Preparing to be an International Student-Athlete

PARTICIPATION IN USA COLLEGIATE SPORTS It is my pleasure to make this publication A BRIEF OVERVIEW - Participation in USA Collegiate Sports: by D. Edmondson A Brief Overview – available to all of our for Wolmer’s Boys’ School young Wolmerians and their parents. In 2017, I envisioned a project of codifying the This publication is not intended for re-sale. It is intended for use solely within rich heritage as well as the procedures and the ambit of the Wolmer’s Boys’ School Career Guidance Programme. protocols that have served our community well over time. This project was thought to be relevant because it is indeed true that Wolmer’s has remained a household name upon the educational landscape; however, it would be remiss of us to merely wrap ourselves in the contentment of with what has already been achieved. In one of our gatherings, I therefore shared the following: “Excellent achievements in academics and extra-curricular activities must now be the launching pad into the paradigm of twenty- first century education. Our outlook, curriculum, instruction and infrastructure must be quickly modernized so that we can relevantly prepare our students to face the challenges and seize the opportunities brought about by the massive forces of

globalization, changing demographics and technological advancements. Our task it is to produce a human being who has a ‘resilient’ mentality; the ability to remain focused; a wide knowledge base; skills of critical analysis; out-of- the-circle thinking; a collaborative disposition; and a global mind-set. We dare not think we can facilitate the development of this twenty-first century learner in the same way we have done in the past.” Participation in USA Collegiate Sports: A Brief Overview is in line with this thinking. We have pulled together disparate information into one publication and provided good advice that will assist you to be prepared for opportunities in the USA collegiate system. I therefore urge all our parents and young men to carefully digest its contents; do further research; start the planning process. The world is your oyster. Dwight Pennycooke Principal Wolmer’s Boys’ School November 2021

Table of Contents 4 Other Tertiary Athletic Associations 15 High School Timeline 5 What are Divisions? 16 SAT – Scholastic Aptitude Test 6 Division I Schools 17 College Applications 7 Division II Schools 18 Contact with Coaches 9 Amateurism 19 Social Media 10 Academic Certification 20 National Letter of Intent 11 Division I 21 Timeline (if completing upper sixth) 12 Division II 22 Useful Websites 13 Subjects not considered as Core Courses 23 Testimonials 14 Subjects that can be considered as Core Courses WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 4

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What are Divisions? “The NCAA is organized into three divisions, and there are separate athletic conferences within each division. The NCAA is focused on “safeguarding the well-being of student-athletes and equipping them with the skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life.” • Divisions classify colleges by the sports they offer - not academic ranking • Division 1 Colleges are more likely to have funds for scholarships • Divisions have different academic requirements for NCAA eligibility NCAA Academic Eligibility ≠ College Academic Requirements WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 7

Division I Schools Multiyear, cost-of-attendance athletics scholarships available 58 percent of athletes receive athletics aid Division I schools: • Offer at least 14 sports: seven for men and seven for women, or six for men and eight for women • Offer at least two team sports for men and two for women • Can guarantee an audience of a specific size for football and basketball • Provide some athletic scholarships. Division I schools have to meet minimum financial aid awards for their athletics program, but there is a cap on financial aid awards for each sport. • Have enough games to fit each sport’s requirements • Require students to maintain a certain GPA and take at least 16 core courses for eligibility WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 8

Division II Schools Partial athletics scholarship 59 percent of athletes receive athletics aid • Have a minimum of 10 sports • Offer five each for men and women or four men’s and six women’s plus two team sports each • Have enough games to fit each sport’s requirements • Require students to maintain a 2.0 GPA and take at least 16 core courses to be eligible WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 9

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Amateurism Below are some situations that may impact a prospective student-athlete’s amateur status • Taking a break between high school/secondary school and full-time collegiate enrollment and continuing to participate in your sport(s). • Using a recruiting agency, scholarship agent or a scouting service. • Receiving payment from a sports team to participate. • Receiving funds or money to offset training expenses. • Accepting prize money based on performance/finish at a competition. • Being represented or marketed by professional sports agent. • Promoting or endorsing a commercial product or service. WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 11

Academic Certification Full Qualifier: Academic Redshirt: Nonqualifier: College-bound student-athletes College-bound student- College-bound student- may practice, compete and athletes may receive athletics athletes cannot practice, receive athletics scholarships scholarships during their first receive athletics scholarships during their first year of year of enrollment and may or compete during their first enrollment at a NCAA Division I practice during their first regular year of enrollment at an school. academic term, but may NOT NCAA Division I school. compete during their first year of enrollment. WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 12

Division I To compete at an NCAA Division I university, complete 16 core- course credits in the following areas: • To play sports at a Division I or II school, you must graduate from high school, • complete 16 NCAA-approved core-course credits and • earn a minimum core-course grade-point average (GPA) that matches your SAT or ACT score prior to enrolling full time in university. WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 13

Division II • To play sports at a Division I or II school, you must graduate from high school, • complete 16 NCAA-approved core-course credits and • earn a minimum core-course grade-point average (GPA) that matches your SAT or ACT score prior to enrolling full time in university. WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 14

Subjects not considered as Core Courses A. Titles that cannot be used in a certification: i. Any titles that include these words: ii. Any course titles/subject areas listed below: WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 15

Subjects that can be considered as Core Courses Note: These course titles can only be used if they do not contain any of the words noted on the previous page. WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 16

High School Timeline Start planning and doing your research in 3rd form WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 17

