EP#70: An Introduction to NCAA Women's Triathlon with NCAA D1 Coach Hannah Loftus from Delaware State

Claire sits down with US College Triathlon Coach Hannah Loftus from NCAA D1 Delaware State to unpack a very exciting emerging sport: NCAA Women's Triathlon. 

Coach Loftus discusses race format, season flow, recruiting, team tactics, and why culture beats talent when stakes rise. A clear guide for international athletes on timelines, budgets, and the first email that gets a coach to click.

• why so many US college Triathlon teams have international student-athletes
• distances for NCAA competitions
• roster limits
• schedule of NCAA Women's Triathlon: competitions and training blocks
• how team scoring works 
• international recruiting steps and timelines
• what to include in your first email to coaches
• Title IX and why women’s varsity triathlon can give out scholarships while men's triathlon cannot
• weather pivots, safety rules, and indoor setups
• the daunting "what is your budget" question
• green and red flags on video calls

Coach Hannah's parting advice: "Go for it. Reach out to schools and the coaches and see what can happen. There's no harm in trying."

Like this episode? Share with an athlete friend of yours and leave a review! Each review helps bring this podcast to more a student-athletes looking to continue their sport in the US College System!

Transcript

Meet Coach Hannah And DSU Triathlon

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Hello everyone, welcome back to In the Huddle. We love that you have joined us today for another brand new episode. I'm one of your hosts, Claire. I'm sitting here today with Coach Hannah Loftus, head coach of Delaware State Women's Trathlon Program. Coach Hannah was a former trathlete herself before she began coaching and has transitioned into a head coaching role at Delaware State. In April 2020, Delaware State announced it was adding trathlon to its list of intercollegiate sports, becoming the first Mideastern Athletic Conferences team to sponsor the sport, as well as being the first HBCU to offer trathlon. Their first season of competition was fall 2021. Welcome to the show, Coach Hannah.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Very excited to chat with you today, and I'm really excited that lots of triathlon families around Australia, around the world get to listen, as well as people who have never heard of Trathlon and they get to learn something new today. So yeah, thanks for being with us.

SPEAKER_00 0:57

Absolutely. I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

So we're gonna do a very basic overview of what NCAA triathlon is. So it'll be great if you could give listeners an overview who have never heard of it, or maybe some people have heard of triathlon but don't know what the format is for NCAA.

NCAA Triathlon Format Explained

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Absolutely. So the basis for NCAA triathlon is a 750-meter open water swim immediately followed by a 20-kilometer draft legal bike ride straight into a five-kilometer run off of the bike. So those are going to be the distance in the format for all of our major races, our collegiate cups, regionals, and nationals. You'll see some regular season races that mix it up a little bit and maybe do a super sprint or a pool swim instead of open water. But all of the big races will follow that format.

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Okay, that's awesome. And what does a typical season look like for competitions? So for those people listening, can you explain like fall, spring, winter when you guys have competitions, when you have preseason, when you have off season?

Season Calendar And Race Day Flow

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Absolutely. So we are a fall championship sport, meaning that fall is our primary season. So we are going to start with some preseason. Um, for us, it's mid-August. We come back for preseason. And then we are in season all the way through mid-November. So we actually just wrapped up our fall season with nationals in Tempe, Arizona. And then when we come back for the spring semester, we kind of do a shortened mini season. So we get a couple of competitions in. We're still able to train during that time, but it's not uh traveling every weekend to a different race like we do in the fall.

SPEAKER_01 2:44

That sounds very exciting. And what does a typical race day look like for you personally as the coach? And then also for your athletes.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

So most of our regular season races start with a very early alarm clock. Uh, most triathlons are going to have a 7:30 or earlier start time. And we're going to want to be at the race site at least an hour, if not an hour and a half to two hours before that, because everyone needs time to set up their transition area. So if you've never seen a triathlon, the transition area is basically a big fenced-in area full of bike racks. And each person has a designated spot where they are going to put their bike, their helmet, their running shoes, all the things they're going to need after they finish the swim portion of the race. Um, so you need time to get that all set up nice and neat. Um, and then you need time to do a run warm-up. We're going to do a swim warm-up. Um, so lots of movement and getting ready to race and lots of pre-race nerves and excitement. There's always a lot of somebody forgot something for the first time that day. It's it's like just so much excitement they don't know what to do with themselves. So, mostly my job is to have an extra of everything in my backpack. It's the heaviest backpack in the world.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

What's the worst thing that someone's forgotten?

SPEAKER_00 4:14

Um, a wetsuit for a wetsuit legal swim was the worst, which um someone got it there in time. Someone drove it from campus. We weren't too far away. Um, but I think that's probably the biggest piece of equipment that's been forgotten on race day.

