In The Huddle
The world of US college sport is both expansive and exciting, and international student-athletes are signing up in their droves for their shot at a scholarship opportunity.
In The Huddle is the creation of Study & Play USA, widely regarded as the GO TO experts in facilitating the best possible outcomes for all stakeholders in this industry: US college coaches and recruiters, local high schools, families of student-athletes and most importantly the student-athletes themselves.
So as you jog on the treadmill, drive to work, school or training, tune in to hear from industry leading experts, US college coaches, parents and student-athletes and learn how to best approach this pathway to maximise your opportunity and set yourself up for your most successful life.
In The Huddle
EP#63: From D‑1 Full Ride to Ineligible to NJCAA All American: Angus Alberts' DIY Roller Coaster Journey
Imagine getting DM'd by an American coach, thinking it was a scam, realising it was not a scam, being offered a full ride scholarship, committing to an NCAA D1 program in New York, being weeks away from flying over and then being told: "oh you are not eligible to compete in NCAA D1."
This was Angus Alberts' story, an Australian National champion shot putter from Lara, Victoria who went through the college recruitment process on his own. What seemed like a dream opportunity for Angus quickly unravelled. This setback could have ended Angus' American dreams altogether. Instead, it became the first chapter in an even more remarkable journey. With guidance from Study & Play USA, Angus discovered the junior college pathway—initially reluctant but ultimately the perfect fit for his athletic and academic development. Now at Iowa Central Community College, he's thriving both on and off the field, having earned All-American status in outdoor shot put during his freshman year.
Angus and Kelly sit down with Claire to discuss the surprise and confusion when they were told Angus was not eligible for NCAA D1. Surely the coach who had promised a full scholarship would have known from Angus' report cards that he was a few core courses short of the required 16 for NCAA D1?
For aspiring college athletes facing obstacles, Angus offers a powerful perspective: "People will see how you bounce back... I pride myself heavily on it." His journey from disappointment to achievement demonstrates that setbacks often lead to better pathways when met with perseverance.
In the Huddle was created to give student athletes, parents and coaches an inside look at the journey through US college sport and all that comes with it the demands, the experiences, the excitement and the opportunities available to our student athletes from around the world Study and Play. Usa facilitates a comprehensive, customised approach for student athletes and families for their whole journey, from their high school preparation years right through to US college graduation.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of In the Huddle. I'm your host, claire, joined by two very special people with me today. We have Angus and Kelly joining us from Melbourne. Thank you for being on the podcast today. I'm really excited to chat with you both. What's happening, nari?
Speaker 3:We're excited to be on the podcast.
Speaker 2:So, for those listeners who have no idea who Kelly and Angus are, I'm actually going to have them introduce themselves to talk about who they are, their background and why we are speaking today. So, angus, let's start with you.
Speaker 4:G'day. I'm Angus Elberts. I'm from Lara down near Geelong and I'm a shopper and I'm a part of the track and field team at Iowa Central Community College. So what are you, kel?
Speaker 3:Oh me, yeah, Hi, I'm Kelly and I'm Angus's mum and.
Speaker 4:I don't know, that's better, angus's mum.
Speaker 3:Awesome. I'm a big supporter of Angus.
Speaker 2:Angus is number one fan. Yeah, angus is number one fan. So Angus being a shot putter from Laura, can you tell us a bit about what sparked your interest in the US college system?
Speaker 4:Obviously I was doing well at the time just doing it through school and stuff. And then one of our teachers got me onto a coach down locally and I came third at our state championship and obviously I was playing rugby at the time and I kind of had the option whether to take which one's serious and I thought shop would probably be better in the long run. So yeah, I started working with Marty Jackson down here in Geelong and you know I've been working together for years and so I'm taking a bit serious and I won a national championship and I've represented Australia at the Oceania Games and I thought, with being down in Geelong, the party party life, it is massive. And my friends and I started to lose a bit of focus and I thought if I want to take everything to the next level with Shotfoot, that's probably best I look at the overseas route and that's what I did and it's worked out the first year really well for me and yeah, it kept me on track.
Speaker 2:Nice and Kelly. What were your first thoughts when Angus said I'm?
Speaker 3:looking to go to america. So initially, when angus angus kind of had views like he kind of wanted to go that route, so basically what initially happened was we knew that angus he'd only been in the sport since 2019, so we were. It was 2023 and he'd only been in the sport since 2019. So it was 2023 and he'd only been in the sport during COVID, but he'd done really well. And then he was approached by his Instagram page by a coach from do I say?
Speaker 4:He's so close a D1 coach.
Speaker 3:A D1 coach in New York and he was approached by him and I actually thought it was a scam. I thought, oh no, that can't be possible.
Speaker 4:I was also in the same boat. I didn't know if it was a scam.
Speaker 3:Angus is like mum, this person's messaging me and I said, well, what's it about? He sort of said, oh, about going attending the university. And you know, and I'm just like you did BCAL because angus sort of didn't do the vce option. He did the bcal because he's a, he wanted to be a disability worker, um, so I was like, oh okay, so we looked into a bit more. Angus scheduled a call with him and from there he offered angus everything like a full ride. This was in, uh, april 2023. It was after nationals, when he'd won the national. He'd won the national, so he'd been watching angus. Because angus, on his instagram, puts his own like videos up of his shot put pardon.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you found me from my world rankings oh, and also by world rankings too on the on that web page. So from there we sort of like had a meeting and you know like it all became very sort of like surreal what was going on. I'm thinking, you know, my boy's gonna leave me and he's gonna go to America, and so I was excited for him to go and experience it. So that was my sort of take, like initially I didn't believe it, but then it was all pretty much um, it was all pretty much legit. So that was the start of this experience. We're on now, this journey.