SAT – Scholastic Aptitude Test Test Dates October, November, December, (collegeboard.org) January, May, June • Standardized tests to assess college readiness • Score Range 400-1600 (English 200-800 , Math 200-800) • SAT Essay optional but useful for scholarships and writing technique • Can take the test multiple times – highest score counts • Some Colleges will “superscore” different test results: subject scores from different test dates are combined. • Not all colleges require SAT for admission – but needed for NCAA JAMAICAN TEST CENTRES: American International School of Kingston ; Belair Secondary School (Mandeville); Campion College (Hopefield Avenue); Dinthill Technical School (Linstead); Mount Alvernia High School (Montego Bay); St Andrew High School for Girls; The Priory School WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 18

College Applications Possible Criteria: Degree Options, Athletic/Academic, Support Systems, Location/Weather, Family Support • Determine your criteria and start early to identify schools of interest • Be realistic – both in academics and athletics • Contacting Coaches : Talk to your local coach/manager and other resource personnel Most college athletic websites have contact emails for coaches and recruitment forms. • Application Sites that allow submission to multiple colleges, for example: My Coalition https://mycoalition.org The Common Application (https://apply.commonapp.org/) WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 19

Contact with Coaches • Do have on-line evidence (links) of your stated performance – Meet results, Videos • Don’t blind copy a standard email, edit each, with coaches name and University • Do explain why you think that you would be a good fit for the college • Do copy more than one coach • Do follow-up with a phone call WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 20

Social Media Coach Chris 99 @Coach_Chris99 ‘Pause before you post’ “Never let a 140 chracter tweet cost you a $140,000 scholarship!” #sports • Do: Praise teammates and team efforts. • Don’t: Bash opposing team or individual players. • Do: Thank fans for their support. • Don’t: Swear or mispell words. • Do: Realize you are a role model for many younger students at school. • Don’t: Harass others or mention race, religion, sexual orientation or physical conditions. • Do: Know that if you retweet or share something, you own it! Nothing is Private. While you may think that you can delete your tweet or delete your profile, content can be captured in screenshots or saved by other users. #onebadtweet WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 21

National Letter of Intent • The NLI is a binding agreement between a prospective student- athlete and an NLI member institution/college. • A prospective student-athlete agrees to attend the institution full- time for one academic year (two semesters or three quarters). • The institution agrees to provide athletics financial aid for one academic year (two semesters or three quarters). The penalty for not fulfilling the NLI agreement: A student-athlete has to serve one year in residence (full-time) at the next NLI member institution and lose one season of competition in all sports. Recruiting Prohibition applied after a prospective student-athlete signs the NLI: Requires member institutions to cease recruitment of a prospective student-athlete once an NLI is signed with another institution. WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 22

Timeline (if completing upper sixth) WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 23

Useful Websites Start planning and doing your research in 2nd form. • NCAA - http://www.ncaa.org/ • https://www.ncaa.org/student-athletes/future/international-student-athletes • NCAA Eligibility Center – https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/ • SAT - https://www.collegeboard.org/ • Quality Academics - https://www.qualityacademics.com/pre-university-1 • AIM Educational Services - http://www.aimeduservices.com/ • Versan Educational Services - https://www.facebook.com/VersanEDU/ • The Common Application - https://apply.commonapp.org/ • https://www.ncsasports.org/best-colleges • http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Student_Resources/CBSA.pdf • http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/International_Information/ International_Guide.pdf • College Track and Field Results https://www.tfrrs.org/ WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 24

Testimonial A few thoughts from Angela Atkinstall-Daley (proud mother of a Ever since I supported my son through the process of achieving a student athlete) scholarship to a university overseas, I have felt propelled to support Being a student athlete takes discipline and hard work but can also other parents and student-athletes in this exercise. It can be a complex open doors of tremendous opportunities for you. The days of pure one for the student to navigate by themselves, it is therefore important talent getting you places are long gone. Universities and organizations to ensure that they have guidance along the way. Don’t be afraid to are operating a business, so they are looking for value for money – a ask questions and seek assistance from the school, coaches , team complete package that will benefit their brand. Here are a few things managers etc. to consider: The initial decision as to whether studying overseas is the best decision • Start planning for university from 2nd Form – this ensures you put for your family and the student- athlete is a major one. Universities in the necessary work in 3rd form and get recommended for the provide extensive support and in return have high expectations right mix of subjects you need to sit at the CSEC level (check NCAA of their student-athletes. Consequently , life skills such as time eligibility requirements) management, budgeting and money management, being able to respectfully speak up for yourself are essential to function effectively • DI schools may be the ideal but you have other options – BE WISE, in this new environment.. In addition, instilling the concept of “ Age do not limit your choices! Quod Agis” goes a long way in the pursuit of excellence. • Inform yourself of the academic and recruiting standards for Whereas this isn’t for everybody, you don’t have to be in the top three targeted universities and set realistic goals. nationally to get financial support. There are scholarships available that will afford the student –athlete the opportunity to broaden • Build a strong brand which must consider your academics, athletic their horizons , strengthen their character while undertaking their ability, spirit of volunteerism (community service) and leadership. academic and athletic pursuits. • Manage your social media presence – colleges require disclosure of your social media usernames and handles (everything you post impacts your personal brand)! • Do not allow anyone to turn your sky into a ceiling. Dream big, work harder and always keep going! • Remember, hard work beats talent when talent does not work! WOLMER’S BOYS’ SCHOOL 2021 25

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