Jump to content

Miracle to Blair Academy?


Boot

Recommended Posts

Well its both a private high school and a prep school in the same location.  Helps to have that type of wrestling room where your high school guys are getting some practice time with some tough prep school kids.    The prep school is to help guys that need to take certain classes or meet a criteria prior to entering into specific college programs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, that makes a lot more sense now. That is a big help to the high school kids, is that even legal in most states though? Aside from having college kids as assistant coaches we don't give kids that opportunity in Indiana with prep schools. Why not? Might improve the quality of our athletes, and more importantly might help more kids get in and stay in college programs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, that makes a lot more sense now. That is a big help to the high school kids, is that even legal in most states though? Aside from having college kids as assistant coaches we don't give kids that opportunity in Indiana with prep schools. Why not? Might improve the quality of our athletes, and more importantly might help more kids get in and stay in college programs.

 

Being a prep school in NJ has a few benifits I guess.  Blairs High School team can compete against other HS teams across the nation but is not part of the athletic associations public school tournament so has a little more option available that many NJ schools (as well as most US schools) don't.  I'm not exactly sure of all of NJ rules for prep schools nor how exactly Blairs practice schedule and room is set up, but having the extra talent onsight has to be helpful in some way or another.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is what Shawn's dad had to say about the program he is entering:

 

he USMA Civil Prep program is a program sponsored by the WP AOG (Association of Graduates). If a cadet candidate is extremely qualified to enter West Point but is not given an appointment, he/she will automatically be considered for this scholarship. The AOG provides partial tuition to one of the few schools taking part in the Civil Prep program. The value of the scholarship does not lie in the monetary value, but in the guarantee of receiving an appointment to West Point. Around 60 of these scholarships are given each year across the country for all of the academies.

 

Shawn did not get recruited until late in the game and was unable to apply for a nomination because of the deadline. Coach Barbee used his last "chip" on Shawn and the Civil Prep program. It was all he had left to offer us. Shawn is very excited about this opportunity and thinks that a year at Blair is just what he needs to mature and prepare. I hear that one year at Blair is equivalent to your whole wrestling career up to that point. Blair Academy cost about $45K. West Point and Blair will contribute most of the cost. They will prepare Shawn for life at West Point and give him a "red shirt" year. Academies do not have red shirt years so coaches like to send their athletes to prep schools for a year. Shawn is the first kid to get one of these scholarships since JT. It is kind of funny that JT's dad Mark and I are great friends. As a matter of fact he came over yesterday and had a couple of cold ones and gave Shawn a West Point shirt from Daniel.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I had the opportunity to take Shawn up to Blair Academy http://www.blairwrestling.com/ last week for a visit while I was on some business to Manhattan, New  York. It was incredible! The campus atmosphere was nothing like I have ever experienced anywhere. I loved it! More importantly Shawn loved it.

 

The educational facilities were second to none. The student to teacher ratio is something like 8 to 1. The classes and classrooms are small. There is no way a kid should walk out of a classroom not understanding something. There is a huge emphasis on academics at Blair and you got that feeling that some of the smartest high school students in the country were walking around. We met one kid who was going on to college to study Nano Scale Engineering. I don't even know exactly what that is lol but it sounded complicated :)

 

The wrestling facilities to include the wrestling room and the weight room were very inspiring. The physical structures themselves were very impressive but what was even more impressive was the people in the room. Shawn had a chance to work out with his new team and it was an awesome experience. His wrestling partners were some of highest ranked kids in the nation. His coaches were second to none. Coach Buxton and his assistants do a tremendous job running a practice filled with star studded talent. After a practice where Shawn saw more adversity than he has all year Coach Buxton asked me "Well, what do you think?" I said "He will get better." LOL.

 

Shawn will wrestle a post graduate schedule that will give him around 50 college level matches.  For Shawn this is a great fit. He was a late bloomer physically jumping from 112lbs his Junior Year to 130lbs his Senior year. The military academies do not have red shirt years. Shawn will be able to mature physically, mature mentally, and learn to live on his own in a structured environment not unlike the one he will be living in the following year at West Point. Overall, we feel that Blair Academy gives Shawn what he needs to succeed not only as an athlete but as a student at the college level. We are very thankful to everyone that has helped Shawn get to this point. We feel very blessed and believe that God has guided us through his high school career and all of the tough decisions we had to make including where to continue Shawn's education.

 

If anyone is interested in pursuing an education at Blair Academy or one of the military academies please feel free to contact me with questions. I was mentored through this sometimes overwhelmingly complicated process so the least I can do is pay it forward and assist anyone I can.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.