Speaker 2:We're on now, or well, angus is on, um, yeah, so, from originally thinking it was a scam to hopping on the call and being like, oh, everything's going to get paid for. What was your thoughts? Coming off the call and being like, wow, I actually could go here.
Speaker 4:I was definitely nerve wracking. I was just packing up and leaving and the sort of track we had I'd been approached in May and then to be over there by august it was like, all right, well, this is really happening, I've got to get, got to get going now, and yeah, it was all it was all good and well until, yeah, it kind of went a bit downhill and I was just due to my academics and stuff like that, like I wasn't. I love school, I love being around my good guys and that, but yeah, I just in the books I wasn't really too interested in. So, yeah, it was a downfall. But you know, it just gave me an option to bounce back and actually start taking and guiding even my younger brother to start taking school, like legitimately, because it does make a difference when you're older. As much as people don't say that it does, in this aspect it does.
Speaker 2:And can you tell people who are listening what kind of subjects you were taking in high school?
Speaker 4:So the subjects I was taking, it was sort of easier math, easier literacy, and then we had personal development and sort of just not your really core subjects that VCE provides. So it was, yeah, it was just an easier schooling for people that had trouble at school and hands-on learning yeah.
Speaker 3:A lot of it was everyday living, like it came into everyday living, the subjects that he did, which I feel VKEL was a great course. For kids who don't want to do that uni like the university sort of pathway to just do this, it was a really good course't want to do that uni like the university sort of pathway to just do this. It was a really good course for them to do. Like they learned budgeting and just everyday things in their lives that they'd have to in their adult life, yeah, I'm a huge advocate of that.
Speaker 2:I think that do what you want to do in high school. Study what you want to study. Take the classes that you want to take. For this podcast episode, I think it's good that the listeners get to hear what you were taking and then what happened as a result of the classes that you were taking. And just to clarify for people listening, when we're talking about courses that Angus took in high school, we're not talking about the letter grades that he received from those courses or just purely taking that course as opposed to taking a different course. So that's super, super important is, when we go to career expos and we go to nationals, things like that, everyone assumes that you have to be taking a certain course but also getting an amazing result and the main no not at you just have to be taking those courses.
Speaker 3:And I think we need to say like it was the NCAA, like the university had accepted him, like he was enrolled straight away, like we had the meeting with the coach and the director of athletics at the university, so it was in May. That's what sort of made. It sealed the deal and we had a signing of the. I don't know if we talk about that now, but we had the signing, the letter of intent.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we signed basically everything and then to find out that with VCAL because we didn't have letter grades, it was either satisfactory or non-satisfactory they couldn't translate the satisfactory non-satisfactory into an American gradebook. So that's where it all went wrong.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and in CAA, like that took forever, like I did it on my own I don't know, claire, do you want me to talk about that now or down? So I kind of didn't get any guidance from the university as to what had to happen. Okay, so I kind of was on my own trying to navigate it and I will tell you now it's a nightmare Just to make sure you've got all the right visas, you've got all the right applications, enrolling in the university, whereas, like us coming through you like study and play, it was a breeze. Everything was like for three months, I think, from May to July, I did not sleep because I was upbringing, because of the time difference, I was upbringing America.
Speaker 3:The amount of calls I went through with the NCAA, like to find out, you know, like, have I done this right? At the eligibility centre. Then they were requesting more documentations, which I was able to get. But again, that was what the issue was. They deemed, they deemed him he could compete, he was eligible to compete, but in the end we got to the point of booking airfares and doing sizing for clothing because he was enrolled to do account was it account and management, business management, like he was enrolled to do all of his courses. We've done all of that with the university, but it was just the NCAA and now and then they deemed him non-academic because of the scale, the grading scale, which is fine in Victoria, that's what? Because every state in Australia has their own different system for year 12. In Victoria it was BCAL at the time and BCE, so they've now changed it since it's known as vocational major, which falls under the BCE, to put it in line a little bit.
Speaker 3:So, yeah, so basically, that's how we got to that point with the NCAA and it was really hard to, after putting all that work, spending all the money as well, like the, you know, the visa, is it the SEBOS? Yeah, oh, sebos, yeah, the SEBOS fee, you know, like outlaying all this money because it was in US dollars as well. Like you know, the Australian dollar to the US dollar wasn't. That is not very good, but yeah, so it was just an extra expense on top of everyday living, you know, to sort of come across but then to get that. It was quite devastating for Angus like to see him, and he did spiral a little bit because it was such a big workup and he mentally, because it was such a short timeframe to think, oh, I'm going. Okay, from May to August. He was to be there in August for the start of the fall semester.
Speaker 4:It was a big, it was crushing to see him you know, it was more the way of like telling everyone that I'm heading to the States and then to have this roadblock and then have to tell everyone I wasn't going and at the time like I was pumped up, I was straight up for it, and then to be able to not actually go and then you've got to tell people that you're not going and then the reasoning behind it, it was just all not like a disappointment, but it just all come, fall and go and I thought it was the end of the world, to be honest. And now young me, I was like, yeah, I said one, I was like yeah, that's one of the first to sort of do it around the area.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that was pretty full on, but yeah, at the end of the day, that's how I bounced back from it and look where I'm at now. So yeah, no, it's been great.