SPEAKER_01 4:30

I would have been very stressed if that was me for sure.

unknown 4:33

Yes.

International Recruiting: Where To Start

SPEAKER_01 4:36

So, for those people listening who are triathletes and they're wondering, okay, I'm someone that lives in Australia or someone that lives in another country that's listening to this podcast, how do I even start trying to get a scholarship to come to America to do triathlon?

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Well, I think that's where you guys come in because you're very familiar with this process. Um, but initially you want to make contact with the head coach. The head coach is ultimately going to be the one making any kind of recruiting decisions. So, usually step one, the head coach can guide you through, or when you have a resource such as you guys, there's usually a questionnaire you need to get into our system. So you're on our radar. Um, and then we like email first that introduces yourself. We want to know who you are, why you want to participate in NCAA triathlon. Um, we like to see some results in there, specifically links to races that you've done. Um, and then from there, we're going to schedule a series of Zoom calls to get to know each other and determine if our school is the right fit for you.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

And for those people listening who don't know what year to start, there's different requirements for based, like based on what age you are at school. So, not physically how old you are, 16, 17, 18, etc. It's when you are in a certain year level. So for all the Australians listening, that's usually around June 15th of year 11. So that's smack in the middle of grade 11 for the Aussies for other countries and Americans, it's a bit different. But for a lot of the Australians listening, that's around June 15th for Division I NCAA. Other divisions have other rules, which we've talked about in other podcast episodes as well. But the number one thing that we hear from coaches, which you can probably relate to, Coach Hannah, is a lot of the coaches say, Oh, we wish we had heard about these athletes like a year ago or two years ago. Because a lot of Australians in particular are so full on with grade 12, and grade 12 is so hectic in Australia that they finish grade 12 and they go, okay, I'm ready to come up for air, and then rosters are full.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

Right. Yes. And we do see that a lot with international students in general. They are not always familiar with the timeline for recruiting for US sports. So, like you're saying, someone might think, oh, it's six months until I graduate. Let me start looking into my options. Um, whereas US students know by this point in the year, most rosters for 2026 are pretty full, even though we are, you know, 10 months from the start of the season.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Yeah, definitely the number one, number one thing that we get. And I remember when I was living in America with the recruiting for my sport, it was like grade nine. You were going to camps, you were having other recruiting coordinators messaging coaches for you, you were reaching out to coaches, sending Christmas cards, sending updates, like grade nine. So that to come to Australia and now help athletes do the opposite. It's it's pretty interesting to see how how late some people can leave it. So, anyone listening who's a triathlete who wants to go to college in America,

Timelines, Eligibility And Starting Early

SPEAKER_01 7:48

best thing that you can do for sure at the minimum is just to definitely start before you graduate high school. Like that's a big, big, big tip for sure. Um, what's another mistake, I guess, that you see internationals make that you wish was a bit more common to avoid?

SPEAKER_00 8:08

I do think specifically to international students, the timing piece is probably the biggest mistake, just waiting too long to start the process. Just in general, international or not, I think something that stands out is when I start having those Zoom calls with interested athletes, and they tell me, this is how I train, this is what I'm going to do. If I get there, I'm going to run this many hours a week. I swim this many days a week. I'm like, well, you don't really need a team for that. It doesn't sound like you want to come in and be a team player. So just that mentality of you don't want to hop on a call with a coach and be like, this is what I'm going to do. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Because a lot of people listening, Triath Plan is like individual sport. So can you explain a bit how it's different in the college system for like team-based?

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Absolutely. So it is a very interesting hybrid of individual and team sport. On the individual side, your qualification into regionals and or nationals competitions is 100% individual at this point. You could be the only person on your team to qualify, or your team could qualify up to seven athletes for nationals. The team piece comes into play for scoring. So every competition, you can have five athletes score and then number six and seven displace. So the first five athletes from Delaware State who cross the finish line score points for our team. Number six and number seven displace other athletes. And that's what our team score is generated off of. So you're scoring for your team, but you are competing for your own qualification.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Awesome. For those people listening as well, who have experienced friends or family members that have played sports like tennis, for example, it's similar as well with being in an individual sport, but also being a part of a team and getting to the next rounds and working together, which is really cool. Same with track as well, track

Individual Vs Team: How Scoring Works

SPEAKER_01 10:18

athletes. That's a big one, going from international to the US college system of working together as a team, training together, not competing against each other, but for each other and helping each other. I think that's a really amazing part about the US college system with the individual sports that become a team sport. Cause I think team sport is like, you just can't, you can't beat it.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Yeah, there's just that camaraderie. And you know, in triathlon, is it is interesting because everyone thinks a lot of people think you're just out there to have your best possible race and go as fast as you can. But there are a lot of team tactics that come into play about, you know, who do we need in which bike packs? And if your teammate had a slower swim, are you trying to hold that bike pack a little slower until she catches up? You know, there's a lot of dynamics that go into getting the team the best score you can.

