MY COLLEGE STORY SO FAR

with Georgia Williams 

I began my collegiate career at California State University Los Angeles, a school right in the middle of LA. This seemed like an absolute perfect situation being in California and playing basketball in America. I’ve wanted to play college basketball since I was about 13 years old, especially since my cousin, Tegan Foord, went and played a year in California also. I absolutely loved everything about my life my freshman year, except for the basketball side of things. My coaches didn’t put academics at the same level of priority as basketball and as a female basketball player I have to make realistic decisions of where my life would take me. I love school just as much as basketball and I didn’t want to sacrifice that. It took me a couple of months to transition into the American style of play, but I eventually got there and really enjoyed being involved in a team where every single person worked so hard and loved the game as much as I do. Transferring was one of the hardest life decisions I’ve had to make but looking back now, I’m so glad I did.

I now play at Valley City State University in North Dakota. I chose this school because I believed the head coach and I had similar philosophies. It’s very different to the lifestyle I had in LA and Townsville, as it hits -30 degrees over winter time. Valley City is a little country town, but everyone is one big family.I am a pretty independent person, but I also miss my family a lot. My family is always so supportive of all my aspirations and I’m very lucky to have been given so many opportunities. Time has helped me adjust to homesickness, and facetime has also been a lifesaver!

Training – which is called “practice” in America, is by far the hardest I’ve ever had to work. Preseason is grueling. At VCSU we do what the coach calls “challenges” twice a week as well as general conditioning and lifting. These challenges consist of all sorts of physical activities, a lot of endurance cardio mostly. My coach believes if you’re not ready to puke, you’re not working hard enough. She gives you each a time that she expects you to make, and if you don’t make the time then you failed. She also has a rule we can’t put our hands on our knees to catch our breath as it shows the opposition weakness, and if we do crouch over, we just run more.

In season when we play games, we practice approximately 2-3 hours per day, 6 days a week with a couple hours of film sessions added somewhere. We also lift lighter weights up to three times a week, depending when games are scheduled. Obviously when we have games we don’t practice that day, and my coach is usually good about giving us the day off after a game. Season is quite a tough system to manage with your body so that you stay away from injuries, but we’re lucky enough to have trainers on hand at all times of the day whenever we need some type of treatment. Post season mainly just consists of weight lifting with scrimmages every couple of days. This is the time of the year where we try to build our muscle back up and strengthen injured body parts.

Every person’s experience playing college basketball is so different and the thing about moving your life over here is that you never really know exactly how it’s going to go. For those kids who want to come over and play, don’t be disheartened if your freshman year is a little less than perfect and you aren’t one of the best players like you were in your teams back home. Every year after your first gets that little bit easier and by the time you’re a senior, you feel like you have all the confidence in the world. I am now in my senior year and I’ve never felt more comfortable in a basketball team. I am trusted to make a significant amount of calls on the court and that alone has helped me grow so much as a player. It also requires me to hold myself to a standard, each and every game.

For me, going to college instead of staying home and playing QBL was never really a question as playing basketball in America was always my dream. I also love school so to have an academic scholarship added to that deal, along with travel and countless life experiences was more than I could ask for. If I stayed in Townsville, I was told I would be a candidate for a Fire Development position which would also be an awesome achievement, however I had already made my mind up that California was where I wanted to go. I think that college has been a great place to develop my game and my confidence, as I don’t think I would’ve had the exposure I have received over here if I had stayed in Townsville. I never really got a lot of court time playing QBL and now that I have proven what I can do over here, I have received multiple offers with clubs around Australia that believe I could help their team. So, I am very happy with how my life is progressing and would recommend anyone that is thinking of going to college, to just go for it! 

 

STATS UPDATE FOR ALL OF OUR TOWNSVILLE JUNIORS WHO ARE "HOOP DREAMING" IN THE USA

Georgia Williams – Valley City State University in North Dakota – Sophmore

16games

14ppg @ 41%FG (38% from 3)

3.3rpg 2.2apg 1.7spg

25.8mins per game

Josh Spiers – Cal State University at San Marcos in San Diego – Junior

11games

10.3ppg @ 44%FG (46% from 3)

3.8rpg 1.1apg 0.5spg

28.1mins per game

Alicia Froling – Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas– Junior

12games

14.6ppg @ 53%FG

10.4rpg 2.2apg 1spg 1bpg

31.2mins per game

Harry Froling – Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas – Freshman

(since left the program)

10games

4.3ppg @ 49%FG

3.2rpg 0.6apg 0.4spg

14.6mins per game

Ethan Betts – Umpqua Junior College in Oregon – Freshman

8games

11.8ppg @ 53%FG

6.9rpg 4apg 3.3spg

37.3mins per game