Speaker 3:There was just one other boy in Lara that was overseas for basketball At that time was he overseas? So there was just one other you know boy that we knew of, but no way in the world did we think that Angus would be in college. I honestly didn't think Angus would be in college doing a sport that he loves in America. If someone had told me that, I would have said no, my son's not leaving me Like he's staying here right now with me. So, yeah, I just think we put that down to experience and I always tell Angus, anything that happens it doesn't go the right way. It's always building us, building our character, making us stronger.
Speaker 3:You know, in life things don't always go to plan and in this particular case and I think there's a lesson learned in all of it and now I do know why and I can confidently say I do know why it happened you know, like the opportunity was put to him in March 2023. He was going August 23. It was only like what? Five months to get his head around it. It wasn't something he had an ambition since year nine to do, which is what starts the NCAA. I know in America that's when they start. This is a whole learning thing for me. I know that's when they start the great system to get into Basically. That's that's why I think it did happen. I think this was the pathway he was to take.
Speaker 2:And that's great. Yeah, I think it's all worked out really well for you, angus, and I think that the feedback that we've received from your coaches in America is so glowing and you probably are sitting there thinking, oh yeah, you probably get glowing references and recommendations and feedback from coaches when you check in with them. But no, we don't always get that feedback from coaches when you check in with them. But no, we don't always get that that feedback from coaches when we check in. We say, oh, how's our athlete going? And it's not always super amazing like yours are like. So every yeah, every coach we've spoken to from Iowa Central like Angus is great. He's such a leader, has been such a wonderful addition to the team, and there's a basketball coach that I was speaking to the other day who's just started at Iowa Central and I said you got to meet Angus, oh, really.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's nice, yeah, so he's half Australian, half American, so I said he should definitely go and chat with you. But in general, like the feedback that we've received from you, from your coaches at Iowa Central is so amazing and I think for people listening they need to understand that that's not always the case where a coach has let us know that they feel like you are such a good fit for their team and for their culture and community, and I think that's a huge testament to you, kelly, for raising such an amazing person, but then also you, angus, oh, thank you, yeah, for being such a great role model for all these people at Iowa Central as well.
Speaker 3:I think when we took him over, so when it all come about oh, I don't know whether we say now, like I said to Angus when we got over there because we did a quick road trip of 12 days my sister and I, we took him him there the first thing I said to him was if you do not feel comfortable here, we buy a return ticket today and you come home. Because I said you're not stuck here, like if you do not like it, and I was like a little bit of me, was like he's not going to like it, he's going to come home with me. We did what we did and then he can't say I stopped him from doing it. But but then they're amazing. At Iowa, like they embraced him, everyone embraced him. Like we took the little Aussie souvenirs. You know the platypuses, I think they called it a wombat and we were like you know platypuses and kangaroos and the Vegemite and the Tim Tams Vegemite.
Speaker 4:And.
Speaker 3:Tim Tams. We took that all over just as sort of like a you know a gift to it, the coaches and things like that. Has the coach had Virgimite? Did he have it?
Speaker 4:No, we've been trying all year to like pay up the time for me to come around and be able to spread it properly and not put too much. So we didn't get around to it. Year one, but definitely year two, will be in force for Coach Rand and his wife.
Speaker 3:But I was, and you know what, I was quite happy to leave him there On the day that we left. I was quite happy for him to go, and just because I knew he was going to be fine.
Speaker 4:Yeah, it really was a family thing since day dot. So I was very comfortable there and everyone embraced me and obviously when you feel embraced in a whole different country, you don't know what the kids are going to be like. You don't yeah, you just don't know. It's a whole different country. I said if I went 45 minutes up the road I think I'd be all right, but flying 24 hours across to another country, it's that's pretty big deal.
Speaker 2:so, nah, it was good, I did enjoy it. And for those people listening who are not sure what really was the issue with the athletic department at that D1 in New York and the coach, I think it'd be good to just briefly chat about that. So for those people listening who are a bit confused how Angus was accepted into that Division I university in New York but was not able to compete or was cleared to compete and then there's other things that were going on in the background I think what's really important for people to know is that getting accepted into a university is completely separate to being allowed to compete, and I could understand that anyone that's doing this process on their own might not understand that there's a big difference there, and that's what we always talk about on the podcast. We talk about it. We do career expos and webinars and all kinds of stuff. We always say that there's so much that you don't know and not you as your family, but people that do this process and we do it every single day. So we forget sometimes how much goes into it.
Speaker 2:Just double check, triple check things. Give us a call. Double check if you've heard something from a career counselor, if you've heard something from another person that plays another sport. Double check, triple check. Make sure everything's all sorted If you're not sure. Ever we've had lots of people that have actually even gone over during grade 12 to America. They've gone on official visits. Coaches have paid for them to come over and visit. They get there, they do their visits, they get offered some really phenomenal scholarships. They come back and then they're like six or seven or eight credits short of what they needed to be able to compete at the NCAA level. So I think that's really really, really important, because a lot of people say to us oh well, wouldn't the coach know immediately that you weren't eligible? And the answer is no, well that was my first.
Speaker 3:That was my first like why have they done this to him? Like we were up front with his level of education, big cal, we explained what that was. We said, said about the great, we were up with it. But talking to the departments there at the university, they're, like, they recruit but they often don't know the background. You know, like how it all works and things like that. So, yeah, that was my one thing, like just to, yeah, you've got to make sure that you've got all the because. That then leads me to Rick Allen as well. Like talking to him prior to coming to you guys, like talking to him once he was deemed not eligible like academic. It was. Then we spoke to Rickick allen in america, who runs a service like for well, we were on our own.