SPEAKER_01 11:10

I like that. I like that team dynamic. Yeah. When you receive an email from an interested athlete, whether that's an American, whether that's an international, is there something that you look for in the first email or the first part of the questionnaire and you go, this is something that piques my interest?

SPEAKER_00 11:34

I really appreciate when athletes include links to their results, just right off the bat, like just to give me a feel for where you are athletically, where you would kind of stack up to the team. It saves me a lot of research if you have that all in that first email. Um, and I would also say the flip side, something that has stood out to me that I prefer athletes not do, um, is like get the name of our school wrong. And I know you've CC'd 50 different schools. You know, it's just a very generic put my name in it, mention Delaware State. Even if you're copying pasting the rest of the email, put a couple little things in there that I know you took a couple seconds to email Delaware State and not, I mean, we've gotten all kinds of different school names in the subject line. Like, very interested in joining your team, and it's not

What Coaches Want In First Emails

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Delaware State next.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

That should be like the absolute bare minimum is you need to write the name of the university in the name of the email. Yes. Yes. I'm just laughing because I think sometimes like I've done this for so long that there's just things that I think, oh yeah, that's everyone just knows to do that. And then we have this conversation. I think, yeah, results are a big one. I've seen lots of emails that kids have sent through to us that are not working with us. I've also seen screenshots and all kinds of stuff on social media where an athlete will write to a coach, but there's no video footage, there's no link to results. There's literally nothing that talks about them as an athlete. They just talk about why they love the sport, which I think is wonderful. Like, of course, coaches want to know why you love the sport that you're trying to play in college, but also you got to give them something. You guys need information about who you're actually speaking to. And I think also for those people listening, I think US college coaches are some of the busiest people I have ever met. So you have to be a detective as a coach to find out all this information. That's a huge portion of your time that you could be doing with your millions of other things that you need to do as a coach. So, yeah, everyone listening who's a triathlete, definitely make sure you have your link to your results in that first message to the coach and make sure it says Delaware State.

SPEAKER_00 13:51

Exactly. Yeah, it's just much appreciated. It's just a sign of like respect for my time, like you said, just to include that information. And to that point, I do appreciate when it is a link to results. We've also I've also seen athletes will say, I got this place at this race, I went this time at this race. And that's great, but I am still going to do that research and just verify, make sure, and even just see who did you compete against? What was that course like? Because triathlon is so unique in that what might be a really phenomenal time on one course is not an impressive time on a different course. So you need to know about the race that they're competing in to even really interpret results.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Yeah, for sure. Definitely, definitely. So, how many athletes in general are you recruiting for an intake, like a fall intake?

SPEAKER_00 14:45

I would say a typical year, I'm looking for about four athletes to come in.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Okay. And is there a rule on the total number of athletes you're allowed to have on your roster each year?

SPEAKER_00 14:57

Division one is limited to 14 uh athletes on their roster. Here at Delaware State, we're capping that at 10 just to make sure everyone's getting the opportunity to compete and getting really the time and resources that they need and the attention from coaches. I, you know, I'm a one-man show, so I feel

Roster Size, Selection And Nationals Caps

SPEAKER_00 15:17

like 10 is a manageable number for me. More than that, I would be getting a lot more gray hair, I think. So we'll stick with that.

SPEAKER_01 15:26

When you mention able to compete, for those people listening, can you talk about what that means where you have potentially a larger roster, but not every person on that roster is allowed to compete each week?

SPEAKER_00 15:38

Yes. So for regular season races, as of right now, there is not a limit on how many athletes you can compete at a regular season race. Um at regionals, it comes down to 10. So if you have 14 girls on your roster, they could compete two or three times. By the time you get to regionals, you have to kind of narrow it down to 10. And then when you move forward to nationals, seven is the maximum. So kind of as you progress through the season, that number narrows it down. So we have the top girls competing in those races. Um, so for us, 10 is a good number to make sure people are getting race opportunities. That's basically everything except for nationals for everyone on the team.

SPEAKER_01 16:19

Awesome.

Why So Many International Athletes

SPEAKER_01 16:20

And I remember when I first started looking up triathlon when it was announced as an emerging sport, I noticed a lot of rosters have a lot of international girls on their teams. Can you explain a little bit about why that it that is compared to other sports?

