TCU’s Army ROTC program trains students to become officers in the Army after graduation.
Cadets undergo physical and mental training for four years to prepare themselves for service in the Army.
Their weekly schedule is packed with ROTC classes, and in addition to their normal coursework, cadets participate in physical training three days a week. Seniors take a three-hour class on how to be an effective officer and participate in a three-hour lab on tactical missions once a week.
“Having good time management skills is key to succeeding in ROTC and being able to do well in all the different facets that you’re working within,” Ivan Werchan, a senior math and physics double major, said.
Even with busy schedules, these students still find time to have fun with each other outside of school and ROTC.
Throughout the year, many cadets take part in intramural sports such as football, basketball, volleyball and soccer. During this basketball season, a group of senior ROTC members formed an intramural basketball team.
“We have to work hard during the week, so playing [basketball] together and doing fun stuff on the side is always good to make our friendship stronger for when we have to do hard stuff together,” Claudia Mazzocchi, a senior biology major, said.
What they have learned in ROTC translates to how they show up to the court.
“We were just having a conversation a minute ago about how the other team is showing up one by one, and they’re just trickling in kind of last minute,” Audrey Holder, a senior nursing major, said. “We actually all carpooled here. All the girls came together, and all the guys came together, and we showed up at least 15 to 20 minutes early. That’s what we’ve learned the last four years, is to show up together and show up early.”
The cadets said they apply what they have learned on the basketball court to ROTC.
“Playing with people in ROTC, you can easily see people’s skills, strengths and weaknesses,” Connor Downs, a supply chain management major, said. “So, if you see how they act on a basketball court, you can kind of see how they are in other stressful events that you might see in ROTC or other PT-based events.”
The cadets are taught to excel as leaders. The basketball court is a place where the cadets can practice their leadership skills and be a part of a team.
Holder said, “In ROTC, we all have to be part of one Army, even if we’re not good at everything. We all help each other out in different ways. [On the court], if I’m getting ran at by someone, I know I’ll have Claudia running up next to me to come get the ball from me, and she’ll have Connor to be in the paint.”
These cadets must be a team when participating in ROTC activities to succeed.
“If you can be a team on the basketball court, you’ll be a team out in the field,” Jackson Gremmels, a senior accounting major, said. “I think it goes hand in hand.”
