Why don’t college soccer teams just recruit a team of Brazilians?
-
140
-
It sounds easy.
30 -
Distance runners don't contribute much to overall team scores.
Sprinters win conference and national titles.
A sprinter can score points in 100m, 200m, 400m, 4 x 100, 4 x 400, LJ, and TJ.
21 -
I had a Coach call me out on this recently.
He said If coaches do a great job of recruiting globally that any US HS kid that can’t run sub 8:50 will not be recruited. That the high school system would dry up and all late bloomers would seize to exist. Developing future super stars would be a thing of the past.13 -
I’d imagine it’s a combination of academics, cost and the desire to develop American talent in American universities
11 -
Oregon and Arkansas recruit Kenyans. Sometimes these Kenyans get home sick.
11 -
Everydog wrote:
samcallan wrote:
I would add that it might be challenging to verify their schooling. Maybe they are not academically ready---look at how many native born college students struggle or take remedial courses. Language barrier could be huge too.
To add to the scholarship issue, many universities charge more for foreign students so there would be an impact on the budget (not huge in the overall athletic dept budget but huge for the track program).
Academically ready like football players?
At least you can verify the academics of US athletes with grades, accreditation and test scores. The requirements are very specific.
I also think the image of the stupid football player is very dated. The NCAA made moves over 2 decades ago to decrease the chances of a Dexter Manley incident occurring again.
20 -
Runner10287 wrote:
Alabama XC is always 4 or 5 Kenyans and they are really hit or miss at nationals. OP trolling like it’s a guarantee.
There were 3 on the men's team. They finished 29, 43, 59. All three classified as freshmen.
There were 3 on the women's team. They finished 2, 29, 55.
20 -
Sliding Scale wrote:
Smarty panties wrote:
Few qualify academically. Even if they squeak in and you give them a full ride, what happens when they are ineligible next semester?
Again, I like Kenyans and have coached and had success with Kenyans. There are reasons you may not go after them but academics isn't one. In my experience they are good students. I am sure there are exceptions but most value the educational opportunities afforded them.
My guess is you are seeing the "survivors"; the ones who speak English well enough to get by. What about the hundreds of others who speak no English? Less academics than the language barrier.
12 -
zxcvxzcv wrote:
There aren't academic stats I know of about Kenyan runners in the U.S., but in general African students at American universities are a great bet, as the best educated subset of Americans. The hard work ethic that leads to success in African primary and secondary schools (where tiny fractions of the population are able to qualify for the few university spots there) will lead to success anywhere.
"Africans have the highest educational attainment rates of any immigrant group in the United States with higher levels of completion than the stereotyped Asian American model minority. It is not only the first generation that does well, as estimates indicate that a highly disproportionate percentage of black students at elite universities are African or the children of African immigrants.
In an anysis of Census Bureau data by the Journal of Blacks in higher education, African immigrants to the United States were found more likely to be college educated than any other immigrant group. African immigrants to the U.S. are also more highly educated than any other native-born ethnic group including white Americans. Some 48.9 percent of all African immigrants hold a college diploma. This is slightly more than the percentage of Asian immigrants to the U.S., nearly double the rate of native-born white Americans, and nearly four times the rate of native-born African Americans.
In 1997, 19.4 percent of all adult African immigrants in the United States held a graduate degree, compared to 8.1 percent of adult whites and 3.8 percent of adult blacks in the United States, respectively. This information suggests that America has an equally large achievement gap between whites and African/Asian immigrants as it does between white and black Americans.
Of the African-born population in the United States age 25 and older, 86.4% reported having a high school degree or higher, compared with 78. 9% of Asian born immigrants and 76.5% of European born immigrants, respectively. These figures contrast with 61.8% percent of the total foreign-born population."Again, this is survivor bias. You are talking about the ones that get accepted.
11 -
Stop pretending wrote:
There are 200 sub 13:45 Kenyans that are HS/College age and 100 sub 13:30.
Why are College coaches wasting there time trying to develop American kids? Simply bring in 6-8 Kenyans and just replenish when they fail out.Looking at the world U20 lists there are 27 Americans and 18 Kenyans. So the premise is wrong right from the start.
30 -
Myth buster wrote:
Stop pretending wrote:
There are 200 sub 13:45 Kenyans that are HS/College age and 100 sub 13:30.
Why are College coaches wasting there time trying to develop American kids? Simply bring in 6-8 Kenyans and just replenish when they fail out.Looking at the world U20 lists there are 27 Americans and 18 Kenyans. So the premise is wrong right from the start.
On the women’s side 19 Americans 16 Kenyans, - Japan 25 maybe that is where the recruiting should focus.
01 -
samcallan wrote:
Sliding Scale wrote:
Again, I like Kenyans and have coached and had success with Kenyans. There are reasons you may not go after them but academics isn't one. In my experience they are good students. I am sure there are exceptions but most value the educational opportunities afforded them.
My guess is you are seeing the "survivors"; the ones who speak English well enough to get by. What about the hundreds of others who speak no English? Less academics than the language barrier.
I am not seeing the "survivors", but rather developed a recruiting network. The biggest impediment to having success with Kenyans is knowing how to to recruit them (many have said this). On the whole, they are more talented then Americans but the average 20 y/o Kalenjin from Eldoret still does not have the ability to run sub 14:15 in a years time (let alone 13:45 within a collegiate career). It would be crazy to allot 1/12 of the scholarship pool on good faith from an email.
There are lots of Kenyans with talent and lots of them are DI eligible. You have to verify ability in Kenya or you better know some people you trust. Otherwise you are rolling the dice.