SPEAKER_00 16:39

Yes, and it's really interesting. I don't remember the exact percentage, but the majority of NCAA triathletes are international students right now. And a big part of that is because there just isn't a triathlon community for younger athletes here. There is not the club teams like we see uh in Europe, there's a ton of club teams for younger athletes. In the US, there's a junior elite circuit, but it's small. I mean, there are so few girls who are introduced to triathlon before it's time to be looking at where you're going to college that, you know, these kids haven't even heard of it. And we're trying to recruit triathletes. So we do, for the most part, go outside of the US to find students who are experienced in the sport.

SPEAKER_01 17:28

And have you found that that brings a really unique sense of community as opposed to maybe having like an entire American-based roster?

SPEAKER_00 17:39

Yeah, it brings a really good sense of community and culture. You know, when we do like our end-of-season holiday party and everyone brings the food that they would eat for the holidays, and we all get to experience different things. Everyone goes through times where they're homesick and they can support each other because they're all a little homesick at some point. Uh, you know, for our team, we've never had more than three US students on the squad at once. So that's such a unique dynamic of like everyone supporting each other and reminding each other before they go home for the holidays. Like, don't forget you need to check in with so-and-so for your visa. Like, that's just something that teams who have one or two international students probably aren't going to experience.

SPEAKER_01 18:23

Yeah, that's awesome. I really like that because some of the people that we help, they say everyone wants to help me because I'm an international and I'm like the only one on the team. So everyone wants to like take me home for Thanksgiving and stuff like that. So that's the yeah, complete opposite of everyone being different. That's so cool. I say that there's a couple divisions of competition, um, especially with like NAIA and in other sports, how it's like United Nations on the roster. And I think it's just so cool that there's so many different countries represented. And one of the biggest questions that we actually get when we present at schools is why do um American coaches want international kids? Like, why would they not just take an American kid? And there's different answers for different sports as well, but it's just interesting for me as someone who grew up and born and raised in America to hear an Australian parent like ask, raise their hand and ask in front of like 200 people why are we wanted? So it's right, yeah, it's really interesting.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

Yeah, and it's not one of those sports, you know. If I'm a soccer coach, I can go to 20 different high schools in a two-hour drive and see athletes who have experience playing soccer. For triathlon, that is just not the case. There are it's such a small pool of athletes with experience in triathlon in the US. Um, and there are no high school teams, there are no schools that offer triathlon until the NCAA level here. Do you think that will change?

Training Through Weather And Race Adjustments

SPEAKER_00 19:57

I hope so. Um, it's one of the things we talk about, especially, you know, for the US in developing even just an Olympic pipeline. Like, where do our future US Olympic triathletes come from? And if we're not introducing them to the sport until they're 17 or 18, are we ever going to have a competitive Olympic team? Probably not. So it's one of those things where we need to start developing that pipeline and getting it into the schools earlier.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

That's really interesting. That's a really fascinating like challenge to face. And I wish you guys luck with figuring out what happens with that. That's really yeah, that's interesting. We have um, this is completely not related, but we have flag football that's gaining popularity in Australia because we have a sport that's um called touch football, and it's very, very similar to flag football, but there's just a few things that are different. And we have a lot of really, really talented touch players that are moving over to flag football, scholarship reasons, Olympic reasons, all kinds of stuff. So that's been really fun for me to watch like a sport that I grew up playing in high school at lunch and pee and stuff, and watch Australians transition into that sport and being really, really good at it, actually.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

That is very cool.

SPEAKER_01 21:14

Yeah. So for those people listening who don't know much about the weather of different parts of America, and as well as people listening who are very familiar with the different parts of America with the climate, if you are getting ready for a competition or training and the weather conditions aren't great, do you compete and train rain, hail, snow, fire? Like when conditions aren't great, what's your mindset with that for training and competing?

SPEAKER_00 21:47

When conditions aren't great, we are still going to train. We are going to pivot a little bit. Um, so here in Delaware, we're kind of northeast United States. We're very fortunate that all fall we didn't have to modify. Any training for the weather, maybe one rainy day. But now when the girls come back in January for our spring semester, we are going to have cold days. Last year it snowed twice. I hate the snow, so I thought it was terrible. One of the girls on our team right now has never seen snow. So she's hoping that it does this winter. But I'm I'm trying to will the snow away. But in the

Title IX And Why Men’s Is Club

SPEAKER_00 22:24

event that it were to snow, um, we have the ability to move all of our training indoors. So uh already our pool is inside. We're swimming inside no matter what. Um cycling, we have a bike studio basically with direct drive trainers. So each athlete can turn their personal bike into a stationary bike. Um we can ride inside. We have some days it'll be music going. We have a big screen, some days it's a movie for the ride. Um, and then running, we do have the ability to move anything indoors to the treadmills if we need to. So it kind of just depends on how severe the weather. You know, if it's a little chilly, we're probably gonna tough it out. If it's freezing cold or if there's any kind of snow or ice, we're moving it inside. Um, competition-wise, there are rules that we are bound by in terms of if the air is too cold, if the water is too cold, what happens? Um, we've been fortunate. I think since I've been coaching, we've only had one race actually be altered for the weather. Um, and it was because a hurricane had gone through North Carolina last year, right before regionals, and there was just flooding and

From Emerging Sport To Championship Status

SPEAKER_00 23:39

the river was it was not safe to put people in, you know, a tree would float by so fast. So besides that one race that they did have to turn into a duathlon, we've been pretty fortunate weather-wise that we haven't had to adjust our competitions.

