The doubts grew stronger with every passing moment, yet still
Lena Nilsson read on. Page after page, minute after minute,
Nilsson, a Swedish native, poured over her textbook into the wee
hours of the morning, all the while wondering whether she could
adapt to life so far from home. By the time the then-freshman
finished the first reading assignment of her UCLA tenure, five
hours had elapsed. “When she told me about it, I asked her if
she was serious,” UCLA distance coach Eric Peterson said.
“How many kids would do that? What if Lena weren’t
bright? What if she weren’t able to adjust?” Nilsson,
now a senior, did adjust, but other international track and field
standouts have not always been so successful. Recruiting overseas
is high risk, high reward, which is exactly why it has remained a
hot-button issue that has sparked much debate among collegiate
track and field coaches nationwide. Some shun foreign athletes.
Others court them. Then there are those programs like UCLA who fall
somewhere in between. “We don’t have a lot of foreign
athletes, but it’s not something we frown on,” UCLA
women’s track coach Jeanette Bolden said. “We
don’t shy away from anyone. When a foreign athlete shows
interest in us, I’m going treat her the same as anyone
else.”
High Stakes College coaches aren’t
stupid. They are going to recruit any athlete that can help them
win, regardless of whether they were born down the street or across
an ocean. So why are so many programs so uneasy about bringing
top-notch foreign athletes into the fold? Probably because
it’s such a gamble. It’s uncommon for coaches to have
trusted sources who can evaluate an international prospect, and
rarer still for them to be able to make an evaluation in person.
Although some schools, including UCLA, occasionally can afford to
fly foreign athletes to the United States to take an official
visit, a weekend with a recruit is not a substitute for years of
first-hand observation. “You never quite know what
you’re getting,” Peterson said. “You read into
everything they say in person and over the telephone, and try to
get a sense of how comfortable the conversation is. Sometimes
you’re just recruiting their talent.” It’s quite
a risk to spend one of a program’s few full scholarships on a
foreign athlete as Peterson himself discovered when a pair of
Canadian runners, Nathalie Coté and Kate Vermeulen,
transferred to UCLA, only to leave soon afterwards. Both Coté
and Vermeulen were talented. But neither one was a good fit for the
Bruins. “One left after a full year, and the other
didn’t even make it to October,” Peterson said.
“They both had so much trouble understanding what it meant to
be a part of a team where there was a lot of conflict.” UCLA
once again fell prey to the pitfalls of international recruiting
this past summer when heralded signee Philip Nossmy reneged on his
commitment and instead turned pro. Nossmy, a native of Malmo,
Sweden and one of the top junior hurdlers in the world, was a
prospect men’s coach Art Venegas felt had the potential to be
an NCAA scorer this June. It will not happen, obviously, leaving
UCLA with egg on its face and a depleted sprints corps.
Conflicting Interests Even after international
recruits enroll at an American university, there is no guarantee of
success. They must adjust to a new language and an alien culture,
like all foreign students, while also adapting to differences
unique to track and field. According to Nilsson, collegiate coaches
in the United States are much more regimented than their European
counterparts. They create structured training programs for their
athletes rather than let them organize their own schedules.
“I wasn’t used to the American way when I first came
here,” Nilsson said. “As time went by, I got used to
the system, and Eric learned he could give me more
responsibility.” Said Peterson, “Lena and I had to go
through the process of getting to know one another. Once we did
that, she really let me push her hard.” An even greater issue
for international track and field athletes is their responsibility
to their respective federations. Nilsson, for example, would have
liked to represent Sweden last summer in Europe but did not have
the energy after a grueling outdoor season at UCLA. Since 2004 is
an Olympic year, Peterson and other coaches must be particularly
cautious not to overwork their international-caliber athletes
during the collegiate season so they will be at their best for
international competition this summer. Nilsson will only compete in
the distance medley relay at next month’s NCAA Indoor
Championships and will not even attempt to double at Outdoor
Nationals in June. “I’ve learned her limit,”
Peterson said. “I want to do what’s best for
her.” Of course the strain of the collegiate season is still
a disadvantage for foreigners hopeful of competing against the
world’s best this summer. “That’s the price you
pay,” Nilsson said, “and for me, it’s worth
it.”
Looking Inward For whatever reason, UCLA has
been hesitant to take full advantage of the foreign market. Only
three of the Bruin women (Nilsson, Adia McKinnon and Georgia
Richards) and two of the men (Yoo Kim and Erik Emilsson) were born
outside of this country ““ a paltry sum compared to other
top-10 programs. “It’s not like other coaches are
demons for recruiting foreign kids,” Venegas said.
“We’ve just been successful in bringing in California
kids. Common sense would dictate that you take more local
kids.” Venegas, who serves as the throws coach for both the
UCLA men and women, has never had a foreign-born thrower during his
five-year tenure as men’s coach. As an active supporter of
USA Track and Field, Venegas takes pride in training mostly
American athletes. “I don’t think I’m cheating
the school by not recruiting foreign athletes,” he said.
“I’ve made good inroads with American kids, and working
with them has been fun for me. “Just because I haven’t
recruited foreign athletes in the past doesn’t mean I
wouldn’t,” he added. Still, Nossmy would have been the
only non-American freshman this year, and the Bruins are not
actively pursuing any foreigners for their next class thus far.
“We’re interested,” Bolden said, “but they
have to contact us first.”
Success Story Spending a full scholarship on an
international athlete that doesn’t pan out can be devastating
to a program, yet the temptation is still strong. Foreign-born
competitors accounted for 10 individual championships at the NCAA
Outdoor Championships this past June, and they are scattered among
the national leaders once again this season. Nilsson is the
quintessential success story. The runner-up in the 1500 meters last
year, Nilsson is a three-time NCAA champion and perhaps the top
collegiate middle-distance runner in the country. She holds the
school record in the 800m and is a top contender to make the
Swedish Olympic team. “It’s certainly been challenging
at times with Lena, but the rewards have made it worth it,”
Peterson said. “I’ve learned a lot about myself as a
coach. Now if I could give 10 scholarships to Lena, I would.”
Though the adjustment was difficult at first, Nilsson has also
found the experience rewarding. “I’m so happy and
grateful to be here,” Nilsson said. “It has been a
great life experience.”