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International recruitment part I of III:
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The phrase “it’s all Greek to me” has taken on a whole new meaning for the Boise State track and field jumping squad this season.
The Broncos currently have three Greek athletes on their roster: juniors Eleni Kafourou and Savvas Diakonikolas and sophomore Zacharias Arnos.
All three athletes have jumped into the spotlight and are leaving their mark on BSU.
Connected thousands of miles away
The Broncos were able to recruit athletes who live thousands of miles away in Greece as a result of assistant coach Petros Kyprianou, who coaches the jumps and multi events.
Kyprianou is originally from Greece and graduated from Aristotle University.
He is very familiar with the Greek track and field system and has been recruiting from his home turf in hopes of giving BSU the very best athletes.
“Since I’m from Greece, I have a lot of connections basically all over the world . and as a coach I try and find the best athletes available,” Kyprianou said. “Boise State is a great place and at this point we compete with great universities and some of the time we don’t get to get the No.1 American. So what we do is go overseas and get the best in the world. And that’s for some reason easier for me to do than get the No.1 in the U.S.”
Kyprianou is also on the Greek National team coaching staff and said that it is one of the main ways he is able to stay in contact with the Greeks.
“It’s easy for me to make phone calls and call the coaches and get in touch with the athletes,” Kyprianou said. “That’s the first step [in recruiting] and then usually we go on recruiting trips to either The World’s Junior Championships, since I know the other teams well. I go talk to the teams, give out media guides, talk individually with the athletes, everything according to the NCAA rules. That’s how I make contact.”
Kyprianou is responsible for the high quality of recruits from Greece because of his recruiting ability and the fact that he is Greek.
“Me and Eleni [Ypsilanti] [former BSU Greek athlete and now assistant coach] got a phone call and at the time Petros was at University of Nebraska coaching and the fact that he was Greek … it was kind of cool,” Kafourou said. “I thought it would be a good experience and the university and the education would be a lot better. A major reason was Petros, if it was [a] different coach, was an American probably . I wouldn’t feel as close.”
Kyprianou also said he travels to Europe every two years to attend the World Junior Championships.
This year Kyprianou said he will travel to Poland for the championships, where he will be recruiting and promoting Boise State.
Coming to America
It is not a walk in the park to get the athletes to come and compete for a university in a different country.
“People think that since I’m Greek it’s easier to get those kids … it is not,” Kyprianou said. “It’s almost 10,000 miles away and you have to convince the parents that you will take care of the kids. They don’t know the culture. They don’t know the school. They don’t know how things work here. It’s easier to get a good American.”
For these three athletes, coming to America to compete and get an education is a dream come true.
“That’s the funny thing with me, I never thought [I'd be coming to America],” Kafourou said. “When I was younger I would think that people that study abroad, like study English, seemed like a huge deal . then all of the sudden I’m here.”
For Arnos, who is originally from Cyprus (an island off the coast of Greece), it has always been a priority for him to leave Cyprus and go somewhere else. “I already wanted to go away from my country because it’s too small,” Arnos said. “I wanted to go to have new experience[s] and Coach Petros recruited me and I wanted to go. I find Boise the best place for me.”
Over in Greece, Kyprianou said that if they don’t get recruited by an American university then they stay [in Greece], go to school and compete for their club track team.
Jumping into a new world
To be suddenly thrown into a whole new country and environment can be mind-boggling, stressful and nerve-wracking.
“I felt intimated,” Kafourou said. The Greek athletes feel comforted to have Kyprianou as a coach because he is also from Greece and has been through the same situation of cultural adaptation.
“[It is a] different culture,” Kyprianou said. “They have that cultural attack. It’s really stressful for them. It’s a cultural shock for them. Myself being from Europe, I’ve been in their shoes. I understand. It helps to have someone that understands.”
The Greek athletes also had to adjust to the difference in competing.
“[The] European system does not allow them to compete every weekend, or every two weeks that we compete, so they need to get more tuned up into that,” Kyprianou said. “They get used to it and it actually helps them sharpen up their skills, they’ve improved a lot. There is transition there.”
After they learned to adjust to the competition schedule, the Greeks said it has actually helped them become more competitive.
“In Greece we don’t have that many meets,” Kafourou said. “It was like three times as many. It’s tiring, but at the same time itkind of helps you become more competitive.”
Making an impact
Kafourou, who has been at BSU since the 2005-06 season, has been a vital part of the success for the Broncos.
She has also proven to be an individual threat nationally.
“[Kafourou is] very successful,” Kyprianou said. “She rewrote all four school records indoor and outdoor, long jump and triple jump; she’s well respected. She’s one of the top 10 jumpers in the nation. She promotes the university wherever she goes. It’s a great opportunity for them to promote themselves.”
Arnos and Diakonikolas have also had myriad successes since coming to BSU.
Arnos is nationally ranked in the triple jump and won the Western Athletic Conference indoor title, and Diakonikolas captured first place at the WAC indoors for the long jump.
Jumping from competition in Greece to competing against Division I athletes has been a different experience for the Greeks.
“The NCAA Division I is pretty much like a world championship . it’s pretty high,” Kyprianou said.
“[Competing against Division I is] very different, I compete with guys who are very skilled . there is a lot of competition,” Diakonikolas said.
Helping recruit
As one of the first Greeks to come to BSU, Kafourou said that with her success and development of her jumps she was also able to help recruit Arnos and Diakonikolas to Boise State.
“I saw what [Kyprianou] did with Eleni and her triple jump and the improvement,” Arnos said. “I thought he would be good coach.”
Kyprianou also said that with the Greeks he has now, they’ve been a help with the recruiting process.
“They say ‘Hey I have this friend that runs or jumps this far . here’s his phone number, go ahead,’” Kyprianou said. “It definitely helps.”
However, BSU is not the only university to start recruiting overseas. Kyprianou said that it is becoming very popular.
“It’s actually a trend in the U.S., especially with the big conferences,” Kyprianou said. “Those schools recruit foreigners. The U.S. is a strong, powerful sprints and throws country. Some of the events like the jumps and the javelin are a little weak so they go overseas and pick up the best kids available.”
This past weekend, the No.1 [junior] long jumper in the world was visiting BSU from Sweden.
“He’s [a] top ranked sprinter, jumper . paid his own way,” Kyprianou said. “He’s interested. We followed the NCAA rules. They come to BSU and visit.”
BSU has become nationally known for their success on the blue turf, but don’t count out the up-and-coming Bronco track team.
“Boise State is a big hit in Greece right now,” Kyprianou said. “It’s a great thing to have. It’s really great. I’m really proud to be here and promote the school."
Mary Albl
