Overseas Opportunities
Study abroad programs have been providing college students with cross-cultural learning experiences for decades. But for student-athletes, the idea of a semester abroad can seem about as realistic as spending time on the moon.
By Eleanor Frankel
ef@MomentumMedia.com
Study abroad programs have been providing college students with cross-cultural learning experiences for decades. But for student-athletes, the idea of a semester abroad can seem about as realistic as spending time on the moon.
“With all that’s required of college student-athletes today, their opportunities to go abroad are pretty limited,” says Jim Pignataro, Associate Athletic Director and Director of Student-Athlete Support Services at Michigan State University.
To remedy that problem, Michigan State has set up the Summer Sports Program at Macquarie University in Australia, where student-athletes can take classes and pursue their sport in another country from late June through early August. The program began in 2005, and this summer, MSU is opening it up to students from campuses nationwide.
The idea began when administrators from Macquarie approached MSU in 2004. “Australia is a sports-crazed country, and they were interested in getting American college athletes over there to share knowledge and collaborate,” Pignataro says.
During the six-week program, students spend time in three different locations. They start with a week in Melbourne at the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS), a new facility that provides elite coaching and training to Australian athletes. “This week is sports-intensive,” Pignataro says. “The intention is to expose our students to Australia’s elite athletes and to the VIS’s training, philosophy, sports medicine, and sports psychology.”
Next, the group moves on to Sydney for four weeks, where they are housed at Macquarie University and train at the site of the 2000 Olympics. Participants take one required core course in Australian history at Macquarie and choose one of four elective courses. While in Sydney, they compete alongside Macquarie players in the University Games, a multi-institution round robin tournament involving many different sports.
The trip ends in Cairns, a tropical city in northern Australia. Students unwind before heading back home by snorkeling and diving around the Great Barrier Reef.
The program, which MSU and Macquarie designed together, is not restricted to varsity student-athletes. Any student who considers him- or herself an athlete is eligible to apply, thus keeping MSU in compliance with NCAA rules prohibiting extra benefits for student-athletes.
For Summer 2007, 25 applicants have been accepted. Fifteen are varsity athletes, representing teams from MSU, the University of Minnesota, and Harvard. Program participants are from nine sports: swimming, soccer, golf, tennis, rugby, lacrosse, women’s field hockey, women’s basketball, and crew.
Maureen Pawlak, an MSU soccer player and kinesiology major who participated in the program last summer, found it a life-changing experience. “It really expanded my perspective,” she says. “To begin with, I didn’t know anybody in my group, even though we were all from Michigan State. As an athlete, it’s hard to get to know students outside your team. I got to know other varsity athletes and some intramural athletes, and when I came back, I had a much larger circle of friends.”
Once she reached the second leg of the trip, Pawlak was separated even from her new MSU circle. “I was living, going to school, and playing soccer with Australians,” she says. “By the time I left, I felt like I had been assimilated into a new culture.”
Pawlak played with her Macquarie teammates in two matches during the University Games. “Their level of play is not quite what ours is for a college soccer team,” she says. “I feel like they learned some things about soccer from me, but I learned even more about the world from them.”
Two academic courses rounded out her experience. “It was amazing to step away from our way of life and look back with a more critical eye,” Pawlak says. “It permanently changed the way I see things.”
For Pignataro, that means the program was a success. “Even though it’s sports-intensive, it’s not about kids coming back with a higher level of play,” he says. “It’s about offering athletes a chance to do what many other students are able to do—gain the intangible experiences of living in another country.”
Future plans for the program include involving coaches and other athletic department staff. “There is a rich opportunity for collaboration on coaching, strength and conditioning, and athletic training,” Pignataro says. “We also want to work with Macquarie administrators who deal with sports psychology and life skills programs. We’re all working toward the same goals and we could learn a lot from each other.”
For information on how students can apply for the program, click here.
