This blog is the bridge you need to reduce the ‘language barriers’ you will come across during your recruiting process, life on campus, and in your day-to-day life as a student-athlete! Our agents have complied a list of 10 American terms that will make deciphering these situations a whole lot easier for you!

Official/ unofficial visit

This is something that you could hopefully experience as a recruit, as it gives you the opportunity to visit campus and meet the coaches and team prior to committing anywhere. An ‘official visit’ is when the college pays for the athlete’s transport, food, and accommodation to come and visit campus, whereas an ‘unofficial visit’ is where the athlete is still invited to come and visit campus, but they are responsible for those expenses.

NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA

These are some of the most important terms you need to understand when engaging in the recruiting process. Basically, these acronyms represent the different sporting governing bodies which your university may be affiliated with. The rules and regulations of each division are formed by these organisations, which ultimately make the difference between one another.

Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior

These are some of the most important terms you need to understand when engaging in the recruiting process. Basically, these acronyms represent the different sporting governing bodies which your university may be affiliated with. The rules and regulations of each division are formed by these organisations, which ultimately make the difference between one another.

Eligibility

The term eligibility is a confusing, yet very important concept for any athlete to understand. Regardless of what sport you play or where you are from, every athlete has only 4-years of eligibility. This means that even if your degree is going to take more than 4 years to complete, you are only able to be a part of a college team for 4 years. Academic eligibility is another important concept to understand, as student-athletes need to attain certain GPA in order to compete and will become ‘ineligible’ if this marker isn’t met.

Red shirt

This is a term you will hear in regard to your ‘eligibility’ which we just spoke about. You can become a ‘red shirt’ athlete means that you gain a 5^th year of eligibility. This can either be a ‘freshman red shirt’, meaning you don’t compete your first year in order to develop as an athlete, or this could be an ‘injury redshirt’ meaning you miss out on an entire season due to an injury, but gain this back during your red shirt 5^th year.

GPA

This stands for grade point average, and it is the sum off all your grades divided by the number of credits you have taken. GPA is on a scale from 0.0 to 4.0 with 4.0 being the highest possible grade you can graduate with. This is what determines your academic eligibility, some academic scholarships, and of course your final standing upon graduation.

Midterms

This is a phrase that you will soon dread as they are generally exams, assessments and assignments that are due halfway through the semester in order to gage how well (or poorly) you are doing in each class. This is something you will learn very quickly about, as midterms generally happen in the middle of season, meaning your time management needs to be on point throughout this time period! 

Study Hall

Study hall is a great way to ensure that new or struggling students get the help that they need. This is a foreign concept to us kiwis as your studies and sport are generally very separate, however as a U.S. college athlete your coaches ensure that your grades are just as important as your performance on the field.

Dorms

You may have heard this term on TV or on movies, but dorms are what we refer to as university ‘halls’. The dorms are on campus housing the university provides, where most people stay for their freshman and sophomore years. The biggest difference between New Zealand halls and American dorms is that you almost always have a roommate… sometimes even more than one!

All-American

This is something that you may strive toward as an athlete in the U.S! Being named as an ‘all-American’ means that you are selected for the honorary sports team composed of the best players in your sport from all over the country during that specific season.

WHAT NOW?

I hope this blog has given you a small amount of clarity when engaging in conversations about being a student-athlete or has given you confidence to go over and begin your own journey. But truth be told, this is such a small list when compared to the differences you are about to face on a daily basis, specifically throughout the recruiting process.

This is where we come in! KAA will help you throughout your recruiting process to sift through the foreign terms and technicalities in order to make this process as stress free and straight forward as possible. Get in contact with us to find out more about our services and how we will help you become a student athlete!