After high school many foreign women volleyball players come to the United States to play volleyball at the junior college level. They do this hoping to create a better life for their selves, and family. At Miami Dade College-Kendall Campus, the Lady Sharks volleyball program embraces women who seek such a life.
In many foreign countries, elite players who finish high school have few choices on what they can do if they stay in their homeland. Some athletes “choose” to play for their country’s national volleyball team, which becomes a full-time job. While some put their dreams of playing volleyball to the side to attend a university in their country.
According to the Lady Sharks’ Head Coach Origenes “Kiko” Benoit, “Most junior colleges offer full-ride scholarships to these student-athletes coming to the United States. The players see this as an opportunity to get a great education, and at the same time play the sport that they love. … in some countries players don’t get the opportunity to study. When you play at the top level in volleyball especially in Latin America (after high school) you don’t get a chance to go school, you’re not allowed to get an education.”
Besides receiving a free education many of the players chose Miami Dade College because it was easier to get in to then a four-year college. At a NCAA or NAIA four-year college, a foreign player has to meet the school’s SAT or ACT minimum test score requirement. They also need to have a 2.0 grade point average. However, at a junior college the NJCAA only requires a foreign player to provide “high school credentials confirming graduation or completion of secondary education” which must be translated to English. Besides less requirements, junior colleges provide foreign players the opportunity to take remedial English courses.
In 2012, the NJCAA created a rule (2012-2013 NJCAA Sports Procedures) where junior college volleyball coaches could only put three foreign athletes on scholarship per year. However, in 2015 the rule (Appendix B) was removed allowing volleyball coaches to use all 14 of the scholarships given to them per year on foreign athletes.
Before the rule created in 2012, Benoit took advantage of the ability to stock his roster full with international talent. Now that the rule is gone he has picked up from where he left off. Out of the 16 players on the Lady Sharks volleyball team 13 of them are from foreign countries.
When asked to name countries he has signed players from, Benoit says, “Throughout the 20 years of being here at Miami Dade we have had players from Japan, Russia, China, Peru, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Colombia, Aruba, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, Argentina, Chile you name it. We live in Miami, it’s a multi-cultural city … and I think these type of players fit perfectly here in Miami Dade.”
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shaheem.sutherland@yahoo.com