SPEAKER_01 23:55

Because I did notice that Nationals is in Arizona, which is famously warm. So I thought, yeah, I was curious about that.

SPEAKER_00 24:01

Yes, we have had it in, I'm sorry, we've had nationals in Arizona every year that I've been coaching, except for one. And last year it was in Florida and there was hurricane damage. So it was very stressful. Like we had to move the swim venue. Ultimately, we had a swim bike and run, but I think everyone was very excited to go back to Arizona and just know it was going to be sunny and warm and no hurricanes. So that I would be happy to see it stay in Arizona forever. It's a great race venue. So we'll see.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

And I like that one of your internationals has never seen snow and wants to see it. And I had a conversation a couple of years ago with one of my athletes who said, I really enjoy the cold and I'm really excited to go somewhere different than Australia. And I said, Well, one of the schools that you're talking to right now, that's not like Netflix snowy Christmas movie vibes. That's like you can't see in front of you vibes.

SPEAKER_00 25:02

Yeah, yeah. We had an athlete visit our campus last January from Costa Rica. She was visiting us, and she and her mom saw snow for the first time when they were here. And I was so worried that they were gonna be like, this is terrible. You know, it was warm and sunny at home. Why are we in Delaware right now? And she actually committed and signed before she even left the visit. So she must have liked the snow. Um, but I was a little worried when her first taste of snow was on a campus tour and we're outside walking around all day, and it worked out.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

That's awesome. I love that. So, for those people listening as well, there's men's and women's triathlon for the NCAA. But with Title IX, can you talk about how Title IX has impacted the amount of men's teams and women's teams for NCAA triathlon?

SPEAKER_00 25:54

So technically, men's triathlon is not a varsity sport in the NCAA. It can be a club sport, but only women's triathlon is an NCAA varsity sport, meaning women can get scholarships to compete in NCAA triathlon. Men cannot. Um, club teams cannot give out scholarships. So we often find male athletes who are on the swim team, the cross-country team, the track team, and then also supplement that doing club triathlon. Uh, whereas for our women NCAA triathletes, that can be their primary

The Hidden Job Of A College Coach

SPEAKER_00 26:30

sport. That's what brings them here, that's their scholarship. Um, and like you mentioned, that comes back to Title IX, which just says um basically, we're trying to protect gender equity in sports. So for every male athlete on campus, there has to be a female athlete on campus. And for every uh dollar of scholarship money that goes to a male athletic scholarship, there has to be a matching equal amount of money going to female athletic scholarships. Um, really just trying to preserve women's rights in sports.

SPEAKER_01 27:06

Awesome. Go, women. Woohoo! Right. And what do you think is the most exciting bit about where triathlon is heading? So it was announced that you guys were gonna be able to start um competing in fall 2021. And it was announced in 2020 that you guys were going as a school, we're gonna do triathlon. So even within the whole NCAA community as well as Delaware State, what do you think is like the most exciting coming up with triathlon in college?

SPEAKER_00 27:39

I think it's just an exciting time in general for college triathlon. We are working really hard to move from emerging sport status to full-fledged NCAA championship sports status. Um, I think we're very close to that. A lot of schools have put in a lot of time and effort to make that happen. I believe we are in a review period, so that's on the radar. Um, and becoming a full-fledged NCAA championship sport will affect things like how our regional and nationals races are funded. Um, right now, a lot of the financial burden falls on each team. So it's really awesome when you qualify for nationals. We're gonna make sure you go, but we're also going to be hosting a duathlon and putting on fundraisers to make sure we can afford to do that. Um, so the funding piece will be huge. And then for DSU specifically, we have worked really hard to build a great team culture. So we have athletes who support each other, who work hard, who encourage each other. Um, and that makes it more fun for everyone, including me, to be at practice every day. So now the next piece of that is continuing to progress and see each athlete improve on their own results each year. You know, we're gonna compare what you can do this year to what you did last year. And so seeing that progress year over year kind of as we grow and are a little more established, that's really fun for me and exciting for the team to see how much better we can get each year.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Yeah, I like that. And I like that the culture is so important to you. And of course, any team is going to do better when the team culture is good. But I also feel like that's a lot of expectation for you to manage as well as a single person who's in charge of all kinds of stuff having to do with being a college coach. So, for those people listening who don't know much about what the role of a college coach is, can you talk a little bit about some of your responsibilities that people might not know that you have to do?

