Also, ROTC Scholarships have become almost as competetive as West Point appointments.  The Sequester cuts and other budgetary issues have caused things like ROTC to become a "bill payer" for other things, like the war in Afghanistan.  When I went back to ROTC in 2010 at Xavier, the Senior Class that year had 21 of 23 Cadets commissioned who went through College on ROTC Scholarship.  Last year when I left there, the incoming freshman class had 4 scholarships.  The "average" ROTC Scholarship cadet went from a 3.6 GPA and 25 ACT to 3.8 and 29 ACT.  Not to mention, the big push is for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Majors.  SO they are looking at HS transcripts for Calculus, Physics, other AP Math and Science classes, and factoring in how well kids performed in those classes to gague their propensity to excel in technical majors as opposed to "soft sciences."  If he doesn't get a scholarship, don't worry, there are other options, and I can tell you how to get him free, or nearly free, college through the SMP program or other options.  There are some risks, but I can show you how to mitigate them and make more spending money than you would on an ROTC scholarship anyway!  You can email me at jonathan.r.kovach.mil@mail.mil if you want to move this discussion off the football boards.

I am here.  I am currently deployed to Qatar.  I was supposed to be in Afghanistan, so all things considered, it ain't too bad.

I was hit up not once, but twice on facebook to come back to the thread.

It was never anything personal.  I just got more responsibility at work and, at the same time, Capital started to suck again, so I started following less and less.  I didn't really have anything to add to the discussion, so I visited less often, until I hardly visited at all.  By that point, I was so behind on conversations, I didn't just want to jump into the middle of something. 

Plus, the Army, perhaps because at one point I was spending every free second on here, blocked the site on my work computer.  Now that my kids are 7 and 3, they are involved in a lot more stuff, so there wasn't a lot of time to surf the thread at home either.

Anyway, nice to be back.  A quick scroll through the last couple of pages makes it seem like it is all the usual suspects. 

I was an APMS/ Instructor at the University of Kentucky from 05-08 and then I have been an APMS/Recruiting Officer for the combined ROTC program at Xavier/ Miami (OH)/ Northern Kentucky University/ MSJ/ TMC for the last couple of years until I was deployed.  The Kentucky National Guard (I switched from Active Duty to Guard duty in 2008) put me there to build up the number of Cadets in the NKU part of the program and thus, get more into the KY Guard.

There are a number of reasons kids don't make it in ROTC, but it's not a stretch to say early morning PT is a big reason why.  It's not just PT, it's having the discipline to make unpopular choices, like stay in when all your friends are going out, and commitment to forcing yourself out of bed when all your buddies are sleeping.  It has to be that way, because as you move up into the ranks like where I am at now, no one is there to hold your hand, to force you to get up and do PT, but you still have to meet the standard- set the standard, actually.  Time management is another big issue.  ROTC adds a lot to your schedule as a college kid, and you have to be able to juggle it all.  That is tough for younger Cadets, and they quit becasue they don't see the payoff after four years of it.  Anyway- if there is a specific question or something you would like me to explain more, I'd be happy to.  Just have to remember I am 8 hours ahead of you all, and I can't get to the boards on my work computer, so it might take me a while to respond.   

Quote from: Dr. Acula on September 01, 2012, 02:58:22 PM

Quote from: JK on September 01, 2012, 02:48:12 PM
Cap down 30-3 to witt, about a minute until halftime.  I'm out, can't take any more.  Gonna be a long year in Bexley.

P.S. this is why I don't post on these boards anymore.  I am so disgusted with the state of Capital football right now, I can't stand to watch/ listen to it, so I have nothing to add.  It's awful.  Witt will be OK and might even be a playoff team, but Cap doesn't even look like they belong on the same field.

JK, good to see you posting...even if it may be short lived.

I've been watching the live stats for Cap.  The thing that baffles me is the D.  I figured they'd struggle on O.  Their skill guys aren't great.  But their D is getting marched up and down on by an unproven offense replacing all their playmakers.  Very disheartening.

Thanks.  Couldn't agree more.  The D had a lot of returners, so you would think they would have been a lot better.  To their credit, there was a punt block for a TD and a couple of short fields because Cap can't cover kicks, but there was more than one occasion that Witt's wideouts were running free through the Cap secondary for TD's or big plays.

