Sports Help Students Prep For Military Service
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Warsaw Community High School junior Austin Ritenour plays football for the Tigers and has been in the Guard for seven months. He said he chose to enlist partly for the college benefits the National Guard provides, but also to serve his country.
“Year-round we stay conditioned; we have to go to school an hour early, stuff like that. Just the physical part of being in the military,” Ritenour said of how playing football helped prepare him for the Guard.
Tippecanoe Valley High School senior Austin Perdieu gave the same reasons for joining the Guard – college benefits and to serve his country. Like Ritenour, Perdieu is a private in the Guard, but he plays baseball at Valley.
“Just like him, we’ve got to go through workouts, we’ve got to get conditioned all year round,” Perdieu said.
Pfc. Matthew Wootten is a senior at Rochester High School, but he’s been in the Guard for 19 months and already has gone through basic training.
He said he joined for the “really good college benefits and it’s been a thing in my family to serve my country, and I felt the National Guard was the best way to go about that.”
His sport is wrestling and it’s helped him be disciplined for the Guard.
“Wrestling, you have to maintain a lot of discipline to stay on weight definitely. You do a lot of conditioning, under conditions you don’t always want to do them, which is very applicable to the military,” Wootten said.
Also a Rochester senior, Pfc. Caitlin Kamp has been in the Guard 15 months and has gone through basic training.
“I enlisted because of college benefits and my uncle served in the National Guard and he seemed to love it,” Kamp said.
She runs cross country and track.
“A sport in itself, it teaches you leadership and time management,” she said. “And running is a big part of the PT test that we take. I think just my love for running gives me the extra push.”
While time management is important, all four athletes said the Guard has been flexible with the students’ schedules.
Ritenour said, “It’s been pretty flexible. Say there’s a football game one weekend and that’s the same weekend we have drill. What you have to do is let your sergeant know and he’ll make sure you can split train to where you can make it to your football game and drill. So, really, it’s the best of both worlds.”
Wootten said the National Guard has helped him “a lot, definitely, with just about every aspect. It provides leadership, it provides motivation. Going to basic (training) you learn a lot that you can definitely apply to sports, and sports teach you a lot that you can apply to basic and everything you do in the Guard really.”
“I think when it comes down to juggling, it all comes down to prioritizing and deciding what’s something you can and can not miss on both ends. Our recruiter is very flexible, as well as our other sports and jobs,” Kamp said.
As for long-term goals and careers, Ritenour said he plans to go to the best college since he will have that opportunity.
“Don’t settle for something less when we have what we need to go to the best college we need to,” he said.
Ritenour enlisted in the Guard as a 19 Delta Cav Scout. He plans to stay in the military “the whole time,” and isn’t sure yet what he wants to pursue in college. Once he does decide, he said he will use that degree outside of the Guard to have a career on the side.
Perdieu said he definitely plans to use the Guard’s college benefits, since he has them, to study engineering. He enlisted as a 12 Bravo Combat Engineer, which means he will work with explosives.
Wootten is a 15 Fox, which is an aviation electrician, he explained. He plans to attend Vincennes University for homeland security.
“Through my Guard training and college experience, I think I can bring a lot to the table, both for the National Guard or/and anywhere I work in my life. I plan to go into law enforcement,” he said.
The levels of law enforcement Wootten wants to work in include Homeland Security or FBI, “which I think the Guard will definitely help me out with to get my foot in the door,” he said.
When she enlisted, Kamp said she signed up as a 92 Fox Trot, which is a petroleum supply specialist.
“It’s kind of irrelevant to what I’m going to major in,” she said. “I plan to go to Palm Beach Atlantic University and major in psychology and minor in business management. My long-term goal for that is to get involved with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. I think military experience and then a degree in psychology is definitely what they’re looking for.”
The minor in business management is her fallback since she can do a lot with that, she said.
All four athletes recommended others join the Guard if they are considering it.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea for not only athletes to join, but for everybody. You’re serving the country and you get to go to a college, too. You get both of them for just serving your country. I think everyone should do it,” Ritenour said.
Perdieu agreed with Ritenour. “Everybody should do it,” Perdieu said. “And if you’re an athlete and you like that team feeling or having that family, then you should definitely join the military, the National Guard, because it’s just like that but on a whole other level.”
“Athletes are at a pretty good position to join. They obviously love some type of physical activity so they’re used to that. They like the team cohesion that the military brings. And then there’s tons of benefits that the military can bring them,” Wootten said. “And I feel a lot of athletes have gone through a lot of stuff in regards to training and games so they’re used to at least some level of stress and getting stuff done, and I feel that can be beneficial. Sports and the Guard go hand in hand. Sports help you with the Guard, and the Guard helps you with sports really.”
“I would encourage everyone to join that’s thinking about it because not only does it take a load off when it comes to college, but it teaches you skills that you’re going to need throughout life. And it’s structure, which I think a lot of teenagers need these days,” Kamp said.
Indiana National Guard Sfc. Dan Murphy, the local recruiter, said joining the Guard is a great opportunity for all kids.
“There’s a lot of choices out there with all the branches of service, but nobody’s educational benefits will line up to what the Army National Guard has to offer because of the fact that we’re state funded as well as nationally funded,” Murphy said.