You want to start recruiting Kenyans, begin with the transfer portal or NJCAA, until you get a feel for recruiting directly from Africa.
10 -
Laksjdkk wrote:
I’m not remotely an expert here, but a college coach once told my kid that the Africans they look at typically require a full scholarship. Americans will typically come if you offer them 1/4 scholarship because the kids just want to be wanted.
Star athletes requiring a full really limits the number of quality T&F athletes you can have on the team, especially for the men.
And I went to a state school, my coach said he didn't actively recruit an international athlete, but he wouldn't turn one away if they wanted to come for whatever reason. Something feels wrong about giving a scholarship to someone who isn't from this system. I imagine people in another country would feel the same about an American showing up to get something for 'free'
21 -
State University wrote:
Laksjdkk wrote:
I’m not remotely an expert here, but a college coach once told my kid that the Africans they look at typically require a full scholarship. Americans will typically come if you offer them 1/4 scholarship because the kids just want to be wanted.
Star athletes requiring a full really limits the number of quality T&F athletes you can have on the team, especially for the men.
And I went to a state school, my coach said he didn't actively recruit an international athlete, but he wouldn't turn one away if they wanted to come for whatever reason. Something feels wrong about giving a scholarship to someone who isn't from this system. I imagine people in another country would feel the same about an American showing up to get something for 'free'
Americans have never been concerned about America First......but all other countries are.
No American is on a track scholarship at University of Wullamaloo.
13 -
Because athletic directors are all in on revenue sports and will burn every favor to keep their team winning, they dont want to get into any trouble or break any rules or mess up overall GPA on sports no one cares about.
00 -
zxcvxzcv wrote:
There aren't academic stats I know of about Kenyan runners in the U.S., but in general African students at American universities are a great bet, as the best educated subset of Americans. The hard work ethic that leads to success in African primary and secondary schools (where tiny fractions of the population are able to qualify for the few university spots there) will lead to success anywhere.
"Africans have the highest educational attainment rates of any immigrant group in the United States with higher levels of completion than the stereotyped Asian American model minority. It is not only the first generation that does well, as estimates indicate that a highly disproportionate percentage of black students at elite universities are African or the children of African immigrants.
In an anysis of Census Bureau data by the Journal of Blacks in higher education, African immigrants to the United States were found more likely to be college educated than any other immigrant group. African immigrants to the U.S. are also more highly educated than any other native-born ethnic group including white Americans. Some 48.9 percent of all African immigrants hold a college diploma. This is slightly more than the percentage of Asian immigrants to the U.S., nearly double the rate of native-born white Americans, and nearly four times the rate of native-born African Americans.
In 1997, 19.4 percent of all adult African immigrants in the United States held a graduate degree, compared to 8.1 percent of adult whites and 3.8 percent of adult blacks in the United States, respectively. This information suggests that America has an equally large achievement gap between whites and African/Asian immigrants as it does between white and black Americans.
Of the African-born population in the United States age 25 and older, 86.4% reported having a high school degree or higher, compared with 78. 9% of Asian born immigrants and 76.5% of European born immigrants, respectively. These figures contrast with 61.8% percent of the total foreign-born population."Lol. A 2014 article by the Ambassador from the Ivory Coast. Conflict of interest much? To the extent African immigrants succeed, the kids very likely came to the US young enough to be fluent in English. Nigerians tend to do well. Dr. Joseph Ladapo the surgeon general of Florida is a great example, arrived here age 5. South African Elon Musk has done well for himself (assuming you can park your racism with that example). 18-22 year old Kenyans with limited English and a very different educational background struggle in the classroom. We had a Kenyan and a Somali on my college team. Super nice guys who everyone liked. But our coach used to joke about the classes they took to stay eligible.
34 -
Laksjdkk wrote:
I’m not remotely an expert here, but a college coach once told my kid that the Africans they look at typically require a full scholarship. Americans will typically come if you offer them 1/4 scholarship because the kids just want to be wanted.
Star athletes requiring a full really limits the number of quality T&F athletes you can have on the team, especially for the men.
language/academics might be an issue, but i'd assume any kenyan would qualify for financial aid so why do they need a scholarship?
11 -
Trackfan55 wrote:
There is also academic reasons. The African education systems are not great and English is not their first language. From personal experience I would say 95% of African athletes I have trained with or coached have struggled in school, not because they aren't intelligent but rather because they struggle with the language and aren't prepared for higher education.
Research the stats. African runners in the NCAA system have a higher graduation rate than US born athletes in the NCAA system. But who am I to tell you, you claim to not only have had several African team mates as a runner but also coached several African runners as a coach.
11 -
here come shiity mcboolshiity wrote:
Trackfan55 wrote:
There is also academic reasons. The African education systems are not great and English is not their first language. From personal experience I would say 95% of African athletes I have trained with or coached have struggled in school, not because they aren't intelligent but rather because they struggle with the language and aren't prepared for higher education.
Research the stats. African runners in the NCAA system have a higher graduation rate than US born athletes in the NCAA system. But who am I to tell you, you claim to not only have had several African team mates as a runner but also coached several African runners as a coach.
Don’t get my wrong, the US system is also terrible and doesn’t prepare kids for the academic demands of higher education. As I also said in my post, the African athletes I have trained with and coached were plenty smart and tended to be more studious than American kids but they tend to be at an innate disadvantage because of language and lack of formal education. In this sense, it’s much safer to get an American kid who struggles academically as they want need a full ride, which could be 25% or 50% of scholarships for smaller programs.
i am just speaking from my own experience, apologies if I presented it as fact.
20
What People Are Talking About On LetsRun
No top threads at the moment. Check back soon.