SPEAKER_00 29:50

So I think the obvious ones are the actual coaching, right? The coming up with the training that we're going to do, planning out the season, the races, um, the recruiting. People know that's a big piece of every coach's job is to continue

Green Flags And Red Flags On Calls

SPEAKER_00 30:05

to build your team, um, bring in new athletes as your seniors graduate. The behind the scenes pieces, uh, I mentioned fundraising. That's a big one. I think every school in the US does a lot of fundraising for their triathlon team, um, which means a lot of networking. Uh, and then there's there's paperwork for anything, for everything. If we have practice, there's paperwork that gets submitted. If we go to a race, there's double the paperwork that gets submitted. So a lot of administrative tasks. Um, and then a lot of just being the contact person for 10 girls who are away from home. So sometimes that looks like someone's glasses broke their first week on campus, and we're driving to every optometrist in Delaware trying to find someone who can replace her glasses quickly. Sometimes that looks like um finding the right resources for athletes when they're going through hard times. That's being the one sitting in the ER until two o'clock in the morning when someone's sick and away from home. It's that if you're the primary contact person, you know, I think they come here for our team, but I'm the one who convinced them to come, right? So as the coach, I always feel this responsibility of whatever's going on with each athlete, it's my responsibility to make sure they're taken care of. So I think that's the big behind the scenes piece. Um, that the coaches who who really care are really available 24-7 is kind of the bottom line.

SPEAKER_01 31:42

And yeah, that's that's a big, a big responsibility to be the only person, not have assistant coaches helping you with that. So I think people listening need to also remember that there's, yeah, like you were saying, the coaching element, but also so many other things. And if it's one singular coach who doesn't have an assistant coach, it's even more time-consuming and all-consuming than if you did have lots of people helping as well. Because I always feel like there's discourse and conversation on social media and with parents and kids saying, like, oh, this coach hasn't replied to me yet, or this, it's been a week. And I think if if more people knew actually what you guys were dealing with on a day-to-day basis behind the scenes with your athletes, with your athletic department, with other changes happening at your university and NCAA rule changes happening every five minutes, like all of that, I think people would be a little bit more empathetic of everything that's going on because yeah, college coaching is like a 24-hour job.

SPEAKER_00 32:48

It is. I like to say I'm unavailable from 8 30 p.m. to 4 30 a.m. Because I really need that time. But outside of that, and even that's one of those my phone's on silent, but if there's an emergency, I'm still going to be available. And I will mention that's why we appreciate what you guys do. Like when we work with international students who kind of try to go through it on their own, it just generates a lot more work for the coach to be like, okay, this is the next step. Did you get this signed? Have you started working on this? Whereas when you guys just take care of it and we just have an international student show up and we're like, you have everything done. I didn't have to do any extra work. Ugh, we love that.

SPEAKER_01 33:34

And also when there's lots of those little questions, like even for the departure, like, hey, what about a bank account? What about a sim for your phone or a phone provider or betting, like

Demystifying Budgets And Scholarships

SPEAKER_01 33:45

all of those really small questions? We get a lot of those questions and we have all kinds of systems in place to make sure that people are ready to go over and have all the information that they need. So we have like a departure webinar, we have all kinds of stuff. We have SAT preparation services, we have a dietitian that we're partnered with, we have a strength and conditioning coach we're partnered with, like all kinds of stuff, basically, as you said, to try and make sure that your job is as easy as possible to be like, hey, Coach Hannah, we have an athlete available. And yes, they are, they've done this, this, and this, they're ready to go. If you like them, great, then don't worry. You know that if they're one of our athletes, that you basically don't have to do anything besides to have chats with them. So that's great. A win-win.

unknown 34:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 34:31

So this is a good segue for the win-win of when you're recruiting someone in a call. I ask this every single coach that we have on this podcast. I asked the exact same question, and everyone basically says the same thing. When you are talking to an athlete in a call, whether that's a video call or a phone call, what are some green flags and what are some red flags? You talked previously about red flags and emails, which is great. That's a big, big one people need to hear. But then when you're having an actual call, what are some of the things that are green and red flags for you?

