By Ashley Melfi, Staff Writer
There are over 49,000 student-athletes in the NCAA. There are 322 student-athletes at Hofstra University. However, of that 322, a small percentage of those athletes are not U.S. citizens. In fact, roughly 30 student-athletes at Hofstra are from all over the world, ranging from Germany to Australia to Brazil.
Native of Wellington, New Zealand, junior Gareth James of the men’s soccer team, decided to embark on the challenge of Division 1 soccer at college in another country. “In New Zealand, University doesn’t have the same extra-curricular emphasis as the U.S. so there isn’t the same opportunity to play sports at a high level,” James said.
In most foreign countries, colligate athletics can be found far and few between. Athletes get the opportunity to play their sport in a club or on the national level, but there is not an in between.
As for the other side of the spectrum, Hofstra field hockey coach Kathy De Angelis has significant experience with international athletes. On the 2010 roster alone, six of the 23 girls are international and five of those six are starters. As for the sixth, Amy Lee Levey from Zimbabwe, would be starting as well if it were not for an injury. As far as the Hofstra field hockey team is concerned, the international student-athletes at Hofstra are an essential part to the school’s athletics.
De Angelis benefits from being able to recruit internationally because field hockey is so predominant outside of the United States. On occasion, De Angelis goes abroad to recruit if the athlete is a high-caliber player, “I first see them in tournaments through tapes and get recommendations from people…and get to go abroad,” she said.
However, not all international athletes have these same benefits, some have a more difficult time getting exposed to the right coaches and the right schools. While American athletes get scouted and looked at by recruiters on a regular basis, the same advantages do not extend to international athletes. James had to, “pursue coaches in order to get offers to play in the U.S. I emailed a lot of schools and sent them DVDs of myself playing,” he said.
It is not to say that most colleges do not have their fair share of international athletes, yet Hofstra is unique. Other schools lack the cosmopolitan appeal that Hofstra University has with its close proximity to New York City, a staple to the United States that is so recognizable and appealing for foreign students. As De Angelis put it, “there’s more appeal for Hofstra [for international athletes] with the three major airports and how accessible they are.” James took the chance of leaving the comfort of home because, “being able to come to a university where I could study and play soccer, as well as be close to New York, was too good an opportunity to miss,” he said.
