For some students, the college experience is not just about earning a degree and socializing with friends but about the lessons learned from being on a sports team. Most athletes are recruited in high school. However, NSU’s sports teams also accept walk-ons. If you want to try out and become a walk-on, it is a simple process.
B. Keith Smith, assistant athletic director, said the first step a student needs to take is to register with the NCAA eligibility center and get cleared by the NCAA.
“The eligibility center asks for general information and makes sure you’ve taken and passed all the proper courses in high school, that you’re an amateur athlete and that you haven’t competed at a professional level before,” said Smith.
The next step, he said, is contacting the coach of the sports team you are interested in directly to find out when he or she is holding try-outs.
Smith said, “Usually coaches will have a try-out weekend and open it up for students to come in and display their skills to see if they’re good enough to be picked for a team.”
Bryan Hagopian, cross country and track and field head coach, said walk-ons are an important aspect to a team because athletes are sometimes overlooked in high school or they don’t peak until the end of their senior year, and by that time coaches have already distributed scholarships.
“I like walk-ons because it gives them an opportunity to show what they have. I always keep an extra couple of dollars just for walk-ons, and when they succeed, which they usually do, we can help them with financial aid,” he said.
Angela Kuhar, freshman dual admit occupational therapy major, said, “I always wanted to try out, and I was put in a situation where I ended up getting injured and I didn’t think I would be able to run track in college. This past summer, I finally got cleared. So being able to walk-on without a scholarship was so nice because it allowed me to do what I really wanted to do.”
Students can also try out before they are cleared by the NCAA, but they only have a 45 day window to get cleared. Smith said they can practice with the team but cannot participate in competitions.
Devir Galindo, freshman athletic training major, is still in the two month training process for track and field, but said it is worth it.
“I just started running track and field in my junior year, and I didn’t get good at it until my senior year so I never had the opportunity to get scouted. Since coming to Nova, being able to be accepted as a walk-on and being able to prove myself to my team was a wonderful opportunity. The process is long and it’s hard, but if you’re a committed student athlete, you’ll go through the process and it will pay off.”
Kuhar said, “You really have nothing to lose if you try out. If it’s what you want to do and you make the team, then that’s a wonderful opportunity that you took advantage of. If you don’t make the team, that’s the worst that there is.”
