My kid is in college and just told me the team would be adding a 31 year old woman from Kenya (transfer via Texas). This Kenyan will now be the number one runner at the school. That is not what college cross country use to be like... team building, personal growth, life-long friendships, etc.
this has been happening since the 80s, there's just more opportunities for east Africans to come to the states with technology its a lot easier for a coach from a no name school to get in contact and vise versa then in the 80s, but its not a new concept. this might be a crazy concept for someone like you, but someone else's age background, and where they came from doesn't mean you cant form a bond and be part of a team with them, there's probably a lot of life advice your daughter can learn from this transfer since you cant teach the value of different life experiences,
My kid is in college and just told me the team would be adding a 31 year old woman from Kenya (transfer via Texas). This Kenyan will now be the number one runner at the school. That is not what college cross country use to be like... team building, personal growth, life-long friendships, etc.
Now it is about NILs and portal transfers.
It has been that way for a Long time Henry Rono ran 6the 3000, 5000, 10000 and Steeple World Records in 1978 While in College and he had a Teammate who ran a 27:30 World 10000 Record (Maybe his name was Samson Kimombwa and another Exceptional Kenyan Runner, Then UTEP had th Great Teams Of Nyambui, Musyoki, Shahanga, many more.
There need to be age limits for athletes. And no scholarships for foreign athletes. The US university system is not a free Olympic training program for the world. Develop for free in America under American coaches paid for by American taxpayers and then go knock Americans off the podium at the Olympics and World Championships. Nah. Especially when they are taking scholarships from Americans.
The home nations or the athletes themselves can foot the bill for training in American universities.
Who are these foreign athletes coming and getting developed in America, then stealing podium spots from us in WCs/Olympics? Josh Kerr? Geordie Beamish? Where is the uproar over them? Why is it when noname Kenyans start coming over you get upset, but when (white) literal World Champions who got scholarships to compete in the NCAA come over, no one is complaining?
If you want to set a hard cap of 24-26 years old for the NCAA, I'll support it 100%. But quit it with the whining over black foreign athletes (who, btw, aren't winning NCAAs, nor stealing WC/Oly podium spots. Habtom Samuel won the 10k last year because the best Americans didn't run it), if you're not gonna be complaining the same when white foreign athletes do the same thing and are more successful. And besides, Americans have the mile, 3k, 5k, and 10k NCAA records. 3 Americans who grew up in Washington won the last 5 1500/mile titles. BYU won NCAA XC against a bunch of foreign runners with a whole team of kids from Utah.
I am so tired of the crying about black foreign athletes coming into the NCAA, before inevitably US home grown runners win NCAAs anyway. Make a thread when all the foreign athletes in the NCAA combine for the number of titles Cheserek won each year.
This is a silly question. If you have eligibility you can participate. There are many people that don't go to school right after high school and take some time to decide what they want to be. I was 25 myself. If a 40 year old wants to go to school and compete as long as they make the team they should be allowed.
My kid is in college and just told me the team would be adding a 31 year old woman from Kenya (transfer via Texas). This Kenyan will now be the number one runner at the school. That is not what college cross country use to be like... team building, personal growth, life-long friendships, etc.
Now it is about NILs and portal transfers.
What if your kids tried making lifelong friends with someone who was different from them? I bet you they'd have a lot more personal growth, and learn a lot more, by befriending an older woman from Kenya than by befriending the 10th person who grew up an hour away from them and is basically the same age. A big part of college is meeting people with different backgrounds.
For those of us who weren't fast enough to run for the college we went to (believe it or not, we exist too), there are other options for running socially/competitively. It's certainly not the same as the NCAA, but maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing to have the NCAA to develop our top talent into the best athletes in the world, and begin making running clubs a more serious thing for casual runners like they are in some other countries. For those of us not fast enough to run in the NCAA, or who have graduated, it would be nice to not have structured running competition end at HS or college graduation.
this has been happening since the 80s, there's just more opportunities for east Africans to come to the states with technology its a lot easier for a coach from a no name school to get in contact and vise versa then in the 80s, but its not a new concept. this might be a crazy concept for someone like you, but someone else's age background, and where they came from doesn't mean you cant form a bond and be part of a team with them, there's probably a lot of life advice your daughter can learn from this transfer since you cant teach the value of different life experiences,
Thirty-nine is an age much favored by ladies of 50, people who believe that life begins at 40, and Jack Benny, but by and large an athlete does not expect it
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.