out of high school really have any idea what it means to be an officer in the Naval Service? I am a third-generation Academy graduate and spent my entire childhood surrounded by all things Navy. I thought I had a pretty good idea going into I-Day. It took all of 15 minutes of Plebe Summer for me to realize that I didn’t know squat. If most grads would take an honest look at their own experience, they’d probably admit the same thing. If a person doesn’t truly understand what being a Naval officer entails, then he can’t truly be dedicated to a Naval career from day one. It’s unfair to expect otherwise.

In fact, the Navy itself doesn’t expect it. Have you seen Navy advertising on television? A recent Navy ad shows three Navy officers who turned their Navy experience into successful civilian careers. All branches of the military use college money and other benefits to bring people to the recruiting office. The Marine Corps sells itself as an exclusive club. It’s true, obviously; but it’s also secondary to to what being a Marine really means.

There is a bit of a double standard at work here, too. Many of the same graduates and onlookers who cringe when a recruit says that he came to play football have no problem with other reasons that a midshipman might give. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone complain when a mid says that he came to USNA for the quality of the education. When someone comes to Annapolis because his father or brother or sister did, it’s generally regarded as a heartwarming nod to family tradition. How are these reasons any different? The Naval Academy does a lot to make itself attractive to applicants as a school. Athletics are a part of that, as are academic programs, extracurriculars, traditions, etc. Coming for any of these reasons is no different than coming to play a sport. None of them are the same thing as saying, “I want to be a Navy or Marine Corps officer.”

Those who question the mindset of these soon-to-be midshipmen need to remember the mission of the institution. It is not the job of the high school senior to be dedicated to a career of naval service; it is the job of the Naval Academy to motivate him to do so. As long as coaches are upfront with kids on the recruiting trail about the challenge that lies ahead, there really is no bad reason to come to USNA. That’s why the Navy is comfortable advertising about how it can help jumpstart a civilian career. Those who want to use their Navy experience to do so, can. But some of those people brought in by that ad might find that a Navy career is more rewarding than they realized, and they’ll stick around for a while. There’s a cliche at the Academy about how the guys who’d swear they would be in for life end up getting out as soon as their commitment is up, and the guys who’d swear they would get out as soon as possible end up becoming admirals. There’s some truth to that; no matter what you think going in, it isn’t until you’ve actually experienced the life of a Naval officer that you’d know if it is for you. Very few of these young men and women about to take the oath really know what’s waiting for them on the other side, but they’re willing to give it a try. The country needs people who are willing to give it a try, even if it doesn’t always work out in the end.

We should be thankful for each and every one of those who will raise their right hand on June 27th, regardless of why they’re doing it.