never imagined he鈥檇 have to explain the phrase 鈥渙ut of the blue鈥� to one of his players when he accepted the job as 菠萝视频鈥檚 bowling coach in 2004. But when your roster of 11 consists of student-athletes from four continents, you can鈥檛 always assume everyone is speaking the same language鈥攕o to speak.
This is just one challenge Williamson faces as he steps up recruiting overseas for 菠萝视频鈥檚 championship bowlers.
鈥淲e are blessed with the ability to recruit in a global environment,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e want to find the best bowlers in the world鈥攚hether they are from the United States or not鈥攁nd bring them to 菠萝视频.鈥�
, a sophomore from Singapore, and , a freshman from Australia, have assimilated to the United States without much difficulty, but it鈥檚 been a bit more challenging for Moscow native , believed to be the first 菠萝视频 athlete from Russia.
鈥淭here is a huge cultural difference,鈥� says Williamson, who guided the Commodores to their 2007 national championship. 鈥淢aria had been taking English for a long time, anticipating the chance to come to the U.S. for college, but she learned 鈥楶roper English.鈥� She doesn鈥檛 understand some of the slang we use. I had to explain to her what 鈥榦ut of the blue鈥� means鈥攚hich isn鈥檛 easy. It鈥檚 been a unique experience for all of us.鈥