For more information on the Guard, contact Murphy at 574-226-1476 or email [email protected][[In-content Ad]]
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Warsaw Community High School junior Austin Ritenour plays football for the Tigers and has been in the Guard for seven months. He said he chose to enlist partly for the college benefits the National Guard provides, but also to serve his country.
“Year-round we stay conditioned; we have to go to school an hour early, stuff like that. Just the physical part of being in the military,” Ritenour said of how playing football helped prepare him for the Guard.
Tippecanoe Valley High School senior Austin Perdieu gave the same reasons for joining the Guard – college benefits and to serve his country. Like Ritenour, Perdieu is a private in the Guard, but he plays baseball at Valley.
“Just like him, we’ve got to go through workouts, we’ve got to get conditioned all year round,” Perdieu said.
Pfc. Matthew Wootten is a senior at Rochester High School, but he’s been in the Guard for 19 months and already has gone through basic training.
He said he joined for the “really good college benefits and it’s been a thing in my family to serve my country, and I felt the National Guard was the best way to go about that.”
His sport is wrestling and it’s helped him be disciplined for the Guard.
“Wrestling, you have to maintain a lot of discipline to stay on weight definitely. You do a lot of conditioning, under conditions you don’t always want to do them, which is very applicable to the military,” Wootten said.
Also a Rochester senior, Pfc. Caitlin Kamp has been in the Guard 15 months and has gone through basic training.
“I enlisted because of college benefits and my uncle served in the National Guard and he seemed to love it,” Kamp said.
She runs cross country and track.
“A sport in itself, it teaches you leadership and time management,” she said. “And running is a big part of the PT test that we take. I think just my love for running gives me the extra push.”
While time management is important, all four athletes said the Guard has been flexible with the students’ schedules.
Ritenour said, “It’s been pretty flexible. Say there’s a football game one weekend and that’s the same weekend we have drill. What you have to do is let your sergeant know and he’ll make sure you can split train to where you can make it to your football game and drill. So, really, it’s the best of both worlds.”
Wootten said the National Guard has helped him “a lot, definitely, with just about every aspect. It provides leadership, it provides motivation. Going to basic (training) you learn a lot that you can definitely apply to sports, and sports teach you a lot that you can apply to basic and everything you do in the Guard really.”
“I think when it comes down to juggling, it all comes down to prioritizing and deciding what’s something you can and can not miss on both ends. Our recruiter is very flexible, as well as our other sports and jobs,” Kamp said.
As for long-term goals and careers, Ritenour said he plans to go to the best college since he will have that opportunity.
“Don’t settle for something less when we have what we need to go to the best college we need to,” he said.
Ritenour enlisted in the Guard as a 19 Delta Cav Scout. He plans to stay in the military “the whole time,” and isn’t sure yet what he wants to pursue in college. Once he does decide, he said he will use that degree outside of the Guard to have a career on the side.
Perdieu said he definitely plans to use the Guard’s college benefits, since he has them, to study engineering. He enlisted as a 12 Bravo Combat Engineer, which means he will work with explosives.
Wootten is a 15 Fox, which is an aviation electrician, he explained. He plans to attend Vincennes University for homeland security.
“Through my Guard training and college experience, I think I can bring a lot to the table, both for the National Guard or/and anywhere I work in my life. I plan to go into law enforcement,” he said.
The levels of law enforcement Wootten wants to work in include Homeland Security or FBI, “which I think the Guard will definitely help me out with to get my foot in the door,” he said.
When she enlisted, Kamp said she signed up as a 92 Fox Trot, which is a petroleum supply specialist.
“It’s kind of irrelevant to what I’m going to major in,” she said. “I plan to go to Palm Beach Atlantic University and major in psychology and minor in business management. My long-term goal for that is to get involved with the Behavioral Analysis Unit. I think military experience and then a degree in psychology is definitely what they’re looking for.”
The minor in business management is her fallback since she can do a lot with that, she said.
All four athletes recommended others join the Guard if they are considering it.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea for not only athletes to join, but for everybody. You’re serving the country and you get to go to a college, too. You get both of them for just serving your country. I think everyone should do it,” Ritenour said.
Perdieu agreed with Ritenour. “Everybody should do it,” Perdieu said. “And if you’re an athlete and you like that team feeling or having that family, then you should definitely join the military, the National Guard, because it’s just like that but on a whole other level.”
“Athletes are at a pretty good position to join. They obviously love some type of physical activity so they’re used to that. They like the team cohesion that the military brings. And then there’s tons of benefits that the military can bring them,” Wootten said. “And I feel a lot of athletes have gone through a lot of stuff in regards to training and games so they’re used to at least some level of stress and getting stuff done, and I feel that can be beneficial. Sports and the Guard go hand in hand. Sports help you with the Guard, and the Guard helps you with sports really.”
“I would encourage everyone to join that’s thinking about it because not only does it take a load off when it comes to college, but it teaches you skills that you’re going to need throughout life. And it’s structure, which I think a lot of teenagers need these days,” Kamp said.
Indiana National Guard Sfc. Dan Murphy, the local recruiter, said joining the Guard is a great opportunity for all kids.
“There’s a lot of choices out there with all the branches of service, but nobody’s educational benefits will line up to what the Army National Guard has to offer because of the fact that we’re state funded as well as nationally funded,” Murphy said.
For more information on the Guard, contact Murphy at 574-226-1476 or email [email protected][[In-content Ad]]
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