Not all NSR student-athletes have to be packed and ready to go to America the minute they sprint out of that last year 12 exam!

Victorian basketball talent, Olivia Woods has been in the US playing College Basketball for two years now after originally completing 18 months of tertiary education in Australia.

Olivia was studying to be a paramedic at Australian Catholic University when she decided she wanted to follow the U.S. college pathway, continuing her passion for basketball while earning a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing.

Before heading over she made the necessary arrangements with her college in Australia to transfer her University credits in order to enter straight into her second year of study in the U.S.

Olivia started playing representative basketball when she was 18, which is a lot later than most athletes. When she found out about NSR later down the track she had to decide whether or not she was confident enough in her basketball ability to pursue this path, eventually confirming it was right for her.

“This opportunity came along and it was too good to pass up,” Olivia said.

Woods started her College Career in 2017 at Viterbo University in La Crosse in where she began a rigorous pre-season training schedule.

Admitting that the Australian University sporting schedule is extremely low-key in comparison to the USA counterpart, Olivia still feels like she was still as prepared as she could be to begin training at a higher level.

Playing basketball for Sherbrooke that frequently boasted imported WNBA players and American coaches helped give Olivia an insight into the level that was to be expected when playing American basketball.

“The year before leaving down at Sherbrooke we did a lot of conditioning more than on-court stuff in pre-season. Because I literally had two weeks between coming out of Big V and going to the US, I was hoping that match fitness will help me a little bit going into the pre-season,” she noted.

“Our coach (at Sherbrooke) is from the States, so his style of training was quite like college in the intensity of training,” Olivia said.

Olivia’s appreciation for her time spent playing basketball for Sherbrooke and McKinnon shines through her positive attitude about what she can achieve in her future.

“Sherbrooke was absolutely huge in improving my game and in having enough self-belief and the confidence to give it a go!

“I just felt like going over with an open mind was a really important thing. I knew it was going to be hard mentally and physically and I knew I would have no family and all that, but I had wanted to do this for a while and I had taken that step to get to the US with NSR,” she said.

Olivia juggled a variety of different sports and study in high school and then through her first 18 months of University, and she felt that it had really helped shape her ability to manage time carefully in preparation for her U.S. college adventure.

She had also been guided along by her future coach who helped secure part of an athletic scholarship for her. She had also been in contact with a past Australian Viterbo graduate, who gave Olivia an insight into the US college life only solidifying her want to go.

“That was a great help, having that extra person who has literally come from the same place and done the same thing I was about to do. She was kind of a mentor without actually being there.

“If I was having a difficult week I can speak to her and ask her how she dealt with it and how she found it,” Olivia noted.

Olivia Completed her first year of Study at Viterbo University then decided to see another part of the country which is perfectly fine. Olivia has since transferred to Missouri Valley College in Missouri to complete her final two years of University.

This just goes to show the ease in which students can transfer from one Institution to another. Olivia enjoyed her time in Wisconsin but was keen to explore other options. With the help of NSR Olivia moved through the transfer process with ease. Olivia knows that no matter where she goes in the States she will always have a great attitude.

“I feel like I have the attitude to do it and I work hard so transferring from one school to another shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” the excited young athlete said.

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