Speaker 3:So we didn't know at this point in time, we didn't know about study and play usa. We didn't know like I didn't know what to do and I was quite frustrated. And then I somehow come across this Rick Allen. I was googling, you know, like I just needed answers because I couldn't understand. And he was quite good, you know, like, in speaking to him initially, like I sent him an email and then I spoke to him and then, yeah, so after we got the no, he can't. There was nothing we could have put in. I think they were talking about putting in an exemption for COVID, but at that point Angus had already dealt with it and he just said you know what? He shut down a little bit and he just said you know what, I'm not going. He was just cut off, I'm not going. So this is probably Julyuly. This happened july 2023. Then was it july 2023?
Speaker 3:yeah year 12. Oh, yes, yeah, because last year was 24. So then december, can we move forward to december 2024? He comes to us and he says they've been on often on little discussions. And then he said to me mom, I, I really want to go to America. I think that's where I need to go. I just want to do Shot Court all the time.
Speaker 4:December 2024. That was a couple of months ago.
Speaker 3:No, december 23. Sorry, my mistake, december 23,. He came to us and he said my husband and I and he said I really want to go to America. I think that's where I want to be, because here in Victoria Shot Put was only every second week through athletics, the local senior athletic competition. They would have the elite throws, like were they once a month.
Speaker 4:Yeah, just every so often.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and the competition level just wasn't as much here, and like talking to a few people that I knew over there that were from australia and shot putting at big universities, it was just, it was constant competition. So I just knew that if I wanted to take everything to the next level and start developing more and although it was my life down here, I started purely revolving my life around it to try and take it to the next step in hopes to come back and go as far as it takes me, sort of thing. So, yeah, it was just, yeah, the constant competition over there and yeah, every two weeks down here probably wasn't enough, and then we'd have to start travelling for every week and it was just very full on. So that's why I made the decision.
Speaker 3:And then so that put me onto Googling. Okay, mr Google, and I spoke to one recruitment agency. He wasn't very helpful, he kind of was. All he more or less said was get Angus into an online course through an online university course, doesn't matter what course it is, get him on there, let him like, do some, like about a year, so we had to get onto it straight away and then he could transfer as an international student. So I was like, oh, my goodness, there's hope, right, because he could get in, because he had finished school, we could get him in, you know. So we did that. Online learning is not for angus in that respect like university online it was too full-on we went it was very full-on and he was working as well.
Speaker 3:It was just something. So he's got a heck step now from that, but that's okay. Okay because, like he got a heck step, because we thought we were doing the right pathway, that we were going down. So then I googled a game because I was like something doesn't it, doesn't you know, and then I come across study and play USA. So then I spoke I think it was Carly first spoke to Carly first and she was beautiful.
Speaker 3:As soon as I spoke to her on the phone, explained what the situation was, she had Chris call me. We either scheduled an appointment and we had a zoom or no. We spoke briefly. He was on board with Angus straight away, was very interested because he was a tennis player and like we were talking and I just got a really good sort of like vibe from him, like he was really interested in Angus and what he was doing. And then we scheduled an appointment and then he met Angus and he was the one that showed us the junior college pathway. He was the one who told us that there was this pathway because we thought it was only the on, you know, like the transferring through the university. So to do this? And we were like angus was like oh, junior college, no I, because he'd been offered the d1, you know the full scholarship. He was like, no, I want to go to a d1 straight away. So we spoke to Chris some more and then you could see.
Speaker 4:Yeah, no 100%. It was junior college which just wasn't appealing to me at first, but I knew I had to go there to do it, and then it really opened up my mind once I got there.
Speaker 2:I'm glad that you guys got lots of different pieces of information that led you to us at Study and Play. I'm glad that Chris was able to talk to you about junior college Because, yeah, like you were saying, the word junior that's a big misconception, thinking it's like TAFE or something different.
Speaker 2:Yeah 100% Junior because you need to graduate when you're going into your junior year that's a big one into your junior year that's a big one. But I'm really glad that you were able to get all the information from Chris to be able to say, okay, yeah, this is something that I'd like to do and also I think everyone listening can agree Kelly, you are the absolute MVP of this whole process. All the research that you did, all the platforms for Angus to explore. I think anyone listening is like, wow, kelly really wanted the best for her son and really tried every single avenue, but that's it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you try and make everything happen. Like your child wants something, you're gonna try and make it work and make it happen for them. So, yeah, but it also helped too, because we have a sister-in-law who I have a sister-in-law who's american and her father's a retired doctor and we sort of spoke to her because she went to University of Minnesota. Um, she was a track, a track athlete, and she was on board for it all the way.
Speaker 3:She's been a big supporter of Angus and we spoke to her about the junior college as well, just to see what she thought of the junior college. Well, and then we spoke to her father and he said he believes that everyone should go that needs to, should do the junior college pathway Just to learn. Like you know, it's been such a great learning experience for Angus to get in, because a lot of the times kids don't know what they want to do at college and whereas junior college offers so many different things, you can try so many different courses and you know, find where you want to be and what you want to do, angus sort of knows what he wants to do in life, so it was easy for him to choose the subjects, um, but yeah, so it was good hearing it from an american as well. Like you know, people underestimate junior college.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they do, and that's I, with that being an american as well. I know so many people that went to junior college. I know so many people that didn't go to junior college like it. Yeah, it should be more of a a known pathway, and that's why we actually did a junior college podcast series. We did a bunch of different uh sports. We're also continuing to do a bunch of different sports with the junior college podcast series as well.
