Blog #1: The Value of Networking
In all of the time leading up to leaving for the USA to be a student athlete, and even in the months and weeks just before actually departing, something that is massively overlooked is value of the network that you will create once you arrive. In the years that you spend in the United States college system, you will make more friends and contacts than you can even imagine. These people will remain lifelong friends, mentors, and leads to future opportunities, and what is crazy is that you haven’t even met them yet. Here is my story of how I came to be the Head Prospect Manager at NSR, and hopefully it gives you a bit of insight into what I am actually talking about.
I started my collegiate career in Austin, Texas; an amazing town that I believed at the time would be my home forever. I spent two years there, and one day in my second semester of classes I picked up the school newspaper and read about a job opportunity in the far northeast of the United States, in the state of Maine. The job description talked about being a summer camp counselor at an all sports camp, living on the camp for 3 months, and getting the opportunity to coach and teach kids a variety of sports. A mate of mine and I decided to apply for the job together, and after about 3 weeks and an interview over the phone, we both got the job. I was going to be teaching wakeboarding and water sports, one of my many passions, and my mate was going to be coaching basketball.
The day came for us to leave for camp, so we loaded up my SUV and started a week long road trip spanning from south Texas, all the way up to the state of Maine. It took us 5 days of solid driving to get there, and we got to drive through cities like Nashville, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston, which we made stops in and got to see some really cool sights. When we finally got to camp, it was more amazing than we would have ever imagined. There were about 15 different areas of camp, every sport from soccer, to lacrosse, to tennis and baseball, hockey, golf, and the waterfront, all on about 150 acres of land in the beautiful wilderness of the northeast. The rest of the 120 man staff arrived after us, and to our surprise there were people from all over the world that were going to be working there all summer. The entire tennis staff was Jamaican, basketball had American and Europeans, and the water sports staff was a mix of Australians, Kiwi’s, South Africans, and one Texan….me!
All of the staff hit it off really well, and we became great friends really quickly because the camp seemed as if it was its own little world where you eat, sleep, and work with the same people for 3 whole months. This is where I first made my connection with Australia, and the guys and girls that I worked with on the lake are still some of the best friends that I have ever made. I also met a guy that was the Head of Soccer on camp. Being that the staff was from all over the world, we would gather and play big pick-up games of soccer when we were off duty. The Head of Soccer was a young and energetic guy, and soon saw my ability as a player and we got to talking. Turns out that outside of camp he was the Head Coach of a University team in the state of Iowa, and asked if I would be interested in transferring to his school to play for him once camp was over. With my grades from my Texas school, and my ability as he was able to see at camp, he offered me a big scholarship to move and play for him, which I eventually took.
We worked together at the camp for 2 summers in a row, and in the second year I was asked to be the Head of Watersports, where I had some of the same Aussies, as well as a few new ones working on my staff. After the second summer was over, I drove straight from Maine to Iowa, and my parents met me there with all of my stuff and helped me get settled in at the College. Playing soccer for this guy was great fun because he wasn’t just my coach, he was my friend. I wore the captain’s band for him for 3 years, played with guys from 12 different countries, and was being mentored in coaching while I completed my degree in Exercise Science and Wellness. He helped me to become the Head Coach of a high school team in the college off season, and also plugged me into coaching education courses so that I could become accredited by the United States Soccer Federation.
Once I finished my Bachelors Degree, I earned an opportunity to continue a playing career at a high level, but was also given the Assistant Coaching Role at a new college that my Coach had moved to. Putting all the pieces together, the friend that I met at summer camp, who gave me a chance to play soccer and finish my education in a great college, who acted as my mentor into the world of coaching, gave me a job as his Assistant Coach at the collegiate level. Was I the most qualified guy for the job on paper, maybe, maybe not, but what I did have was a solid connection and professional relationship with the guy that decided that, and he chose me for that role.
One of my main roles aside from running sessions was recruiting, and I used to use a variety of different resources to bring in domestic players, as well as guys from all over the world to come and play in our program. I recruited four players from Australia one year, from an agency called NSR that I didn’t know much about. I worked hand in hand with a guy named Marco to help these kids get everything sorted for their move to the United States to play college soccer and begin their studies. At the time I didn’t think too much of it, but was certainly appreciative of the help I was receiving to bring in international talent. I recruited 3 more kids from NSR the following year, all of which came in and did really well for me. After 2 years of coaching at the college, both myself and the head coach stepped away to go and start a brand new men’s and women’s soccer program at another college, which at the time seemed like the right move.
After leaving and setting up shop in a new city with a new school, it quickly became apparent that the new program would not get off the ground for another year. This left me in tough financial position because money was very tight and I had some large financial responsibilities that I had to consider. I weighed my options and decided to send an email to Marco at NSR to see if there were any opportunities for work in Australia. He got back to me quickly, and didn’ give me any promising news from the other side of the world, stating that at that point there was no job for me. I remembered back to my days at camp and all the friends from Australia that I had made, and began to get back in touch with all of them. After a few days of communication with my Aussie mates, I made a very bold decision to sell everything I owned in the USA to make a move to Australia on a one year work and holiday visa. After being approved for my visa and booking my flights, I sent Marco another quick email just to let him know my plans and when I would be arriving, and to see if we could catch up. He was quick to respond again, and to both his surprise and mine, the guy that had been working with him for the previous 6 years randomly decided to resign and step away from the company, which opened the door for me to have a potential opportunity with NSR.
I arrived in Melbourne in September of 2011, and after about a week of being in the country and getting my sleep patterns sorted, I met up with Marco for the first time face to face. He proceeded to tell me more about the company and the processes involved in player promotion, which all made perfect sense from my time of actually recruiting players from him. He extended an offer for me to join the company which I delightfully accepted. At this point, it has been 2 ½ years since that day, and I have settled very comfortably into the role of Head Prospect Manager. We have worked diligently to promote and place over 700 athletes since I started with NSR, and I can truly say that it is one of the most gratifying things that I have ever been a part of. To know that I have come across the world and I am using my extensive knowledge of the US Collegiate System to provide dreamlike opportunities to prospective Australian student athletes, is something that I would have never dreamed I would be doing.
What I hope that readers get from this story is a sense that anything is possible. If you treat people right, and consider each and every person that you meet a potential lead to a future opportunity, you never know what your future has in store. The experience that you will have in the United States will be one of education, sport, and personal growth, and this opportunity will produce future outcomes that are impossible to know until you actually embark on this journey. Stay true to yourself, stick with the things that you are most passionate about, and remember why you are there. Your future is in your hands, and I urge you to take notice in the value of creating and maintaining a network of positive relationships.