Joe Dial in Bahamas to tell athletes how to work the system

[rainbowgirl28]

If that headline sounds negative, it was not my intention. I think anything that increases the eduation of how NCAA/JC/NAIA rules work is good.

http://www.thenassauguardian.com/sports ... 545055.php

By DENEZ JONES, NG Sports Reporter

denez@nasguard.com

The latest announcement by the Ministry of Education was that the national average passing grade for the BGCSE (Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education) examinations was a 'D'.

However, when it comes to student athletes, the system upon which they're considered for college athletic scholarships seems to put them somewhat at a disadvantage. This became a topic for discussion Tuesday night, following a BAAA (Bahamas Association of Athletics Association) meeting. Council member Harrison Petty, Vice President Curt Hollingsworth, Oral Roberts University coaches Joe Dial and Chris Brown, with fellow BAAA council member Alpheus 'Hawk' Finlayson and Oral Roberts track and field standout Andretti Bain, were all in attendance.

The point about Bahamians being put at a disadvantage when being considered for NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) scholarships, came up while the BAAA members were advocating that graduating high school student athletes take full advantage of the many opportunities to go to college. According to Bain, he had good grades coming out of school, but still didn't qualify for an athletic scholarship, and he explains why.

"My highest GPA (Grade Point Average) coming out of high school at one point - one semester I got a 3.65, so schooling and everything was well, but during the BGCSE I was under the impression that we just needed five subjects and we would get accepted - any five," Bain began explaining. "I took eight, and I passed all, but apparently in one of my core subjects I think I may have gotten a D, and what happened was my core subjects weren't as strong as I needed them to be. I was way over the minimum requirement for the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), and I had a good GPA coming out of high school, and my tire miles (event times) were good, because I came out of high school running 47.3 in the 400. But, when I went to college in my first year, I was ineligible to receive an athletic scholarship, because when they went through the whole process of going through the BGCSE grades, along with the school grades and all that - I fell short. So, graduating with a 3.0 didn't matter at all, especially, when I found out that I had to pay $24,000 - it really didn't matter then," he said.

When American student athletes are considered for college scholarships, their SAT scores plus their grades from the entire school year are taken into consideration. However, it seems that all Bahamians are considered on are their BGCSE scores, and the rest of the school year doesn't count. A question was put forth to Hollingsworth, who's also the Vice Principal at St Anne's High School in Fox Hill. He was asked if he would agree that the current scholarship rating system for Bahamians puts them at a disadvantage.

"To answer your question quite frankly, I think we are doing our students a disadvantage. We need to prepare them, and as a matter of fact, a moment ago I said to a couple of colleagues, the problem does not begin with the student athlete in grades 10,11 and 12. We now need to go back to the drawing board, and decide whether or not we are prepared to tackle the problem at grades five, six and seven," he said. "When the kids get to grades 11 and 12, and we're saying now you have to take your BGCSEs, that's kind of putting a whole lot on these kids who are challenged academically, when they've been socially promoted."

Head coach of the Oral Roberts NCAA Division I Men and Women's Track & Field program Joe Dial, also agreed that the current system under which Bahamians are being scrutinized may be a bit too stringent. Dial and assistant coach Brown were in town for a couple of days, and had the opportunity to scout some of the local talent. They already have Bain in their camp and are looking to add a few more Bahamians. However, there always seem to be a few hiccups when signing Bahamian student athletes, because of the current grading system, or at the least the one that the NCAA recognizes.

"We're under the NCAA Clearing House, and if they declare an athlete eligible, then we can offer them a scholarship and they can accept it, but, if they're not cleared through the NCAA Clearing House, even if we wanted to, we couldn't give them a scholarship."

Dial suggested ways though, that in the event that an athlete doesn't get a scholarship, how he/she can still get a college education, and maybe qualify for a scholarship down the road. One of the ways he pointed out was going to a junior college.

"Once they start a junior college, they have to graduate from a junior college, or they can go to an NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) school, but even the rules there have changed. You used to be able to go for one year, pass 24 hours (credits), and transfer to a division school, but it's not that easy to do any more, so, it's really limited."

Dial's assistant coach Brown, also suggested that if a student athlete doesn't qualify for a scholarship their first year out of high school, "they can come and pay for that first year, and then we can pick them up after they've passed 24 hours in that first year."