Can my homeschooled child participate in NCAA Division I athletics after entering college? Join Michael Farris as he talks with one student athlete on today's Home School Heartbeat.
Mike Farris:
My guest today is former homeschooler and University of Virginia sophomore, Emily Domenech. Emily, welcome to the program.
Emily Domenech:
Thanks for having me.
Mike:
Emily, I'd like you to tell our listeners a little bit about your experience as an athlete at UVA.
Emily:
Here at UVA I am a member of the women's varsity rowing team; it's a Division I sport, so we do a lot of traveling and a lot of competition. When I was in high school, I was a swimmer, and had never had any experience with rowing, and I walked onto the team here at UVA. So it's been a pretty good experience for me.
Mike:
Well, Emily, how's your rowing team doing?
Emily:
Right now, we are currently ranked fifth in the country—last year at NCAA's our varsity program finished in sixth place; we've won all our races so far this season, and we're actually preparing this weekend to go to Tennessee to race with the University of Tennessee.
Mike:
Emily, how tough is it to keep up with your studies while you train so seriously and compete all over the country?
Emily:
It's definitely a challenge, but I wouldn't say that it's impossible. I have to be very careful with my time management and make sure that I have enough time to study, but I think being a homeschooler really prepared me for studying in a collegiate atmosphere because it is a lot of self-motivation and self-organization, and that's helped me a lot throughout my years here at UVA.
Mike:
Emily, tomorrow we're going to talk about your experiences with NCAA eligibility. I'm Mike Farris.
To find out more about the NCAA's new policy, call us and ask for our free fact sheet, "Homeschoolers and College Sports." The number is 866-338-8614. Or visit our website at homeschoolheartbeat.com.
