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It's not just a brain drain that is happening in Canada. We have the talent drain as well where athletes are heading to American schools to compete at the university level of athletics.
1) Given the chance would you go to a US university to play/perform?
2) What does this do to our education system in Canada?
3) How many Canadian athletes/actors/actresses who go to the states actually come back?
4) What can we do here in Canada to combat this issue?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/ncaa-basketball-tournament-highlights-canadian-talent-drain-1.2575762
This is my post for the week,
ReplyDeleteI find articles like this very interesting as they apply to my life very directly. As an athlete myself, in the sport of swimming, i was presented many options. Any of which can be the right path to pursue my dreams of being an Olympian. As a former American citizen (I was born there) i first looked into the USA very seriously to see the pros and cons. I started to see that Swimming at an NCAA level is not the same as playing basketball or football at those levels. Swimming demands a certain environment for Olympic caliber athletes.
I find it sad that the schools in the states are scooping up all our great athletes and leading them south but frankly, i am in no way surprised. The amount of money they can offer you is astonishing and almost all people would have a difficult time passing up a scholarship offer worth over $150,000 to a top NCAA DIV 1 school.
As for me, I am quite patriotic about our great country and would prefer to study and compete in/for Canada. The problem with most Canadian schools is because they can't offer as much funding for athletics all the well rounded academic-athletes go south for the money they need.
I believe if Canada is ever going to start sufficient funding for athletes/actors/academics we will need to start channeling a lot of money into those sectors as well as encouraging alumni from all schools to support there universities of the past.
Here is an article I found that talking about the Talent Drain going on in Canada for other sports such as soccer:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/canadian-talent-drain-takes-new-twist/article1364357/
and even swimming!
http://swimswam.com/canadian-national-record-holder-world-champs-finalist-noemie-thomas-verbals-cal/
I totally agree that Canadian schools need to start putting more money into sports. I also believe it would be beneficial if teachers and couches tried to recruit more children into sports because they can be such a great influence. Cool post Archie :)
DeleteI really agree that much more funding needs to go into athletics in Canada but at the same time we also need to have an attitude change. We need to see that our schools have an extreme drive to win in all aspects. We need to take our atheletes seriously and have to realize that athletics IS their career. I think just this change in attitude would lead to extra funding.
DeleteI agree with everyone that more money needs to be put into the athletics in Canada, we have so many amazing athletes that we lose to other countries because sports aren't as big as they are in the States for example.
DeleteI have to agree Adrian that much of the reasons that we do not as a country offer as much scholarship opportunity for the various area of talent is due to the money invested. It is the same school to school. A big portion of the scholarships come from donors, mostly past students and their families. If a student does really well after their university or College then they will likely be more open to contribute. Our government is working on our cost of education- at least provincially- in the 30 off grants but in some ways it would also be nice to see more money invested into talent. Academic talent, sports, the arts, even computers. It would help the brain drain, because as you go through school you often are exposed to the local jobs around you.
ReplyDeleteThis is my post for the week.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Adrian on the fact that that USA does have an undeniably better college athletic program due to factors such as more variety of sports, weather, money coaching and even demand. Looking at sports at even a high school level is astonishing. For football, our biggest event is probably Tnl which may get a nice crowd of around 500- 1000 people which we consider good! In southern states in the USA, highschools have stadiums that can easily seat over 15000 people.. and they sell out very often. This applys to every sport.. Yes even our sport hockey is more competitive at a college level than it is here in Canada. Personally if I were given the opportunity to receive money to play a sport that i love AND get an education at a discounted price, i would find it very hard to say no, hence the talent drain occurring. You also have a much better chance of turning Pro in the USA due to better scouting and higher demand of athletes there, that is why many people who get scholarships do not return to their native country. In order to help resolve some of the talent drain we need pro Canadian athletes to stand as ambassadors for Canadian university sport. Also scouting and marketing to young athletes on the benefits of representing their country could incite them to stay.
Here is an article on the top football schools in the USA, you will find they have consistent attendance of 10 00 + people and spend hundred of thousands, sometimes even more on their football program !
http://collegestats.org/articles/2012/09/the-10-best-high-school-football-towns-in-america/
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DeleteInteresting post Nick, I guess i never really thought about the weather part of the equation and the elite high school level of competition. I know of a few swimmers who are 14 and already are professional swimmers because they have taken multiple endorsement deals. They take sports quite a lot more seriously than Canadians do partly because maybe they believe it is a viable option for a future profession. Being a Profession athlete in the states is one of the highest honors and is among the well paying jobs out there. I think this is also partially the reason for the huge variance between the rich and the poor.
DeleteI agree with nick, if I were able to play soccer and get a discount on my schooling I would find it hard to say no to going down to the states. I would perfect to stay in Canada but I would go where my best option is.
DeleteI agree with you, Nick. There tends to be a lot of offers proposed to athletes that despite your loyalty to Canada, may be tough to refuse. Needless to say, there are many benefits of playing a competitive sport in the States - in regards to both wealth and acquiring fame/credibility in your respected sport.