Silver lining is that it looks like there are quite a few newcomers on the roster overall.  Looks like there are about 110 to 120 total on the team this year.  Hopefully some of them can play (I think the starting RB is going to be a beast eventually), or at the very least develop into servicable OAC players to provide some depth going forward.

I'd be happy with 5-5 again this year, but I'm not gonna bet on it.  I'll start paying more attention when they start looking like an upper echelon OAC team again.

Cap down 30-3 to witt, about a minute until halftime.  I'm out, can't take any more.  Gonna be a long year in Bexley.

P.S. this is why I don't post on these boards anymore.  I am so disgusted with the state of Capital football right now, I can't stand to watch/ listen to it, so I have nothing to add.  It's awful.  Witt will be OK and might even be a playoff team, but Cap doesn't even look like they belong on the same field.

Hey all, been a while

Cap down 14-3 to Witt at end of 1.  Witt moving up and down the field.

Cap beat Otterbein.  It's officially a decent year in Bexley! 

The Otters might be the best 1-5 team in the country.  They have played one double overtime game (a 6 point loss to JCU) and two overtime games (one win and one loss).  They lost to Cap by 4 and BW by 6.  The only game that was lopsided was to the Berg by 21.

I do not think this week will end well for my Crusaders.

Cap's defense has been torched in the passing department by, well, everyone- but especially by Witt, ONU and Heidi.  It seems like every QB that has played against Cap this year has thrown for 250+ and/or set a personal record for passing yards in a game.

I said before that the OAC is not getting worse, it's actually getting better- more competitive.  The difference between 2nd and 7th or 8th in the conference is miniscule right now.  Look at it- Berg lost to BW, BW lost to Cap, Musky beat ONU but loses to JCU and Berg.  ONU beat Cap.  THere are a bunch of evenly matched teams in the middle and anyone can beat anyone on any given saturday.

I said the Berg was going to finish second in the conference after they beat Cap...  are you all starting to take notice now?

Whichever team finishes second is going to have at least 2 conference losses.  Will that be good enough to make it in?

What a horrible weekend of football for me.  High School- Loss to Minerva, Cap- Loss to Heidi, Ohio St- Loss to Mich St., Steelers- Loss to Houston.  0-4, kind of like my pick-ems's last week 

I said after last week that when it is all said and done that Heidelberg might be the second best team in the OAC, and I stand by that after their destruction of Cap.  How does BW follow a big win against the Berg? By losing to Cap. How does Cap follow up a big win against BW?  By getting blown out by the Berg. WTF?

I really believe that outside Mount at the top and Wilma at the bottom, there is a lot of parity in the OAC, and this year is especially true.  RIGHT NOW (subject to change) you have Musky and ONU as MUC's closest competitors, then a group of Cap, BW, Heidelberg, and then a group of OTT, JCU, and Etta.  I think any of these teams could beat any of the others on any given Saturday. 

I couldn't be more happy about the Crusaders' big win on Saturday.  I know it's early, but I think Cap might be a little better than I expected. 

I don't necessarily think the OAC is "more down" than usual, I just think that, with the exception of Wilma, that the conference has become more competitive and the traditional "bottom feeders" are now capable of winning a few games and everyone outside of MUC is "bunching up."

There is not much difference, in my mind, between Musky, Berg, ONU, BW, Cap, and OTT.  That's 2nd thru 7th right there, and I think there are going to be a few more "upsets" among those teams that are going to shake up the standings. 

JCU and Etta are just outside that group and then Wilma is, hands down, the worst in the conference.

I really think that the 2nd place OAC team is going to have at least 2 losses this year.  If that's good enough for the playoffs is up to the committee. 

I know Musky is 3-0 right now, but I think the Berg might be the team that winds up 2nd.

