AIR FORCE ACADEMY — With preseason practice just three weeks away, Air Force coach Troy Calhoun is monitoring the progress of 29 potential football players in the academy’s new class of freshman cadets.
Air Force’s incoming freshmen arrive each year in the middle of the summer. Their first exposure to their new school is basic cadet training in the foothills of the nearby Rampart Range.
Calhoun also is mapping plans for the newcomers’ future, but not just for their four years of eligibility.
“I feel like it’s a 20-year responsibility of mine to help them be prepared for life after they leave here,” said Calhoun, a former Air Force quarterback who graduated from the academy in 1989.
Calhoun, 25-14 in three years as the AFA coach, isn’t sure how many coaches share his views. But he thinks his outlook should apply to any coach, not just those in the regimented atmosphere of a service academy.
“I think it absolutely is a responsibility of the coach to make sure his players are prepared to be contributors to society and the country well after they have played their last game,” Calhoun said. “That’s not a burden. We spend a lot of time recruiting and identifying prospective candidates to come to our schools. That’s where the process has to begin. Coaches develop strong bonds with their players and coaches can influence their attitude toward academics and citizenship.”
Calhoun pointed to a recent NCAA study showing AFA football players ranked second in the country (behind Rutgers) in academic progress. The Academic Progress Rate (APR) study from 2005-09 graded players on maintaining scholastic eligibility, retention of classroom work and staying on track to graduate.
Rutgers had 992 points and Air Force compiled 988. Schools that had APR scores of 925 or below risked the penalty of losing scholarships.
“I look at what we’ve done in the APR ratings as just a toddler’s step toward what is needed,” Calhoun said. “It showed we’re going in the right direction, but we also have to provide the guidance that will make them competitive in the job market when they’ve been away from the program 18 months or more.
“Sports competition is an important learning tool. The competition helps build character traits that are going to help the athlete achieve success in whatever endeavor he chooses to pursue.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
