Walk On Atheltes: Kent State
Junior cross-country runner Joshua Allen said that he always knew he wanted to do athletics in college, he said, “I think it’s every little kids dream to go D1 but I was never sure if I was good enough.”
More times than not, high school athletes don’t find themselves verbally or officially committing to a university to play college athletics. There are not enough athletic scholarships to give out to students trying to play a college sport. However, some students don’t let the lack of a scholarship stop them. College walk ons are athletes who play without a scholarship.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, in 2016 high school sports participation reached an all-time high of 7,868,900 student athletes. Even with these numbers, the NCAA says that there is still less than a 13 percent chance on both men and women making it to the NCAA to compete in college level sports.
A walk on’s collegiate athletic career begins with a tryout. They attempt to make a team despite not being recruited or having financial benefits such as scholarships. In 2018 Kent State had approximately 80 walk on athletes participating in the various interscholastic sports.
Universities differ in the amount of athletic scholarship funding they have available based on NCAA guidelines. There are times in a walk on athlete’s career where they can eventually receive a scholarship, based on how well they have performed.
But most walk ons don’t do it for the scholarship money. For those who are aware that professional sports aren’t in their future, they just want to keep the game in their life for as long as they can.
Junior guard, Margaux Eibel plays for the women’s basketball team at Kent State University and recalls that her decision to play basketball in college came much later in her Freshman year. She said, “I came to Kent at first for fashion design but freshman year I knew I was missing something. I played sports my whole life and I didn’t know what to do, I just knew something was missing. “After reaching out to the Women’s Basketball coach at Kent, Eibel decided to try out for the team.
That year Eibel earned her spot as a walk on and has been a member of the team for the last three years. This year is different though, she now holds a basketball scholarship. When looking back at the last two years as a walk on Eibel said, “I had a tough issue with accepting where I was at. I went from playing every single minute in high school to having about 20–30 minutes of playing time total my freshman year.”
Of course, competing in college athletics requires a serious time commitment. Putting in the required time and effort can get tough when you know you won’t be seeing as much playing time as you would like. So, what do walk on’s do to push through these moments of self-doubt? Eibel said, “At the end of the day it’s all about having the mindset of that I’m here for the team. As long as we’re winning I don’t care.”
Allen agrees and says, “Personally I know my times aren't as good as some other runners, but I’m just happy to be a part of the team.”
That doesn’t change the fact that many walk ons do experience the same sense of self-doubt that Eible did in her first year. Allen said, “Overcoming that doubt is important. Just because I came in as a walk on doesn’t mean I don’t have the potential to be just as good as any other guy out there.”
One has to wonder though, do these walk ons ever feel as if they’re treated any different from those players who are on an athletic scholarship? Eibel said she remembers the first time she stepped foot on the court her team couldn’t have been more welcoming. She said, “They didn’t treat me any different and my coaches made it known that I was no different from anyone else.”
Walk on athletes may not always get the chance to participate in live competition but the relationships and friendships that are made are well worth the time commitment and effort. Junior volleyball player, Kaeleigh Stang said, “It’s completely worth it, the friendships I’ve made not even with just volleyball players but other athletes too, make it totally worth it.”
Stang started her journey with volleyball at the age of eight and realized early on she wanted to play in college. For her motivation, she thinks about all the other girls who would love the opportunity to play Division one volleyball. She said, “The last thing I think of is all the other girls who would give anything to be in my position and even have the opportunity to be a part of a college team.”
While sport fans may be familiar with the team stars, those athlete’s good enough and fortunate enough to be playing the sport they love with the added benefit of not paying for their college education, we should be happy knowing that some of these student athletes are out their committing their time, their efforts and their sweat without any other rewards other than playing a game they love with others who love it as well.
And that’s exactly how these athletes feel. Allen says, “The best part is just being able to put on the Kent State jersey and being able to represent a D1 school, it’s a dream come true.”