Speaker 2:And I think another big thing for people listening who haven't listened to our other junior college podcasts is the number one misconception that we get about junior college is oh, it's not suited for people who have straight A's or perfect SAT scores. And I think yeah, angus is shaking his head for those people not looking, and I think you're shaking your head because you know now that there's lots of people that go to junior college that have straight A's, really close to perfect SAT scores. So it's not like a quote-unquote backup option or it's not like an option for people who did not do well at school, like it's. There's still people go. Yeah, yeah, 100, 100, yeah. I also think it would be good to talk about for our listeners a bit of a backstory as to what you want to do for your future, like what kind of work are you hoping to get into?
Speaker 2:like uh shopper riding for a shot put more so for academics, but also definitely your shop too.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, beautiful. So, uh, so my, currently I'm doing an association degree in arts through juco and that's leading on to doing human services. So human services for me I've been since I was about 17. So a week before I turned 18, I got into the disability field. So I was still in school, still in year 12, and we're just doing afternoon shifts. And then I obviously got my license and took on a lot more shifts. So, yeah, just disability, it's just a very rewarding job.
Speaker 4:I said I've've been with a couple companies and obviously had to leave some of them due to going to the states the first time and then I wasn't able to reclaim a position there. But yeah, leading from that, just deepening my knowledge just within the field. And yeah, so human services cover social work. I said disability work, mental health and just being around people. So with JUCO, I did take my first semester there. I did take I took one sociology course and then the next semester I took three and I was over 85% in both, in all three of my grades, overall grades. So it was good.
Speaker 4:And then obviously, coming back after when my time started in the US I don't know know how long that'll be, I don't know what will happen in the future, but whatever happens, it'll be the right reason. And then, yeah, just coming home, probably starting my own business, and start, yeah, just providing what's needed for the community. I know it's starting to get bigger as it goes on. And now my grandmother she's been doing this line of work for nearly 35 plus years now and, yeah, it's a real inspiration to get into the field to just help out people. That's yeah, it's very rewarding and I love doing it. It's so much fun. I feel like a kid again.
Speaker 2:So oh, I love that. That's so, so cool that you found something that you really want to do, that brings you joy and that you're excited about, like gets you out of bed in the morning. That's so cool.
Speaker 4:No, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. It's very I'm very grateful to be doing what I'm doing.
Speaker 2:We say that we're not a professional sports agency because you know how in professional sports, when you're looking to go to a team, the coaches normally know who you are. They know all of your background, they've read about you in the media, they've seen interviews With amateur sport. The coaches want to get to know you. They want to talk to you, meet you, because we're not the ones trying to get a scholarship. The coaches want to engage with you and talk to you and make sure that you're a good fit. So I think that does surprise people when they realize, oh, actually I need to talk to the coaches and I think they think that we're going to do it for them, which we do a lot of talking to coaches for you. But I think the most fun part that you get to do is actually having those video calls and learning about the schools and and all of that was a fun, fun little journey.
Speaker 4:I said I talked to a few schools definitely I think up around that 12 13 range, especially JUCOs, and I think Iowa Central was the third one I spoke to and I was pretty set on going there, probably after the sixth call. So I think I let Connor know that I was like I think I'm ready to commit.
Speaker 2:So yeah, no it was good. And Kelly. What about you? What did you think that we would offer as study and play, and what surprised you?
Speaker 3:To be honest, I didn't really know, like this was all new to me and I was thinking, okay, what do I have to do? And I was like talking to Olivia and I was asking her you know what do I have to do? And to be honest, it was a breeze for me Going through what I went through the first time for the D1 school, like the sleepless nights and just trying to coordinate everything, to having you guys come on us signing. And then he was fast-tracked because you know we're talking December 23. I think it was like late January, like early Feb, wasn't it 24, because we were talking with Chris and Connor and it was like he should have been to go in the fall 24,. He should have been recruited like January 23, like that sort of the year before.
Speaker 3:So Angus was put into a fast track program and it was just amazing to see like how quickly things turned around. Like you know who was interested in Angus, like that was probably really fun to watch and who was. You know who was interested in Angus? Like that was probably really fun to watch and who was. You know who was interested in speaking with Angus and where the school was. And I was like on the sides Googling, seeing what I could you know as much as I could get out of the information, and then I think what was hard was him doing his own interviews, like with the coaches, not mum sitting in and talking as well, oh, kelly.
Speaker 4:Kelly was definitely pressed against the door hearing the conversation by the way.
Speaker 3:There's a few times where I've gone to open up the door later and she's just standing there outside of my bedroom door, so just saying that he's talking honestly and you know, just to see, I think I wanted to see what the sort of the way the conversation was going like Was it just was it about Angus? Like did the coach want to get to know Angus or was it just what they could do for Angus? Because Angus has had coaches in the past where it's all about the sport and not getting to know him as a person, whereas Angus, with Iowa Central and Coach Frisco, he really cared about Angus and what he sort of told, his vision of what he wanted to do with the throws department at Iowa. And you know, like I think I was up against the door because it was like a two-hour conversation.
Speaker 4:It could have been a little bit more, to be honest.
Speaker 3:Well, yeah, you know, like he kind of he spoke to a couple and he was off the phone, like it was like yeah, no, I don't think so. Or there was two that he was tossing up, but Iowa really got it because it was about Angus, and to hear them banter, to hear them talk was like they knew each other for years.
Speaker 4:And that's exactly how it was when I first got over there with Coach Briscoe. It was an instant connection. We both had a vision that we wanted to pursue and to take on the throw squad. I said we ended up having our throw squad consisted of four of us. I said me, dev, noonie and Zariah and we kind of, yeah, we had three national qualifiers, the first indoor championship and then we had two in the outdoor. I said and now the throws program has really taken off. I said we're looking at bringing in another 15 male athletes already. I said our signings we've had already nine signings by now.