ReplyDeleteThis is my week 6 post:
ReplyDeleteThe talent drain that is currently happening is really interesting and what is more interesting is that the numbers are on the rise, particularly for basketball. I have noticed this in other areas as well, particularly our actors and actresses who end up in LA and seem to lose their Canadian status and background. Reading the IMDb list of Canadian actors and actresses there are many names that are very well-known and often not thought of as Canadian. Similar to basketball, I suppose there are simply more opportunities for work and fame in the US. Unfortunately, this prevents us from having our chance at great movies, college teams, etc. because all of our talent is going where the money is. But can you really blame them?
I haven't played organized sports for a few years, but if I were to place myself in these athletes shoes I would likely take the same path they all seem to. If playing basketball in Canada isn't going to get them where they want to be due to the lack of exposure, money, etc. then it only makes sense to move somewhere that has the ability to take them there. For a lot of these players their sights are set on the NBA and without the opportunities in the US they might not be able to get there. Not to mention the possibility of free education that Canada just doesn't have to offer.
I wouldn't say that is having a direct effect on our education system as much as a brain drain would. I think this more directly effects our image I suppose. It is almost as if the US gets to take credit for our talent. It seems like they are almost stealing all of our athletes and turning them American and sometimes causing them to sort of lose their roots. They kind of make fun of this in This Is the End where Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen, playing themselves, get into arguments about how Seth lost his Canadian roots. As for what Canada could do about our talent drain, I suppose we need to offer more to our athletes, performers, etc. to make them stay. If they have more opportunity somewhere else that's where they will go, so perhaps if we created more job/exposure opportunities to these individuals we could keep them in Canada.
Here is a link I found interesting: http://bonniegillespie.com/blog/advice-for-canadian-actors-hoping-to-work-in-the-states/comment-page-1/
It is a blog post that is assisting Canadian actors and actresses in their pursuit of working in the states. I thought it was interesting that it seems to be the only way to go for actors and actresses who want to make it in the industry.
This is my weekly post:
ReplyDeleteAfter seeing this article, I knew immediately that I wanted to explore this blog because it really does relate with a decision I had to make this year. As a competitive swimmer, especially a female athlete, going to the states for post secondary education is always a very compelling option. In swimming, the US offers so much more financial support for athletes. Also, US universities take athletics much more seriously than Canadian schools. When you compare the huge luxurious facilities in the US to Canada's facilities, it's very simple to see that these schools offer much more to their athletes.
Honestly, I would definitely consider and have considered going to an American school to compete. I can honestly say that if I did find a school in the US that fit my educational requirements and offered me a scholarship I would be attending that school in the fall. This is for the simple reason that I have been working hard at my sport for most of my life and I think that schools in the US have the resources and opportunities to reward that.
This obviously makes it much more difficult for Canadian schools to recruit high level athletes because they have to compete with all the resources that American schools have to offer. If Canadian schools were able to offer the same things the athletic departments would improve and they would have great role models to represent their school.
To solve this problem, Canadian schools need to improve their athletic facilities, provide more funding for student athletes and put high performance as a top priority for these athletes. This way, the athletes know that their country takes their performance just as seriously as they themselves do. Also, it would allow for more athletes( and actors ect) to represent their universities and country well which would encourage more people to attend Canadian schools thus making our education system excellent both in academics and athletics.
Here is an article that compares Canadian and USA athletics :
http://www.collegequarterly.ca/2013-vol16-num03-summer/geiger.html}
This is my weekly post:
ReplyDeleteBeing a student athlete playing elite level baseball, I can completely relate and understand the reasoning as to why talented young Canadian athletes choose to make their way down to the states to get their education and play their sport of choice. In a sport like baseball, the talent drain to the states is incredible. This is for an assortment of reasons. First of all, Baseball is America's national sport, it is commonly known as "America's favourite pastime". The crowd's for every game are massive, and the fan base for each team is strong and spirited. Secondly, American schools have such large and well funded athletic programs that they can afford to hand out scholarships in the double and triple digits. Barely any Canadian schools have a baseball team; nevermind handing out a scholarship. Furthermore, in the states, the opportunity to be scouted by a pro scout is much more present if you can play at that caliber, and, lets face it, the weather in the states is much more suitable for playing a game of baseball.
Many Canadian athletes that head to the states for their post secondary years do return to Canada, because the chances of continuing your athletic career after college and becoming pro are still very slim. So, once they are finished getting their education, they tend to migrate back towards their family which would still be living in Canada while they were in school. Of course there are some that choose to stay down south, but that number isn't substantial.
If Canada wants to make an attempt at slowing the talent drain to the states down, they are going to have to fund the athletic departments in each of their college and universities a great amount in order for them to hand out athletic scholarships, and create a fan base. If an athlete was offered a free education because of the fact that they excel in the sport they love, AND get to continue playing that sport through their college years at a very competitive level, they would most likely accept that offer. Canadian schools need to be able to offer the exact same thing to these athletes in order for them to consider staying in Canada. Also, Canada would need to have more scouting exposure to give these athletes an opportunity of living their dream and becoming a professional.
This article basically sums up the CIS vs NCAA comparison
http://studymagazine.com/2011/12/01/stop-canadian-student-athletes-south/