HMMR Podcast Episode 45: Foreign Athletes in the NCAA
On last week’s episode we teased this week’s topic by asking our guest Dave Wollman about his views on foreign athletes competing in the NCAA system. With immigration being a hot topic in this US presidential campaign season, we thought we would take a look at foreign athletes and how they should fit into the American collegiate system.
Sorry, this content is for members only.Click here to get access.
Already a member? Login below… |
A couple of comments. 1. Many foreign athletes benefit from educations they would not otherwise get in their home country. This opportunity changes not only their lives but also changes their communities and their countries.
2. If you are from Canada or Europe as often as not the level of coaching expertise is higher at home than it is at the college level.in the US. That is not to say there aren’t’ great coaches in the US buit there are also a fair share of coaches who lack real coaching skills beyong the high school level..
Especially for runners the pressure of producing conference and ncaa qualifiers means coaches rush athletes. This results in injuries and athletes being burned out after 4 years. For every success story of a foreign athlete in a US school there are at least 2 foreign athletes that are plagued by injuries or otherwise fail to meet their potential
My advice to quality athletes is find a scholarship in a good school. The high level competition will really help your athletic career and the degree will benefit your life. For blue chip athletes with Olympic team potential I would advise staying away from US schools unless you can find a unique combination of a coach with a proven international level of coaching expertise and a willingness to integrate your long term track goals with team goals.
A Finnish coach once described the process of developing an athlete as one of slow hurrying!