Speaker 4:I said I think just the work of us being so close together as a throws department really determined the future. And once you have 15 athletes, I believe over there I don't think you like rapidly drop down the next year. I said you put out and provide and people see that. Look. I said we're looking at a squad of nearly 20 next year and from taking it from four to 20 in one year and people seeing our progress and seeing all Americans and stuff like that, it's just. I think it's unbelievable to be able to turn something around, turn something into nothing, turn something from nothing into something.
Speaker 2:So for those people listening who don't know what an all-american is, can you explain what that is?
Speaker 4:so I finished off my indoor season as ninth. So top eight for indoor and a Duke All-American, so it's top eight. So I missed out by just one placing for indoor and I was pretty shattered and I looked at the size of the medal and the size of the medal is very big I've won nationals in 2023, and my medal was about this big. But those Duke All-American medals are massive. And then I got it in the outdoor. I did actually tie seven, but I lost on a count back because the bloke I tied with had the same throw we. We tied at 1605 and then, yeah, he won because he had the next further. So, but, yeah, that was pretty good.
Speaker 4:I didn't get to technically stand on the podium because they only had seven podium places, so I stood on the floor but one of the boys from New Mexico he's a South African he told me to jump up on his side of the podium, so it was good to share that moment with him and obviously, being internationals, you get along with everyone that's not from that country. I said you instantly click because you're all in the same position, especially Australians. I said country. I said you instantly clicked because you're all in the same position, especially australians. I said I know well and truly that I've gone out of my way to go see four australians studying and play when I've competed against them, whether it was hover out at mount mercy or just trying to find when I knew I was coming up against, or bailey burns from cloud county like I was just really cool to see. I said so. Seeing them at nationals and seeing them at meets, just being able to talk about our own experiences within a track meet, I think was, yeah, bloody unbelievable.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's so cool that you're able to see all the study and play athletes as well as, yeah, internationals. You're so right, you guys are all in the same boat and I'm sure your accent has allowed lots of people to come over and talk to you and want to get to know you.
Speaker 2:I love that. So for junior college track meets, for those people listening, you were talking about outdoor and indoor and you were talking about the places that you got. So for those people listening, just to put things into perspective, when Angus is talking about getting eighth and ninth, that's not just in his conference or that's not just in his state, that's talking about every single junior college across the entire United States. So that's a huge, huge deal that Angus is an all-American.
Speaker 2:It is pretty cool, huge deal, and I think for internationals they don't always understand the concept of all-American, but I think for someone like me and someone who's listening, who's been to college, they're like wow, all-american is something that is absolutely incredible, that you'll remember for the rest of your life. So, on behalf of all of us at study and play and, I'm sure, everyone listening as well, congratulations on that such a big deal thank you, I really appreciate that.
Speaker 4:But I think everyone just knows netflix so well, that's about it. So when I said, I placed. All-american. The All-American TV show on Netflix was the first thing that comes to everyone's mind, so a few people could relate to that and I was like, yeah, beautiful.
Speaker 3:The proud mum has been showing people the medal. The medal stays. I showed it on at his 21st just to show people like the size of the medal the middle is amazing and just to show like they'll never see one here in australia unless they know of someone who's an all-american from america. You know that's been over, so it's good to have something. I'm planning on getting it framed for him and yeah, but hopefully many more to come.
Speaker 4:Eh, that's it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, many more to come.
Speaker 2:We've got one, so yeah, no, and we've also talked about with other junior college coaches, about the fact that, especially with international athletes, especially with the timing of when people from overseas usually start the recruitment process and, and a lot of the times the American coaches go, hey, we wish we knew about these internationals way earlier than when we found out about them. So, with that being said, a lot of the coaches that we talk to, especially on the podcast for junior college, say that they're so excited to see and help you grow and see what comes after junior college. And a lot of the coaches were saying, hey, if you have an athlete who is coming from overseas looking to go straight into an NCAA program, regardless if they're good enough or not, there's a lot of things that they don't know and that their overseas coaches don't know about what might be a good fit. And if they come to JUCO and we're able to coach them for two years and then we say, hey, this is a really good fit for you. This one might not be a good fit for you. They have that really like a big insider knowledge as to where you are suited best as a athlete and as a person they know a lot of the coaches are able to work with you on where they think your next home might be, and I think that's really important for anyone listening who's an overseas athlete as well to understand that that is a huge, huge advantage to have someone in your corner who's looking out for you going. Yes, this is how you did here at Iowa Central and this is where I really think you're going to be a good fit in the future. And this is where I really think you're going to be a good fit in the future, and I think that that's something that you can't get from going straight from high school anywhere into the college system in America.
Speaker 2:I think one of our most popular podcasts over the last year is actually from Cloud County, the track and field coach who talked about the recruitment process being an explorer versus a customer. He was talking about exploring where you're looking and seeing where your right fit might be, and then customer being like what can you do for me as more of like I deserve a spot. What can you do for me as a customer? He was saying that that seems to be coming up more and more often nowadays, where it really should be more of the exploring mindset of, oh, this is a really cool town or oh, this is a really cool program and this is a really cool track program. And this is a really interesting conversation I had with this coach.
