Beth Morley’s path to Gainesville looks different from most other graduate students on the University of Florida’s campus this fall.
Morley, a distance runner on the Florida cross country and track and field teams is from West Yorkshire, United Kingdom. After a strong career on the under-20 and under-23 circuits in the U.K. and three years at Loughborough University in Leicestershire, England, she moved 4,200 miles from home to close out her collegiate career at UF.
“Obviously a lot of people come to the States, but quite a few more people had started going over,” Morley said of her desire to enter the NCAA system. “All the facilities, the support, and the races are all at such a high standard.”
Morley’s decision to come to the American collegiate system has become increasingly common among young athletes in recent years, which is reflected in the makeup of her team.
The UF women’s cross country roster has six international athletes, including Tia Wilson, Morley’s former teammate at Loughborough.
“It definitely made the whole move less scary,” Morley said, “knowing that there was going to be a familiar face there.”
The international Gators made a statement at last week’s Southeastern Conference Cross Country Championships, as Morley and Wilson, along with Kenyan Hilda Olemomoi and Australian Gabby Schmidt, were inside the Gators’ top five finishers en route to their third-place team finish.
With the postseason ramping up in November, international athletes can face a host of challenges that American athletes do not have to deal with.
“There are things we take for granted,” said Sam Palmer, an assistant coach with the team. “I can call my mom if I’m having a bad day even at my age, when for her [Flomena Asekol, a Kenyan runner on the team last year] it’s not easy because of the time change, or her mom having good cell service, or cell service at all.”
Morley echoed the sentiment, pointing out the difficulty of adjusting to life with your support system an ocean away.
“The down days feel a lot more difficult when you can’t go to family or the people you’re really comfortable with at home,” Morley said.
Finding outlets to step away from the pressures that come with elite-level competition is key, particularly when there is a potential for that athlete to feel cut off or isolated from their support system. Schmidt said she goes for walks to clear her head, while Wilson opts for the pool.
“I’ll feel really stressed before I get in the pool, and then I get out and I don’t know what I was stressed about,” Wilson said. “I emerge a different person,” she said with a hint of sarcasm.
Palmer, whose husband, Will, is the associate head coach for Florida cross country, knows the responsibility lies with the coaches to promote an environment on the team that caters to supporting athletes.
The Palmers, who have plenty of experience coaching international athletes with nearly two years in Gainesville and their prior stint at the University of Alabama, welcome their athletes into the family with open arms.
“Our family has kind of become their family, and that has made it easier,” she said. “Having them over to our house in a comfortable environment, as opposed to being in the dorms, those little things you can do go a long way.”
The Palmers’ intention to create a beneficial environment does not go unnoticed by their athletes, whether international or American. Morley cited meeting them as a major factor in her decision to come to UF.
“The main thing was definitely the coaching here,” she said. “When I came over and met Will and Sam, I just knew it was the right place.”
There are some corners of collegiate fandom where sentiments toward international athletes are highly negative. Critics feel their dominance is taking opportunities away from American athletes.
Six of the top 10 finishers in both the men’s and women’s races at last year’s NCAA Cross Country Championships were international athletes. But Sam Palmer feels that this perspective on the globalization of the NCAA is harmful.
“Track and field is a melting pot of a sport, and international athletes are just one more component of that,” she said. “They bring a different perspective and value to teams that sometimes we take for granted… I’ve seen how it’s changed their lives and how they take advantage of this opportunity, and they’re no different from me or you.”
As the season nears its climax in the coming weeks, expectations are high for the women’s team. The team finished fifth at the NCAA Championships last November and was ranked as high as sixth nationally this fall.
Inside the L. Gale Lemerand Athletic Center, however, Morley feels that the athletes and the coaches are working together to block out the noise.
“Everyone’s been pretty good at not putting pressure on ourselves,” she said. “Most of the team is so new to the types of races we’re experiencing now. I suppose there’s a bit more pressure, but it’s more the pressure of not knowing what to expect.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
