There has been a lot of discussion since Athens about foreign swimmers training in the United States. Most of them attend U.S. Universities, receive athletic scholarships, and compete at NCAA's. Some notable examples include Duje Draganja (Cal), Fred Bousquet and Kirsty Coventry (Auburn), Markus Rogan (Stanford), and the South African sprinters (Arizona). Some train in the U.S., but don't compete for a university (Inge de Bruijn). All of these athletes benefit from U.S. coaching, from training with U.S. swimmers, and in some cases, from financial support provided by U.S. entities (athletic scholarships). They all turn around and then win medals for other countries.
A couple questions: 1) What do you think about this arrangement generally? 2) Is it of benefit or detriment to U.S. swimming to have these foreign athletes training and competing here? 3) Should we be giving athletic scholarships, which are a scarce resource in swimming, to foreign athletes who will represent their own countries internationally instead of U.S.-born swimmers who will represent us internationally?
I'm sure there are other issues, but these come directly to mind.
Originally posted by TheGoodSmith
One would hope that the athlete would use them wisely for scholastic endeavors to help professional advancement later in life, but this is NOT the motive behind an athletic scholarship.
This couldn't be further from the truth. When you consider that something like 're lucky if that's the case), realize through the admissions policy that extra curriculars make for a well rounded student and the committment to sports shows much more than just athletic ability. I am not denying that successful sports programs add prestige to a university, but the vast, vast, vast majority of college sports programs are a financial strain on a university.
And, so what if a college coach wants to further his career. Don't we all?
Originally posted by TheGoodSmith
One would hope that the athlete would use them wisely for scholastic endeavors to help professional advancement later in life, but this is NOT the motive behind an athletic scholarship.
This couldn't be further from the truth. When you consider that something like 're lucky if that's the case), realize through the admissions policy that extra curriculars make for a well rounded student and the committment to sports shows much more than just athletic ability. I am not denying that successful sports programs add prestige to a university, but the vast, vast, vast majority of college sports programs are a financial strain on a university.
And, so what if a college coach wants to further his career. Don't we all?