Speaker 2:Instead of saying like, okay, what can you do for me, what is my scholarship, what place do you think I'll be getting, like, where will I be living? Do I have my own bathroom, like that kind of stuff so it's really interesting because that's one of our most highest rated podcasts now, that Cloud County podcast. So, yeah, we're really excited to see what comes next for you. And I think that I think people think it's a sales technique for junior college when coaches say where you end up coming straight from high school will probably not be as good as if you started at junior college and then transferred. I think a lot of people think that's a sales technique, but we have seen hands down, someone starting at junior college always ends up with better options down the track than if they went straight from high school. So that's I could almost hand on heart say that's almost a guarantee with that 100% and.
Speaker 3:I think because they're all, especially at GK, they're all. It was good for Angus to go and grow over there, Like he was with like-minded athletes, Like they're all got to do their schoolwork, They've all got their. What they need to do, like in the fall, it was strengthening and conditioning, you know, for the indoor season which started in the January.
Speaker 4:The indoor season started in January, yeah, but yeah, that sort of period when I first got there we started school and then doing that four months with our competition, like realistically our pre-season and then going into competition in January, really set us up so good. And I think that's why, like Angus' fall, like realistically our pre-season and then going into competition in January really set us up so good.
Speaker 3:And I think that's why, like Angus's fall, like because he hadn't been in school for a couple, you know like he hadn't done learning like academic learning was hands-on learning. It sort of he did okay, like he learnt along the way what he needed to get in order to be able to. You know, like what he needed to get in order to be able to. You know like what he needed to do. But I can say his spring semester was amazing.
Speaker 4:I finished with a 3.2 GPA for my spring semester actually.
Speaker 3:So from someone who didn't want to, you know, wasn't really interested in the whole schooling. It goes to show like being around like-minded, like I'd call him and he'd say, oh, hang on, mum, I'm just doing this paper, I'll call you back, and I'm like okay, and then he wouldn't call me back. He's like hello, oh, sorry, mum, I got caught up. You know, I've got to get this in by a certain time and you know he took it really seriously because he yeah, and it was just amazing to see him grow in that way, like I never thought I'd have a son going to college. So, and to see where, and to see, like a lot of people say to me, oh, do you miss Angus? Yes, I miss him, but he's on the right path, where he needs to be and like people you know, oh, but I couldn't let my son do that. I'm not going to stop my son.
Speaker 3:I could have said quite easily don't go, and he probably wouldn't have gone, but to see him grow as a person and grow in his sport and come back and be a role model to so many kids. We get it all the time like Angus is a bit of a. He attracts, like he can make friends with anyone and like he's already been asked to do a talk at the school his local high school just to some vcal students, just to sort of like have a chat and see where how his path, sort of talk, um, yeah so. And just to talk to kids. Like kids come up to him and he sort of said like since he's been back, he he's like everyone says how's America? He goes. I wish I could just like just get them all together and say this is what America looks like yeah, we also had my 21st as well.
Speaker 4:So yeah, everyone there, I hadn't seen a lot of people in a year and it wasn't actually too bad. I was going into it saying like, oh I, it was pretty good.
Speaker 3:He's got a very big support.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:He's got a very big support network here, you know, like everyone's behind him and that's how Angus is. The way he is today is because of everyone helping to be like, helping him get there and helping him to be the person you know, because a lot of like, especially rugby kids you know that was his mentor of kids that, have you know, had troubles at home and at school and he's mentored those kids.
Speaker 4:And that's the same thing for work as well. That's coming from a community that can be top and end of the scale, where kids are having trouble in school because of their disability, and I just I think my life's been around helping people, so I love to be able to do it and provide support to whoever in need and yeah, yeah, just love it.
Speaker 2:I have this feeling that you will be a coach one day. I do, yeah.
Speaker 4:I've thought I coached um before I left left the Geelong Grammar School. So I worked with Lauren and a couple of other athletes. I know one of the college athletes, cassidy. She was at Oklahoma State yeah, oklahoma State, I think. Yeah, one of them.
Speaker 4:But yeah she was working there and we had a really good group. So I enjoyed coaching the kids at Geelong Grammar. It was unreal, I said. I think just with being so young you can start that connection with them and relate to half of the things that they're saying, whether as an older coach it's kind of I don't know if they'll get all that stuff.
Speaker 3:So yeah, Didn't one do really well in Shotport.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah, my squad was unreal, my squad was good at Geelong Gramelong grammar. I think it was the best results we'd seen in the shopport, I said, but I loved it. I said it was honestly great and being able to travel in a bus up to Melbourne, up to Lakeside, just to be able to watch like my guys compete, and stuff like that, I just yeah, it was unreal. I love the kids at Geelong grammar and I'm happy to ready to jump on board for this before I head back.
Speaker 2:So it was a great opportunity nice, because everything you were saying about wanting to help people, that's how I am as well. I've always tried to get into a field of work where I was helping people, so I was a teacher for a very long time and did a lot of coaching and, yeah, it's very rewarding, for sure yeah so the other thing I wanted to touch on quickly before we end is that I think a lot of people listening can hear that you face setbacks and you didn't let it stop you.
Speaker 2:I think that's really, really admirable, and there's a lot of people that give up at the first inconvenience or the first hurdle and go okay. No, it's not meant to be, because they could have viewed it as this is a sign to not go, but you viewed it as this is a sign that I need to keep going and I want to keep going and you're going to keep persevering. So, looking back, what advice would you have for someone who is listening to this podcast going, hey, I don't really know if I want to go to the US, I'm on the fence, I'm not sure. Or what advice would you have to someone listening who's actually faced the exact same situation as you, where they're being recruited to America and then got told very towards the end of the process oh, actually, you can't come straight to this college. What would you say?
