Anyone who officiates in the ITA world knows that teams are heavily weighted with foreign players. There are pros and cons to this issue but we might want to consider all aspects of this issue. Here are some points to provoke your thoughts:
* Foreign players tend to be stronger and better.
* Foreign players take up scholarships that could be used by Americans.
* Foreign players have more difficulty becoming and staying eligible to play.
Those are some basic facts, but here are some more aesthetic considerations:
* Which players tend to behave better?
* Does a program have to have foreign players to win?
* Is it fair to American players to have so many foreign players on teams?
* Should there be a limit on foreign players on a team?
* Should there be limits on the amount of professional events played by ITA players?
Personally, I enjoy meeting, watching, and officiating foreign players but the same can be said about Americans. Even though people say we need to be fair and equal, I'm not so sure that is the case in collegiate tennis. I believe there should be a limit on foreign players on a team since coaches are obviously not going to impose any limits. After all, we live in America and provide a free education to the foreign players. Maybe we should give a little more consideration to our "home grown" products...
We would welcome your comments.
9 comments:
I think one has to be very careful when talking about placing limits on the number of foreign tennis players on a team. Will that apply to other intercollegiate athletics as well? Foreign-born players come here on football and basketball scholarships as well. And what about foreign students who come here purely on academic scholarships. Will there be a limit on them as well?
Some of these players come here wanting to get a college degree while knowing that being able to make a living in professional tennis is a long-shot – just like any other NCAA sport. A college education will enable them to be more productive in their lives after tennis – regardless of which country they live in. Yes, there are plenty of players on scholarship who struggle in the classroom. Is that percentage any different from the average student body that is not on an athletic scholarship? Or, look at scholarship athletes in football and basketball. I’ll bet tennis players do much better in the classroom than those sports!
There is the argument that these foreign players take scholarships and team spots away from American-born players. I think that has been true in the past. Maybe foreign players have been more disciplined at a younger age? Maybe the foreign training was better? But that gap may be narrowing with the increased popularity of year-round tennis academies in the United States. (Look at who the UT men’s program has signed for this fall)
Bottom line: competition is good whether you are talking about players from Texas vs. Germany or General Motors vs. Toyota. A player should make the singles line-up because he or she is one of the top six players – not because the foreign quota is already filled. We have enough problems in this country with people who feel they are entitled to receive something they have not earned. Let’s don’t add college tennis to that list.
My suggestion is to limit foreign players on collegiate teams, with no more than 2 at anyone time on the team. Men's tennis is allowed only 4.5 scholarships.
My suggestion is for you guys to suck it up cause the level of college tennis is so much higher because of the foreign players... if the American kid is good enough then he/she will get a scholarship but if there is someone better then why wouldn't they get a scholarship?? Just cause they are not American?? Talking about how foreigners just take spots for American kids is just looking for excuses and its lame!!!! Instead of that you guys should train harder and make sure there is more kids playing on a higher level and that happens then nobody will even think about bringing people from overseas but because there is only "few" American kids that are good enough to get a scholarship its better to bring people from the outside. If you want to do some changes then I propose change the way to get certifications to be a coach in the US cause as far as I know my mom who never played tennis could get one without a problem, which is ridiculous!!!! The a kid goes to play with a coach like that who read 1 book with some rules and he is promised to be amazing tennis player... I've been a player for a while in college and on tour and sorry but it doesnt work this way!!!!!
If you put restrictions on # of players per team the level of college tennis and sports in general will drop and therefore level of competiton for American players!!!!!!! Another thing you guys should change is get rod of coaches who buy a basket of balls in Wallmart and pretend to know something about tennis. To get money from peolpe they tell kids and parents how great they are and that they will get a scholarship to Div 1 schools and all that stuff when kids actually suck!!!!!!! I know it harsh but its true - met a lot of them! Get rid of that and it will be better!!! Just to conclude with tennis it is exactly same with any other sports if you get rid of foreigners the level will drop!!! SORRY!!!! :)))
I know that college coaches want to win and they have found that Most foreign players have a much harder work ethic that most American players. For this reason, foreign players seem to be an obvious choice for coaches. If we want more Americans on these higher level college teams maybe we should do less babying at the lower levels and teach them what hard work is. Just my two cents.
I do not think it matters who is on the team as we are the Country of equal opportunity, I think? However, i have sent a letter to my congressional leader every other year to require any Government Funded institution shall not provide athletic scholerships to anyone who is not an American citizen.
I once asked a college coach why he had so many foreign players on his team. His response was interesting;
1. American players have usually had years of the best training. They are also usually spoiled, so their attitude is lower, and their upside potential has been nearly reached.
2. The foreign players usually haven't has as good a training, so their potential is higher.
3. If the potential appears to be the same for an American player and a foreign player, then consider this. The American player has parents that are in reach of the school. The foreign player's parents are thousands of miles away.
If you were a coach, which player would you choose?
The truth is that America has very little left to sell to the rest of the world other than a good education. We have sent our steel, textile and soon our auto industry abroad. But there are kids all over the world who are hungry for our colleges. I also recently spoke to a college coach from a division I school, but not a school that has a big name or a sexy venue. She cannot get talented American kids to come to her school, but kids from Eastern Europe and South America will come to any US school they can get into. In other words, there are good schools here that American kids turn their nose up to, and why should'nt those schools go get foreign talent?
Just a hunch but, as long as college coaches get paid for winning and, as long as there are bonus programs in place to reward winning, which players do you think the coaches will recruit? Obviously, the ones who can win. Seems as if a lot of college coaches feel the "winners" didn't go to high school in the US.
As for the rant from the self described "been a player for a while in college" listed above....now I know why so many potential employers are turning their backs on recent college graduates.
Borders, language, culture.
The "equal opportunity" has always been, and should continue to be, for those who have and/or do "with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, ... mutually pledge to each other [their] Lives, [their] Fortunes, and [their] sacred Honor.
And for those who deluded people who still think atheletics in America is about quality of the play or the love of the game, wake up. It's about $$$$$$.
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