SPEAKER_00 35:05

So, green flags for me are when they ask specific questions. Asking questions at all is good. I have a hard time feeling like they're really engaged with Delaware State. If we go through this call and I ask you questions and I feel like I'm really getting to know you, and then I always say, okay, what can I tell you about Delaware State, about our team, about my coaching style? And they go, um So what's training like? Like, okay, that's a good place to start. But if that's your only question for me, you're probably not really at the point where you're really weighing options and gathering the information you need to make an informed decision. So just coming in with questions, number one, I love to see questions. And then number two, seeing specific questions. You know, like if you've looked up that Delaware State has a main campus and a downtown campus, and you want to know about where your classes would be if you're a nursing major or how transportation works between the campuses, I just love to see that you have looked at our website. Like, I want to think you're not just scheduling a call with every single coach who you emailed. You're actually interested in our school and have done a little bit of research. Um, so those are big green flags for me. Um, I also love when they've looked up our roster and will say, like, oh, I saw that your athlete did this at nationals. What was that like? Like, okay, that's a great sign. Um, and then red flags, I kind of mentioned this earlier, but it did happen, it has happened on calls where they come in with a very closed mindset of like, this is what I want it to be like. This is what I expect the training to be. Will you do that for me? Instead of coming in and having a dialogue about what our training looks like and how we do adapt that for the individual needs and abilities of each athlete, um, kind of coming in with this mindset of I want this. This is how I've always trained, this is how I'm going to continue training, um, without any kind of conversation about what does that look like if we integrate it into a team and you're not just one individual athlete anymore. Um, so that's kind of a consistent red flag for me.

SPEAKER_01 37:27

Which we also see in other non-triathlon events as well, like athletes coming in across all different sports, basically sitting in meetings, going, okay, so what can you do for me? kind of thing. Like, what are you gonna give me? What's the what am I gonna get out of this? And we had another cross-country coach that came onto our podcast and talked about being an explorer, like exploring what is out there and not being like, Oh, what are you gonna, where is like the trade? You give me something, I give you something. That's like not how it works.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Yeah, for sure. And kind of in that same vein, if we're two or three, we always do Zoom, if we're two or three Zoom calls into getting to know each other, and the athlete can't tell me

Final Advice: Reach Out And Go For It

SPEAKER_00 38:15

a budget, like that's such a big piece of it. You and your family have to agree on what your budget looks like. So if we've had several calls and we're trying to figure out can we make this work for you? And I say, okay, give me a give me a range that I can come back to you with a number and make this happen. And they're like, Oh, I haven't talked to my family, I haven't talked to my parents about it. I'm like, well, especially for international students, that's a huge piece of it because you're not just going to school in the US, you are traveling to the US multiple times a year to make that happen. So I want to know that your family, your parents are on board and support your journey here.

SPEAKER_01 38:55

I have noticed a big, big, big cultural difference with the even the whole conversation about money. I think that growing up in the US, like everyone starts saving as soon as someone's pregnant, basically, because you just know how ridiculous college costs are. And I've noticed, like, I'm I'm gonna speak just to Australia because that's where I've lived the last 12 years, but with with Australian families and Australian websites and conversations and scholarships and things, there's not a lot of costs that are described as openly and as explicitly as they are on the American websites. Like if you live in a single room, it costs this much. If you live in a double, it costs this much. If you're in a triple, it costs this much. If you have 30 meals a week, it's this. If you have one meal a day, it's this. If you have unlimited, it's this. If you live in this dining, not dining hall, if you live in this residence hall, it costs this much money, just generally, because it's the newest one. So, like that kind of stuff, I was just used to growing up. Like it's all just there. It's everywhere. You can look it up really easily, it's all there. And then when I moved to Australia and started working in this industry, I noticed that though, even the word budget, like a coach asking a recruit, even just saying, What is your budget? Like sometimes a family will panic or freak out because they've literally never been asked that ever before. And one singular number has never been a consideration that they've thought about because of the fact that it's that's just not culturally like generally how that stuff is talked about. Also, because so, like, we try and also help you guys out as coaches by helping the international families to go, oh, okay, this is kind of how I have to look at what the word budget means.

SPEAKER_00 40:47

Right. And add up, you know, like you said, if you were going in Australia, what would your expenses be? Versus honestly, that's one of the first conversations, or honestly, it's an email that I send so they can see the breakdown. Is here's the total, total cost. This is what housing is, this is what the meal plan and everything with the top option, so that it's never more than that. I've just found like, let's put the maximum meal plan, the best dorm you can get into as a freshman, the highest everything. Say this is the most it can cost you the first year. Talk to your family, let me know where do we need to be in relation to that number. Um, and I do find that helps to have a like an upper limit. Now, your cost might be lower than that, but it's not going to be more. Um, I think that helps start the conversation, especially for kids who are like, I don't know, what's what's it cost? What's, you know, the financial uh logic isn't always there yet. You're you've been in high school, you haven't had to, you're not paying your mortgage yet, you know.

