What is a Walk-On Athlete?
What exactly is a walk-on athlete? Well, I’m not exactly sure when the walk-on process began, but I can explain what it is and how it works. A walk-on athlete can try and compete in any college athletics ranging from football to rodeo. Walk-on status simply refers to a player who comes to try out for a collegiate team that has not been invited or has not been given a scholarship. Every collegiate team will have a 2-4 week session before the actual start of the season for training,learning and just getting to know each other. At the end of this session there is a walk-on session which usually takes 2-5 days. During this process the coaching staff grades players on talent, ambition and a variety of specific skills. Once the walk-on period ends the coaching staff gets together and decides who they might want to stick around and play on the team. Walk-ons are usually guys or girls that played high school sports at a small school and didn’t get noticed on a national or even regional level.
