College tennis doubt

[santihaas]

Hello ,

Could anyone help me with a doubt I have : I want to play college tennis. I study in the south hemisphere, so our school year starts in february and ends in december. Usually, people from the south hemisphere who go play college tennis, finish their last year of high school in december and go to college in the US in august of the next year. For example I finish in december 2015 so I should normally go to the USA in august 2016. But here's the deal, before going to the US, I would like to practice for 1 extra year and play junior tournaments (to improove my tennis and maybe get better college offers), and join college in august 2017. My question is : am I allowed to do that? Because I heard NCAA has some rules like for example you can't get a scholarship if you stop studying for a year.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[andfor]

Hello ,

Could anyone help me with a doubt I have : I want to play college tennis. I study in the south hemisphere, so our school year starts in february and ends in december. Usually, people from the south hemisphere who go play college tennis, finish their last year of high school in december and go to college in the US in august of the next year. For example I finish in december 2015 so I should normally go to the USA in august 2016. But here's the deal, before going to the US, I would like to practice for 1 extra year and play junior tournaments (to improove my tennis and maybe get better college offers), and join college in august 2017. My question is : am I allowed to do that? Because I heard NCAA has some rules like for example you can't get a scholarship if you stop studying for a year.

Thanks in advance!!

You can do that and start college in the U.S. mid-year. You have 4 years to complete 5 years of eligibility. A tennis player can take off up to 6 months after finishing H.S. but your eligibility clock starts after that. Your graduation date of Dec. actually works in your favor in your scenario. Take a year off, start mid-year and play college tennis 3 1/2 year but still get all 4 spring semesters. Spring is the main season for tennis. The fall is pres-season. Good luck and check with your coaches and learn the rules to be safe with your eligibility.

 

[santihaas]

Let me see if I understood, if I finish high school in december 2015 I can join with no problem college in august 2017? But I will only be able to play college tennis dur 3 and a half years? What if graduating takes me more than 3 and a half years? I won't be able to play on the team anymore after those 3 and a half years?


Thanks in advance

 

[andfor]

Start a year from your graduation. Jan. 2017.

 

[Johnny_forehand]

Start a year from your graduation. Jan. 2017.

That's actually wrong. You have 6 months to play after graduation. If you play any events after 6 months you will lose a year and have to sit a year

 

[SStrikerR]

That's actually wrong. You have 6 months to play after graduation. If you play any events after 6 months you will lose a year and have to sit a year

Are you sure that includes junior events, as OP mentioned?

Regardless, people contradicting each other with no sources isn't going to help the OP at all.

Santihaas, in order to make sure you get the best outcome with this, you're going to want to go to the NCAA eligibility office's official site http://web3.ncaa.org/ECWR2/NCAA_EMS/NCAA.jsp and not only follow the steps applicable to your own situation, but also contact them through either phone or email with your question, so someone who knows for sure can answer your question. Keep in mind that divisions 1, 2, and 3 are all different and while they're all similar to an extent, do have differences that can be important.

 

[andfor]

I did recommend checking the rules and with coaches. I posted the exact rule here multiple times in the past but haven't looked at it in over a year. It's not uncommon for rules to be tweeked or changed from year to year. I believe the NCAA compliance dept. may take phone calls or email questions.

 

[santihaas]

Hm, the answers are a bit confusing, I searched on the eligibility site but didn't find any information. Do the only think I really want to know is if I can go 1 and a half years without studying and get a scholraship : finish highscool in december 2015, join college august 2017

 

[andfor]

Hm, the answers are a bit confusing, I searched on the eligibility site but didn't find any information. Do the only think I really want to know is if I can go 1 and a half years without studying and get a scholraship : finish highscool in december 2015, join college august 2017

Yes you can do that. There are plenty of international players who play college tennis, start late like you after H.S., When they start school because the they waited so long after H.S. to begin their college tennis, they have only have 1-3 years of college tennis eligibility remaining. This mostly applies to NCAA DI tennis. DII, DIII NAIA and NJCAA all are different regarding eligibility. Your best bet is to check with college coaches that would recruit you, the NCAA, NAIA and or NJCAA. Relying on any of us for a clear interpretation of the rules is not advised.

 

[santihaas]

Yes you can do that. There are plenty of international players who play college tennis, start late like you after H.S., When they start school because the they waited so long after H.S. to begin their college tennis, they have only have 1-3 years of college tennis eligibility remaining. This mostly applies to NCAA DI tennis. DII, DIII NAIA and NJCAA all are different regarding eligibility. Your best bet is to check with college coaches that would recruit you, the NCAA, NAIA and or NJCAA. Relying on any of us for a clear interpretation of the rules is not advised.

What does "they have only have 1-3 years of college tennis eligibility remaining." mean? That they can only play college tennis for 1-3 years? Sorry, english is not my native language.

 

[andfor]

What does "they have only have 1-3 years of college tennis eligibility remaining." mean? That they can only play college tennis for 1-3 years? Sorry, english is not my native language.

Depending on how long you take off between graduating H.S. and starting your NCAA DI tennis play, you may have between 1 and 3 years of eligibility remaining.

 

[santihaas]

What does "eligibility" mean?

 

[ClarkC]

What does "eligibility" mean?

Eligible means legally allowed to do something. In this case, it means allowed to play on the tennis team. A typical high school graduate has four years of eligibility; he can play four years of college tennis. But if he plays certain tournaments after high school and does not enroll in college, he starts to lose years of eligibility to play college tennis. So, when he shows up in college, he might only be allowed to play three years instead of four years. If he takes even more years between high school and college, he will lose more years of eligibility and have only one or two years of college tennis left.

 

[SStrikerR]

Santi, as mentioned before, your best bet would be to contact coaches or the athletic directors of schools you're interested in and see if they can help you find your answer. Or calling/emailing the eligibility center yourself and asking.

 

[Nacho]

Best to work with specific school and coach. Eligibility is a grey area. Lots of players leave HS and play baseball in the minor leagues, then come back to school and play football so there are all sorts of rules around this. All of it depends on what school you want to go to and what it is affiliated with; and a coach of that school can help you. Wanting to go to Georgia is different then trying to go to Lander. And conferences have different ways of determining your eligibility. My suggestion is play tournaments, practice, research schools and talk to coach, decide what it is you want to study and what school would suit you best, and then start a process of applying and figuring out your next step. Don't rush, you'll end up at a school you don't want to be at and that can be worse for your game.

The only thing you can't do in this time is turn pro. The minute you are not considered an amateur you lose the eligibility to play in college, especially NCAA. NIAA may be different.

Another option to consider is to play at a Jr. College? You can still decide, its not too rigorous, and you get a taste of some decent competition depending on where you go.

 

[goran_ace]

Santihaas, you really need to start making contacts with coaches to get the answers your looking for and learn what your options are. If you are already in your last year you should already be involved in the recruiting process by now.