Speaker 4:As, like you said, perseverance is a big thing and I've always prided myself off, whether it was in any sport, with jobs on. People will see how you bounce back from it and that's I've been a massive thing. I've missed out on medals, I've missed out on spots, and just knowing how you feel in that moment and how you felt at what you thought was the bottom, and being able to bounce back and come through and then win or get a spot and stuff like that, I just think it's very important and I pride myself so heavy on it, because people are going to see the work you put in and people are going to notice you and people also. You're going to tell people how you felt at that time and being able to use your emotions to fuel something to be great. I think it's unreal. Like I could nearly get teary about it, because I know I face a lot in my life and a lot of controversy and a lot of noise, and just being able to prevail and sort of make everyone proud, like that's the reason I do it. I said a lot of people say I need to do it for myself, but to see my family and friends happy and to be talked about. It's just, yeah, it's overwhelming. I said I could go on all day about it, but I'm kind of there.
Speaker 4:But also mum always used to tell me like you didn't sign your life away when signing to a college. I said if you're ready to go home, I said you can go home. So if you get over there and you know, like in the first month or six months or a year, you can always just pack up and go home. I said and no one's going to be angry, like no one. Everyone understands Because being even like a 17, 18, 19-year-old moving away from your parents for the first time and you gain a bit of independency overseas and things.
Speaker 4:So when it comes to cooking and cleaning, mother Dearest always did the cooking and cleaning and so me having to put my big boy pants on and that and start doing that and yeah, you just gain a certain type of independency. Although I didn't bring it back when, when I come back about a week ago, I said mom, straight back into the washing, I said it's unreal and I don't mind washing. So yeah, you do gain an independency over there. But mum always told me you didn't sign your life away. If you want to come home. You can come home, but push for as much as you're capable of.
Speaker 3:That's my message. You have to give it time, like you know, because it's a new, it's a whole like. I think Angus was over there for like a week on his own.
Speaker 4:I came very early because I had to do an international orientation, yeah, so you get put in the room for an orientation and half the kids don't speak English. I think there was one Australian girl in there, but yeah, that was a bit daunting. I felt very left out because, one, I've just moved to a different country and, two, I'm in a room with everyone that doesn't speak English. I was like, oh well, I really feel left out here, but it turns out they could all speak English by the end.
Speaker 3:So the connections Angus has made, not only with Americans, but you know, people from France, Morocco, If I wanted to travel all over the world, I'd be able to.
Speaker 4:I said our track team is very diverse. I said whether, yeah, it's nationality. I said yeah, it's just we're very diverse and I can openly say. If I wanted to go anywhere in the world, I said I would have had a teammate or like a friend from college that lives there.
Speaker 3:And I've already said, like you know, his mates are all working or they're doing their thing and I and I say to people, angus will come home broke, he will come home with no money, but at the end of the day he will have this life experience he will, that no one else has had. He's a very lucky boy and he knows that and he's grateful for that, because not many get, you know, like full ride scholarships and especially at the time he got recruited it was about a 98 percent like it was quite like a high, a high scholarship. So it's just like he will have so much nollie. You know life experience because he's gone out and seen the world, like he's travelled to all around the Midwest, like this freshman year, and he's seen different things.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think I've travelled 13 states already in just my first two seasons in my first year. Yeah, so a lot of travelling. But yeah, competition season comes around and I know we took a bus to Texas, down in Lubbock for Indoor Nationals and I think, well, we were trying to climb with us for 14 hours, but I could definitely say I was nearly 20 hours on the bus back at home. So yeah, it's a psychosis, it was too long on a bus.
Speaker 3:But yeah, so I just feel like this whole experience for him is just amazing, and if you ever get the opportunity to do it, you take it. And you take any opportunity in life and it just makes you, it shakes you as a person.
Speaker 2:It does for sure.
Speaker 2:And the thing that I've picked up with what you were talking about both of you is a lot of people, I think, get worried about what others will think of their decisions, and we actually talked about this in another podcast with one of our softball players, and the episode was titled the Danger of Letting Other People's Opinions Determine your Own Path people even listening to this podcast who have no idea who you are.
Speaker 2:You decided that this is what you want to do and you didn't let noise distract you. You didn't let other people's opinions distract you and I feel like, even if you hadn't had support from people in your community, I feel like you're the kind of person who would just go for it anyway and I think that's really and I think really important because we do get a lot of people that come up to us, and I think really important because we do get a lot of people that come up to us and I can, like at expos and career fairs and different national events and state events, and I can tell that they're concerned about how they're recruiting and where they might go looks to other people. I can tell that I can pick it up immediately and I think it's a big life lesson that you're sharing with everyone that you just go for it.
Speaker 2:If this is what you want to do, go for it and take life the way that yeah, the way that you want to do it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I definitely could have decided on a different path a couple years ago and that probably wasn't ever going to work out for me in that aspect. So when I pulled my head in and I knuckled down and wanted to take this serious and I received everything that I've worked for and like that I love, so, yeah, just sort of beating the adversity of just people talking and stuff like that and not believing. But my support crew has got me and that's the only people I need to have me. So, yeah, it's been an unreal experience.
Speaker 2:I've thoroughly enjoyed my time and, yeah, thanks a lot to study and play. Yeah, they've been unreal, so we're so excited to see what, what happens next and thank you so much, both of you, for being on the podcast today sharing your stories and life lessons and wisdom. And, yeah, we're very lucky to have you on the podcast and I'm very excited for everyone to hear.
Speaker 4:Thank you appreciate it so much thank you on the podcast and I'm very excited for everyone to hear it. Thank you Appreciate it so much. Thank you for the opportunity. We're happy to do it again wherever. That is a fun experience.