Return to Pointer View home page July 1,  2005

Football prepster

Story and photo by Eric S. Bartelt
Senior Staff Writer

Sixty-nine athletes from the U.S. Military Academy Preparatory School came to West Point Monday to compete on many of the varsity athletic fields around the academy for the next four years.

Recent successes in baseball, tennis, rifle and various other sports have the academy’s 25 intercollegiate sports teams on the upswing.

Prepster turned new cadet, John Plumstead, is ready to play for the Army team.

Heading in that direction is the football team that went 0-13 in 2003 and improved slightly record-wise to 2-9 last year, but more help is on the way in the form of 32 players from USMAPS who will continue to help the Black Knights focus toward a bowl bid under head coach Bobby Ross’ guidance.

John Plumstead of Honor, Mich., grew up a Detroit Lions fan and is well-aware of Ross, who was once head coach of the Lions from 1997 to 2000.

“I’m excited. He’s a legend,” Plumstead said. “It’s really an honor to play for a guy who’s coached in a Super Bowl and for a national championship team (Georgia Tech ’90).”

Plumstead led the USMAPS defense in tackles last year, for a team that beat the Naval and Air Force Academy Prep squads in the same season for the first time in school history.

Always looking for challenges, Plumstead knew this would be the ultimate place to test himself especially on the leadership front as he was a USMAPS company commander.

“When I first became company commander I was tentative and wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it,” Plumstead explained. “But, that’s what West Point is, it’s about learning how to become a leader. At first you think you’re going to be a good leader then realize things are bad and you have to find things to improve upon.

“The whole (last) semester helped me understand what leadership is all about and how to become a better leader,” Plumstead added.

The 5’10”, 215-pound outside linebacker feels this is a great time to come to the academy with a state-of-the-art work out facility at the Kimsey Center, an ESPN TV contract that will allow his parents to watch all the games from their home, and he hopes his crew of 32 football players from the Prep School can bring something to the table for the Black Knights to continue building their on-the-field football success.

“We bring a lot of intensity, we had a good year last year and we’re a close-knit group of guys,” Plumstead said of his 7-3 USMAPS squad last year.

Plumstead, who can’t wait to learn under the tutelage of former nine-year NFL veteran, linebackers coach Steve Tovar, almost never got his shot to play football at the academy after an injury his senior year in high school.

“I was recruited by the football team my senior year and then broke my foot and after that they stopped recruiting me,” Plumstead said. “But, I was actually also getting recruited for shot put to come here and this past year down at the Prep School I started off playing football in the fall and did really well.

“I led the team in tackles on defense and after the season the coaches wanted me to play up here, so I decided to stick with football,” Plumstead added.

Plumstead became interested in West Point after reading the book, “Civil War”, about the 1995 Army and Navy football seasons, and can’t wait to get started with cadet basic training.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge of Beast, I’m excited to be up here at West Point,” Plumstead said. “It’ll be interesting to see how the Prep School prepared us and how ready we are.”

His grandfather, Peter, graduated from the ROTC program from Michigan State University, and served as a helicopter officer during the Korean War through Vietnam era. He’s excited to follow in his grandfather’s patriotic footsteps especially in the post 9/11 era and hopes he can make a difference on and off the football field.

“(When I graduate) from here I hope football-wise we’re a better program then the day I got here,” Plumstead said. “I’ll have a great education, but that’s a given and, most importantly, hopefully I will be prepared to lead a platoon.”