Transition Plan | US Student-Athlete Programmes

Moving into a US programme isn't just a bigger training environment. It's a different eligibility system, a different coaching culture, and a long way from home and the people who know you best.

My research and work with athletes making international pathway moves keeps showing the same pattern: the ones who cope and thrive aren't the most talented. They're the ones who've done the honest work beforehand — faced the hard questions, set realistic expectations, and built their village before they needed it.

This checklist and plan is how you do that work now, not once you're already there.

WHAT'S INSIDE

• Programme Readiness — GPA, compliance, scholarship conditions, and the questions to ask before you assume you know the answers
• Logistics & Administration — visas, insurance, finances and travel, built from established international exchange-programme practice
• Culture & Connection — the coaching shift, the adjustment nobody warns you about, and staying yourself while you adapt
• Your Village — naming the people you'll actually lean on, for the hard days and the practical stuff

WHO IT'S FOR

International student-athletes (ISAs)— and the families and coaches supporting them — preparing for a US college sport pathway, while there's still time to close the real gaps.

It takes a village to raise an athlete. This is how you start building yours.

Are you ready to take it to the next level?

REAL TALK | GENUINE CARE | SMALL THINGS MATTER
— Dr Pip Thomas, Continuum Performance Hub