Junior golfer Paul Obermann traveled to Southeastern from Germany to continue his golfing career.

The Lion’s Roar / File Photo

Imagine being at a university, but also being in a different country where a language different than your own native language is spoken. The culture, words, phrases and body language is different. This is what many foreign athletes may experience going to school in the United States.

When coaches recruit foreign athletes, they are offered scholarships to play for the university. These scholarships offers are difficult to get if coaches are not scouting for you. In those cases, the athletes have to send their videos to colleges to get scholarship offers. Programs are now being made to help this process.   

“My golf coach from New Zealand met the ex-golf coach Tim Baldwin when he was traveling America coaching,” said junior golfer from Queenstown, New Zealand James Anstiss about how he was recruited to come to Southeastern. “Coach Baldwin got in touch with me while I was playing golf tournaments in New Zealand and asked whether I would be interested in coming over.”

Since joining the Lions, Anstiss has achieved being the first player in school history to win the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year honor in fall 2015, and led the team with a 72.67 stroke average over nine rounds.

Once the athlete receives the scholarship, they have to adjust to going to college in a different country.

“It is very difficult to go to school in a different country like the U.S. because I needed to learn how to speak English,” said freshman golfer Joris Etlin from Fréjus, France. “The American scholar system is also different from the French one. But with the help of many people here, it’s easy to adapt.”

While some find school to be difficult, others find it to be easier than in their own country.

“It is not difficult really,” said Anstiss “I did two years of college in New Zealand and I find school easier in the U.S. The best part about it is being able to schedule around your sports training as we can’t do this back home due to the support of sports not being as high.”

For some, leaving their families at home to go to school in a different country was not an easy pill for their families to swallow.

“It was just hard for them seeing that their youngest child is, technically speaking, moving out the house to go study somewhere far,” said sophomore tennis player Dalina Dahlmans from Selfkant Hillensberg, Germany. “My family wasn’t too worried about me going to the United States because they know that I am able to find friends quickly.” 

Some families are purely excited about their child going to school in another country.

“My family loved the idea,” said Anstiss. “I get to experience a new country while finishing school and playing the sport I love.”

Foreign athletes are not kept from their family all year. They can go home during any long break in a school year.

“I go back home for Christmas break and for summer,” said Etlin.

These athletes also have to adjust to American culture, which proves difficult for some.

“In the beginning, it was really hard for me to adapt to the American way of life since it is really different than what I am used to [in Germany],” said Dahlmans. “I picked up the language easily, but in some classes, I have difficulties understanding some words and sentences because of the technical terms. The American way of life is very different from the German way. It’s not just the food that is different, but everything to me seems so huge and far away. I’m used to driving to another country within two hours and whenever I’m on the highway in America and drive two hours, I’m still in the same state.”

On the other side, Etlin found adapting to American culture easy.

“It’s not very hard adapting to American culture because people here are very friendly, and there are not big differences between our cultures,” said Etlin.

The foreign athletes that play for Southeastern are proud to represent the university and are glad they chose it.

“Southeastern is a great university,” said Etlin. “I really like it here. I met a lot of people and made friends. Many people are taking care of us. We have had a new coach since September 2015. My coach, Jake Narro, is exactly how I expected. He has plenty of knowledge and experience about golf. His presence is important for the team. He is doing a great job.”

Foreign atheltes attend Southeastern and play for the tennis team. 
The Lion’s Roar / File Photo

Foreign athletes attend Southeastern as well as play for the golf team. 
The Lion’s Roar / File Photo

Foreign athletes attend Southeastern and compete for the golf team. 
The Lion’s Roar / File Photo