Quote from: rscl70 on August 06, 2011, 12:20:58 AM

Quote from: JK on August 05, 2011, 02:11:19 PM

Quote from: bignscarey on August 05, 2011, 08:10:20 AM

Quote from: JK on August 04, 2011, 12:39:39 PM
I'm not real sure about Cap this year.  Not as plugged in as I have been in the past.  I do know, like everyone else, that they lose a QB who was All-OAC a couple of times, a RB who was only the second guy in school history to run for 1000 yds in a season, a couple of tall, fast, all-OAC caliber WR's, and most of the secondary from a team that underachieved last year in a big way.

On the flip side, the presumed starting QB this year got a lot of experience last year when Assmann got hurt and they have some reasonable talent returning in a few places, especially on the DL.  Also, they have a roster posted on the website that includes about 55 players (mostly Freshmen) who look like they are new to the program this season.  I don't know jack about any of them, except that one is from Lexington- how did BJ Payne let a kid get to an OAC school other than MUC?

Anyway, I figure if Cap plays to their potential, they are probably a middle of the pack team.  A few breaks could mean a 7-3 year, but that's about as far as I would go with it.

The coaching staff is a joke as is the administrations support of the program!

Not sure about the coaching staff.  They have a lot of young guys looking to make their mark, but I couldn't agree with you more about the administration.   

I know nothing about their coaching abilities, but there are at least a few coaches on the staff who are former Capital players from the Collins days, so they have a vested interest in the program and trying to restore it.  I just don't think the administration, like you said, is going to give them what they need to succeed.

Perhaps the Cap. Admin. would be happier in the NCAC.

God, no, I hope not.  Not sure I could handle that.  Have had some conversations with some people at Cap, and I get the feeling that it's not an active "de-emphasizing" of athletics as much as it is a general apathy and lack of a clear mission and vision on how athletics fit into the overall structure and vision that the new administration has for the University.

Either way, it's pretty sad that we've fallen so far so fast and will probably continue to slide back to mediocrity or worse and no one but a few like me will take umbrage with it.

Quote from: bignscarey on August 05, 2011, 08:10:20 AM

Quote from: JK on August 04, 2011, 12:39:39 PM
I'm not real sure about Cap this year.  Not as plugged in as I have been in the past.  I do know, like everyone else, that they lose a QB who was All-OAC a couple of times, a RB who was only the second guy in school history to run for 1000 yds in a season, a couple of tall, fast, all-OAC caliber WR's, and most of the secondary from a team that underachieved last year in a big way.

On the flip side, the presumed starting QB this year got a lot of experience last year when Assmann got hurt and they have some reasonable talent returning in a few places, especially on the DL.  Also, they have a roster posted on the website that includes about 55 players (mostly Freshmen) who look like they are new to the program this season.  I don't know jack about any of them, except that one is from Lexington- how did BJ Payne let a kid get to an OAC school other than MUC?

Anyway, I figure if Cap plays to their potential, they are probably a middle of the pack team.  A few breaks could mean a 7-3 year, but that's about as far as I would go with it.

The coaching staff is a joke as is the administrations support of the program!

Not sure about the coaching staff.  They have a lot of young guys looking to make their mark, but I couldn't agree with you more about the administration.   

I know nothing about their coaching abilities, but there are at least a few coaches on the staff who are former Capital players from the Collins days, so they have a vested interest in the program and trying to restore it.  I just don't think the administration, like you said, is going to give them what they need to succeed.

I'm not real sure about Cap this year.  Not as plugged in as I have been in the past.  I do know, like everyone else, that they lose a QB who was All-OAC a couple of times, a RB who was only the second guy in school history to run for 1000 yds in a season, a couple of tall, fast, all-OAC caliber WR's, and most of the secondary from a team that underachieved last year in a big way.

On the flip side, the presumed starting QB this year got a lot of experience last year when Assmann got hurt and they have some reasonable talent returning in a few places, especially on the DL.  Also, they have a roster posted on the website that includes about 55 players (mostly Freshmen) who look like they are new to the program this season.  I don't know jack about any of them, except that one is from Lexington- how did BJ Payne let a kid get to an OAC school other than MUC?

Anyway, I figure if Cap plays to their potential, they are probably a middle of the pack team.  A few breaks could mean a 7-3 year, but that's about as far as I would go with it.

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A few pictures from the Senior Bowl courtesy of the Ohio Army National Guard.  I thought you would enjoy.