Partnerships?

They are crucial to our recruitment process. What is the point of having them? Well,

here at SCA, we strive to have the best hands-on approach to college recruitment.

That said, it’s essential to have systems, processes, and partnerships in place to

help achieve that.

Our partnerships are designed to prepare our students from an athletic, academic,

and personal perspective throughout the recruitment process.

To give you an idea of each, I was connected with the team at Cyclops through a

mutual friend who was the GK at Blacktown City at the time. I sat down with Dave

and Lynchy, and we discussed both business models and the clientele that each

party works with.

It made so much sense in the infancy stages of SCA to align with like-minded

individuals who only wanted the best for young athletes. Cyclops are based out of

Blacktown City’s stadium in Seven Hills; their programs are designed to help athletes

take a holistic approach to their athletic needs. They do everything from performance

testing (using some elite-level equipment) to physiotherapy, S&C and nutrition

programs. With leading experts in each space, we made the decision to partner with

Cyclops to offer these services to our clients. Combined with our recruitment

process, we do an annual workshop with Cyclops, and we discuss topics on how to

best prepare yourself for the US college system, making the event interactive and

allowing our athletes to do some performance testing at the same time. We’ve had

several of our athletes work with them privately, here in Sydney and remotely from

interstate and overseas. All have had glowing reviews!

Next up is YouStrive. Why I love YouStrive so much is probably down to the fact that

there was a little part of me that wished something like this existed when I was

younger. I personally always struggled with trials, expectations, and viewing myself

through other people’s eyes… All these problems are quite common for young

athletes, and learning how to deal with them is crucial.

This is where Shannon comes in; a former collegiate soccer player at the JUCO

level, Shannon went on to have a wonderful career in the A-league, winning the

Asian Champions League with the Wanderers and even getting capped for the

Socceroos. Youstrive was designed based on his own experiences about learning

how the mind works from a young age. He’s since implemented an online training

program that young athletes can log into and have a module-based program that

works on mindfulness and much more. We’ve often had Shannon come on board

and host workshops for our athletes, and we look forward to continuing this working

relationship with him.

An opportunity to have a gap year in the States whilst also completing college credits

and not harming eligibility? What’s not to love?

Our partnership with PCDA has got you covered. These guys have first-class training

and housing facilities in the likes of Denver, Charlotte and Nashville. They host

American players and international kids who are looking to develop that little bit

further before diving headfirst into the US college system. They host a schedule

competing against college teams in the spring and the fall, allowing our athletes to

head over, get an understanding of the US, train, live and play like college athletes,

all whilst taking some credits towards their degree.

I was connected with the founder, Ryan Hodgson, at the United States Coaches

Convention in January 2024 and was immediately impressed by his vision and

philosophy behind PCDA and the outcomes they were providing for their athletes.

We look forward to nurturing this partnership over the years and having more

Australian athletes join the program.

Sports FX is a company owned by Chris Broadfoot, a former A-league footballer with

the Gold Coast United, who also had a stint playing in the US. Since turned money

specialist, Chris has helped our athletes and families understand the complexities of

transferring money from Australia overseas and provides better rates and services

than the major big four banks. It’s a nice little value add to our service, understanding

that this can be a smooth cost, cost-effective service for families wishing to send

money overseas.

F9, the founder James Slaveski and I have had the chance to work on several

different occasions together in the coaching world. James, who is a current coach in

the Sydney FC academy, boasts an impressive resume working in coaching, football

data and analytics over the past 10 years. Having worked with clubs like Sydney FC,

Melbourne City, and Arsenal, the man has some serious credibility. His services help

remove the pain of cutting footage and getting content together for highlight reels,

which are an essential part of the recruitment process. James has helped many of

our athletes navigate footage and technology and has provided us with some world-

class results.

Last but certainly not least, the most unique partnership of them all: the ability to

earn an income online while overseas… Just let that sink in… We’ve all heard of the

work restraints that athletes have when tied down to an F1 student visa. I used to

work college basketball games, sweep floors, line football fields, and do much more

for the measly $7.50 an hour I earned while in college.

Well, those days are behind us. The partnership with Leon Johnsson and Athletic

Freedom provides us with the opportunity to have our athletes go through a unique training program that helps them understand the skill of sales. They are then placed

into a role as appointment setters for online businesses, such as influencers and

fitness coaches. They begin to engage with the social following of these brands and

businesses and are essentially warming up leads before passing them over. This is

all done online, and they don’t have to pick up the phone.

Some of our athletes make $1000+ per week, working 2-4 hours a day. This is

optimal as it still leaves plenty of time to train, study, and socialise with peers on

campus.

Gone are the days of working like a slave!!!

In conclusion, it’s nice to partner with some leading professionals in each space to

provide our athletes and families with as much value as possible throughout this

journey. We are always looking to add partnerships and missing pieces to the jigsaw

for our athletes, so we’re always open to new ideas and ways to help grow the SCA

family.