March 9, 2006
By Shelly Schmidt
Redbird On-Line Insider Reporter
For 35 international student-athletes from 15 countries, it has been Destination, Illinois State University.
Some seemed nervous, some excited, some anxious, but all were ready and willing to talk about their shining moments, trials and tribulations, experiences, and life at Illinois State. Illinois State currently educates 35 international athletes. Two of the most recent current international athletes are volleyball player Manoela Vieira DaCunha, from Brazil, and basketball player Dinma Odiakosa, from Nigeria. Both student athletes arrived at ISU last semester of Fall 2005.
Vieira DaCunha had visited other universities in Illinois, including Bradley, along with universities in North Carolina and Florida before deciding on Illinois State.
"When I came here I just knew that I wanted to stay, I went to look at other schools but when I came here I was like 'that's [Illinois State] where I want to go,'" Vieira DaCunha said.
Vieira DaCunha, as well as other international athletes who were deciding to play for Ilinois State, stated that their coaches' enthusiasm was a deciding factor for them.
For Liina Suurvarik, a current graduate student at Illinois State and the winningest tennis player in Redbird history, the contact with coach Chris Hoover was luck and punctuality. Suurvarik wrote a number of schools in the USA, but the Illinois State tennis coach wrote her back right away and showed more interest in the Estonian athlete than any other coach she had contacted.
A similar experience happened between current ISU men's tennis player Djordje Uskokovic, from Yugoslavia, and coach Greg Kennett.
"I sent out 50 or 60 emails to coaches [in the U.S.] and the coach from ISU was actually the first one that was really interested and he offered me a full ride after a week," Uskokovic said.
Odiakosa had been in contact with Illinois State men's basketball coach Porter Moser since 2003 via emails and phone calls. Moser was in contact with him only a year after Odiakosa had been playing organized basketball.
Many international athletes, such as Odiakosa, have a different background in athletics than student-athletes educated in the United States.
"In high school, I didn't play basketball because I was too big. Somehow there's a limit on your weight and height and I was way higher than I was supposed to be," he said. The 6-foot-8 Odiakosa fits right in, size-wise, with Redbird basketball.
Odiakosa played soccer in high school until the day he and his friends created their own basketball hoop and fell in love with the sport. Odiakosa joined a basketball team outside of high school. Odiakosa was recognized for his talent and asked to play at the "World Championships" in Argentina, where Nigeria placed ninth.
Even after having the opportunity to play in the "World Championships," Odiakosa had no idea what to expect Illinois State to be like.
"You have to be here to know what it's like. I had no idea in Nigeria," Odiakosa said.
Athletes such as Uskokovic and Suurvarik competed in matches and tournaments throughout high school but did not attend regular high schools, similar to those in America.
"I went to a state-funded sports school. There are athletes from each sport and we practiced twice a day, but we didn't really have high school conditions," Suurvarik said.
Uskokovic also attended a school similar to Suurvarik's, and his education was based on the successful completion of examinations.
"They would tell me what to study and I basically had one final exam for every class so I would have more time to practice," Uskokovic said.
These international athletes practiced continuously prior to arriving at Illinois State and it has paid off. One moment that will always stand out in tennis player Uskokovic's mind is when he beat a player from Bradley who was the best in conference at the time.
"I was injured and I was cramping and, seriously, I thought I was going to die on the court, but about 70 or 80 people came and were screaming so much they brought me back and after that match I felt like never before here," Uskokovic said.
For some athletes, great moments and memories of Illinois State are made out of the simple, everyday things.
According to Christian Goy, a previous Illinois State track athlete who was the 2002 NCAA Champion in the Indoor Mile, the everyday 5:30 a.m. runs with his teammates produced some of his most memorable moments.
Traveling overseas and being so far from family and friends may require these students to have someone to depend on. To a majority of international athletes coaches are high in the rankings of people to turn to in times of need as well as teammates and certain athletic staff members.
"He [coach Greg Kennett] brought us here and he really takes care of us," Uskokovic said.
The international athletes on the men's tennis team also have an advantage because they have the most international athletes on the team than any other sport at Illinois State.
Vieira DaCunha referred to Tim Schlosser, an assistant director in the Karin Bone Athletic Study Center, as someone she turns to in times of need.
Many other student-athletes turn to the study center, which is provided for students who need help with anything from time management to enhancing study skills and career planning. Suurvarik and Goy are both current graduate students and assistants in the study center. Both have fond memories of Illinois State and are working to make sure other international student-athletes will have the same and feel as comfortable as they did.
"I meet with athletes twice a week-the ones who are more at risk--and help them with time management and studying for tests," Suurvarik said.
Whether it is the coaches, staff, previous student-athletes, current student-athletes, the administration or the facilities, international student-athletes have been coming to Illinois State for many years. They will continue to do so with the support of the university, the opportunities for success, and the welcoming nature of the people in Redbird Athletics.
Goy knows it's about the people.
"I think this place doesn't live because of its facilities, or its landscapes or the shining armor. I think it lives because people make this place all the more incredible so that it builds bridges and makes you feel that you're part of it, like you belong here from the first moment you step foot in this place," Goy said.
International Athletes
35 student-athletes from 15 countries.
Australia- Nicole Schneider (Tennis)
Barbados- Lyn Cox, Anna Lovell, Lian Lucas, Lauren Maul, Alex Straughn (Track and Field)
Brazil - Manoela Vieira DaCunha (Volleyball) *
Bermuda- Melissa Clarke (Track and Field)
Cameroon- Eric Vianney (Basketball)
Canada- Cherise Devers (Track & Field), Dan Tripp (Cross Country/Track & Field); Kaitlin Troop (Golf) and Samantha Richdale; Whitney Albright and Meaghan Koshman (Gymnastics); Kanisha Campbell (Soccer),Taylor Casement (Soccer), Shannon Duggan (Soccer), Heather Forsyth (Soccer), Yvonne Northover and Melissa Routledge (Soccer); Tracy Deyell (Swimming and Diving), Carolyne Parent and Veronique Parke-Bedard (Tennis).
Chile- Daniel Tobar (Tennis).
Estonia -- Katri Miller (Tennis)
France- Yohann Nograbat and Alban Renard (Tennis).
Mexico- Alfredo Lagarda (Tennis)
Nigeria - Dinma Odiakosa (Basketball) *; Babtunde Soyebo (Football)
Portugal - Nuno Jacinto ( Tennis)
Serbia - Luka Marinkovic (Tennis)
Switzerland- Emilie Sechaud (Tennis)
Yugoslavia -- Djordje Uskokovic (Tennis) *
* = read more about these three student-athletes in Redbird On-Line Insider
