TicketsFeb. 13, 2009
By JEFF GENTIL
Trying to recruit athletes to your school can be a frightening endeavor for any college coach. Evaluating talent based on a video or a quick in-person visit sometimes doesn't net the best results and the gamble doesn't pay off.
Imagine having to recruit athletes to come to your school by using e-mail and word of mouth. That's exactly how Monty Hopkins has recruited several of his current swim team members to come to the University of Cincinnati. These aren't your ordinary athletes, however. These swimmers were recruited from foreign countries to leave their native land and come to the U.S. to get their education and swim for Hopkins at UC. He couldn't just hop on a plane and travel internationally to visit these athletes; he had to resort to using e-mail and other means.
"Everyone has the Internet now," he said. "Or it's word of mouth. Everyone has a Facebook page, too. There are some recruiting sites where you pay a fee and get a resume of a swimmer. And I send an awful lot of e-mail."
Freshman Liz Hansson, from Sweden, agreed to come to school at UC without ever stepping foot on campus.
"I sent e-mails to (Coach) Hopkins," she said. "I saw the school on the Internet and I felt confident about Hopkins. There was no opportunity to combine sports and education in Sweden. It has been easier than I thought. I think I expected school to be a lot harder."
It's an unorthodox method of recruiting quality swimmers, but Hopkins has had a lot of success. There are drawbacks, however.
"We've lost some awesome swimmers who didn't finish their education," Hopkins said. "Some kids change their majors a few years into their swimming careers and because of NCAA regulations stating you have to be a certain number of credits toward your degree, they were no longer eligible to swim. So instead of being able to stay on scholarship, they had to leave the U.S. and go home. The rule trips up some strong students."
For the most part, it has been a big boost to not only the swimming program, but to the school itself.
"It's a combination of good swimmers and students," Hopkins said. "Most of these kids are very sophisticated. They prioritize the fact that they're getting a good education and the swim program is good. (Back home) they know if they get better, there is a chance for a scholarship and most of them are too dedicated to be average."
There can be a level of frustration for the foreign students once they arrive in the States. For some, it is the language barrier. Others have problems fitting in and finding friends. However, Hopkins says for the most part, his swimmers have adjusted better than could be expected.
"In a way it's sad to say, but they have a better grasp on America than we do of their countries. They have the same hopes and dreams as kids here. They want to be successful."
And successful is what they've been since arriving on campus. Most of them have been in the program for a few years now and are becoming a big part of the swim team and the university.
For senior Jakub Carda, it was tough in the beginning, but he says he never regretted his decision to come to UC from the Czech Republic.
"The transition was difficult at first due to the language barrier," he said. "The first quarter was pretty difficult. But the second quarter was better and I got much more comfortable and I was able to adapt to the situation. It was also tough in the beginning because I missed my parents and my friends. But the major reason I wanted to come to the U.S. was the chance to get a scholarship. Otherwise, it would have been very expensive for me to come to school here. I probably wouldn't have come."
Hopkins says Carda is a positive influence on everyone around him:
"He's very smart and very positive. I always see him smiling. He's a very hard worker and he makes people better for having been around him."
Senior Mark Talma's experience is different from that of his teammates. Talma came to UC from Trinidad & Tobago due to his academics. But he worked his way onto the team.
"Mark was not recruited," Hopkins said. "He has gotten progressively better. Mark is an excellent student (architecture major) and is a kind, thoughtful guy. I would have to say that everybody likes him. He is a joy to work with. He listens and pays attention to everything."
For junior Elinore de Jong of The Netherlands, Hopkins didn't have to do much recruiting since she is the third de Jong sister to swim for the Bearcats. Marein and Gerdien de Jong currently hold several Top-10 places in the UC swimming record book. Naturally, Elinore wanted to follow in their footsteps.
"'Ellie is a terrific student," Hopkins said. "She has such a high degree of self-discipline it makes me want to work harder and I feel like I let her down if I don't."
Junior Jeremy Peter came to the Bearcats from his native France, and is the ultimate "team player," according to his coach.
"We have taken him out of his best races and put him in some of his lesser events to help the team, and he has never complained," said Hopkins. He is very introspective and pays close attention to detail. He could be one of the best in the country if we can get him a level of consistency. When he's good, he's really good. But, when he's bad, he's really bad. He just needs something to get him over that hurdle."
Then there is Irishman Stephen Cunningham, who Hopkins says is one of the most interesting people he's ever been around.
"He is always cognizant of other people. And he will go out of his way to help someone. He has a heart of gold and is very generous. If one of his teammates needs something, he is happy and willing to help. He has a great sense of humor and is very creative. And he is one of the most active athletes in outreach programs. He has truly made the most of his opportunities. He came to the U.S. to meet as many people as he can."
Finally, there is sophomore Patryk Wakula from Poland, who struggled mightily his freshman year, but has worked hard to adjust.
"Patryk's a talented guy," Hopkins said. "But he struggled because the former Soviet countries taught Russian. Some of the countries were not allowed to speak English."
While all seven swimmers have had some form of struggle, they all have adjusted well and have become a vital part of the swimming program and will continue to play a role for future foreign swimmers who come to UC.
(This story was previously printed in the Bearcat Sports Digest.)