It is understandably difficult for a family to send their young adolescent away for four years to the other side of the world, uncertain of what the future holds.
For Paul Wilcox, all of those feelings of anxiety, concern and doubt were alleviated as soon as he saw the environment his son, Ben would be a part of for the foreseeable future.
As a New South Wales baseball athlete, Ben was placed at SUNY Jefferson college in New York, a perfect college for Ben as a student and an athlete.
“In the lead up to it, sending your kid off overseas is a bit frightening in a way, but once we got to the college and saw that he had some Australians in his room…it’s a great little college. It’s not overwhelming. The facilities at SUNY Jefferson are fantastic. By the time we left there, it was just really comforting to know that everything was going to be okay and he was going to be looked after,” Paul said.
Ben arrived in New York with his Dad in late August and was immediately greeted by his teammates, who quickly embraced him.
Ben is living with a couple of other international students and a fellow Australian, WA baseball athlete, Josh Harvey.
Paul admitted Ben felt slightly uncertain in the lead up to his entry to the US, but upon finding out he was roomed with other international and Australian athletes, his nerves subsided.
“Within the first thirty minutes or so he wanted to get rid of us I think!” Paul joked.
“It makes a big difference having Aussies in his room. He was a bit tentative at the start but when he found out there was a few Aussies in the same apartment as him he relaxed immediately,” Paul said.
Paul cannot speak highly enough about the experience that the Wilcox family have had with Ben so far, and credit Ben’s courage and NSR’s assistance in providing this pathway while taking into account Ben’s character to find the perfect college.
“I was really pumped, not just that NSR was trying to place Ben in a college but they were trying to place him in the right college, the right environment,” Paul noted.
Having attempted to pursue an international experience himself in the UK when he was a teenager, Paul values the inclusive opportunity that Ben now has before him, and feels that Ben’s opportunity offers so much more than just a new sport experience.
“It allows him to do what he loves. I went over to play soccer and never really had the chance to study, whereas Ben has the chance to do both and his love for the game has gone up 100%,” Paul noted.
Not only will Ben have the chance to study to obtain a degree in Physical Therapy over the course of the next four years while playing a sport he loves, he will grow as an individual through his experience at college in the US.
“His feelings of self-worth have increased too. He feels like he’s really going to be a part of something and be able to make a difference.
“Ben is ecstatic, he’s a different person. He has become a man, an excited man over the past couple of weeks. It’s so good to see that as a parent.
“I’ve already seen that he has grown, almost immediately. He now realises what a gift this opportunity is. As far as growth goes, I think he’s going to be far more independent, he’s going to be more self-driven. He’s going to mature greatly and from a baseball perspective, just the level of baseball and the level of coaching…there’s no way you could get that here in Australia!” Paul admitted.
It’s no secret that the Wilcox family are ecstatic for Ben and embrace the opportunities that he will be exposed to in his future. Paul in particular, is thrilled by his son’s current situation and notes that the US college system is a fantastic pathway for a young Australian student-athlete for a variety of reasons.
“The system over there is very good, I like the balance between sport and study that they do. He did well enough in his VCE to advance his career aspirations in Australia, but I think getting the chance to get over to the US and get a fresh start there and make a name for himself is great,” Paul said.
The effect this process has already had on the Wilcox family is unbelievable, and according to Paul it could continue to positively influence their family for years to come.
“I think for the family it changes our view on what we are going to do with our kids. I have five kids in total.
“We really came back euphoric about the idea of him studying over there and getting that life experience and asked our other kids what they’re going to do.
“We’re even looking at the US college experience just as a life experience for our kids. It has changed our view on the pathway we are going to send our kids down. I think for us it has opened our eyes to the opportunities that are there,” Paul said.