SPEAKER_01 41:56

As it is, particularly with the fact that we grew up knowing, okay, generally if you get like a 3.5 to a four at high school, you have a way better chance of getting like a presidential scholarship or a dean scholarship or an alumni scholarship. Or if you do like if you're a woman in STEM, you can get a scholarship for that. Right. Or if you get like a really phenomenal SAT score and one of the unis that you're talking to really supports a high SAT score, then you could get a scholarship for that. And we're just like used to that growing up in America, just like knowing that that's how it works. How it goes, yeah. How it goes. And so I think a lot of international kids like see the total cost of attendance, and then like the whole world falls apart. You're like, wait, wait, wait, that's not what you're gonna pay.

SPEAKER_00 42:43

I have to remember that as well. You know, like growing up in the US, like you said, you know, college is a huge expense in your life. Um, but then talking to international athletes and kind of the same thing in Europe, they don't pay for secondary education. So then when I hit them with this number, they're like, but it's it's zero here. That's that's a lot more than zero. And depending on how much research they've done, that may be shocking or, you know, just coming from a different frame of reference for them and for the parents who are hearing the number to go to a US university, it can be overwhelming for sure.

SPEAKER_01 43:22

Yeah, for sure. And I think that's why people like us exist to help bridge that gap as well. There's a lot of people that think they're not good enough athletically, that they're not smart enough, and that it's too expensive. Those are the three biggest myths that we are constantly trying to bust through our podcasts, through our blogs, through presentations, things like that. And our founders, that was a really big thing for them. They wanted like people to realize that going to the US is actually a lot more accessible than previously thought. And I think having these kinds of conversations like on air as well is really helpful for someone listening to be like, Oh, okay. If I look up the total cost of attendance at a trial fund program that says $78,000, is that for four years? Nope, that's for one year. Oh, is that for SD? Oh my gosh. Like the thought process. And then realizing don't panic at the 78,000 USD for one year and think, oh my gosh, I shouldn't even email this coach. Like there's all kinds of stuff that can happen in between seeing the 78,000 for one year and then actually getting over to college.

SPEAKER_00 44:30

What you actually pay. Yeah, there's so many opportunities. And even within our team, there are athletes who are getting triathlon scholarships, but also getting cross-country and track and field, the way our season kind of works out. It complements the runners on our team are able to get additional scholarships. So sometimes you have to get creative, but finding ways to supplement your scholarships is, I mean, it's really how everyone makes it work without going into crazy amounts of debt. Even our students.

SPEAKER_01 45:01

And I think that's really interesting because I also say this at presentations when we present in in person. And I say, if you think about it, there's so many universities in America and they're all trying to get kids to come to their university. So, of course, even they have to be creative of the scholarships that they're offering for non-athletes as well. So all kinds of random things that you would never even think is like a possibility if you go onto that university's website and look at what that university offers. It's pretty mind-boggling, like in a good way. And that usually is what helps parents go, oh, yeah, okay, that definitely makes sense then. So yeah. I think I want to end our conversation with one of my favorite questions, which is, why do you love coaching?

SPEAKER_00 45:47

I love coaching because of the girls, the investment in the next generation of triathletes, the relationships that we develop over time, you know, every year around this time when I realize I'm gonna have to say goodbye to seniors in the spring. And I'm like, this isn't right. Why is college four years? You know, I want another two, two, six years, you know. Um so really it's it's the athletes who make me love coaching that make it worth the 24-7 nature of the job. I mean, we have some incredible athletes on our team, incredible people like to say I can make anybody a faster swimmer, biker, or runner, but I can't teach character and discipline and integrity. So when we bring in the athletes who already have those things, and then we just get to focus on the fun stuff, the triathlon, and be around really awesome people every day. I love that.

SPEAKER_01 46:49

Oh, that's so good. That's such a good way to end the chat. I love that. Well, thank you very, very much for being here, Coach Hannah. I hope everyone listening learned a lot today about triathlon and how it all works, how it's structured. They learned what the question, what does your budget mean? Also. And um, I hope that more people listening around the world are able to realize that triathlon is a possibility for them to compete and definitely get started before you graduate high school. And Coach Hannah, do you have any parting advice or anything that you want to say that we maybe haven't had the time to discuss today?

SPEAKER_00 47:26

I think the bottom line is just to go for it, to reach out to the schools and the coaches and see what can happen. There's no, there's no harm in trying. See what could happen if you reach out to some schools.

SPEAKER_01 47:38

You never know. The most amazing things happen when you get uncomfortable and go for it. Absolutely. Well, thank you so much and have a great rest of your 2025.

SPEAKER_00 47:50

Thank you so much, you too.