Foreign volleyball rich in talent

The nations of Brazil, Israel and Mexico all have one thing in common. Each country produced an All-American men's volleyball player last season.

Many of these coaches do not make special trips all over the world to find these players. Instead, they scout through junior international tournaments coordinated by USA Volleyball.

"We haven't gone recruiting as far as flying out to Mexico or to France," Pavlik said. "It's mostly done by correspondents we receive."

These tournaments are how Pavlik found his two-time All-American performer, Ivan Contreras. The U.S. Junior Club that Pavlik was a coach for played against Contreras' team from Mexico.

While at the tournament, it was Contreras who approached Pavlik about playing in the United States.

"I went up to him and said, 'I want to play go to school and play volleyball in the U.S.,' " Contreras said.

Often times it's the thought of getting an education in the United States, rather than just playing volleyball, that entices many foreign players. Rutgers-Newark coach Ron Larsen said an American education is more valuable abroad than most people think.

"Lots of these athletes would give anything in the world to get an education here in the States," he said.

Larsen knows all too well about working with players from another country since nine of the 15 players on his roster weren't born in the United States. He said the talent pool is much deeper in some other countries, especially in those where volleyball is played more often than a popular American sport such as football.

A challenge Pavlik, Larsen and other coaches face is making sure the foreign players they try to add to their roster are not considered professionals. NCAA guidelines state that if even just one player on a team is being paid, then all of the players on that team are considered professionals.

"We do a real good job of sending out information sheets to fill out and the finance office makes sure they're not a professional," Pavlik said. "We take care of that up front."

Once accepted into a school, foreign players must obtain a student visa. This visa is good for four years. They also must attain an insurance policy to protect themselves if injuries occur.

Pavlik said going to school at Penn State gives a combination of good education and ties to a foreign student's home nation.

"Penn State has such a great cross-section of international students," he said. "You will probably find people to make you feel at home and help you enjoy Penn State as a foreign national."

With the possibility of great diversity with a team, Larsen said that can be a formidable task to put together a cohesive unit to achieve a goal.

"It can be a challenge sending out six players of four different nationalities," Larsen said. "You have to be able to blend the styles and talents of all these players."

Pavlik added his philosophy of finding top-quality players is a simple one.

"We'll ask for information, look at video tape and make a decision," he said. "We always look at good volleyball players, whether they are from Bellefonte or from Madrid."