“Heidi and I are blessed with three fabulous, smart and athletic boys. The oldest chose rugby, and the other two chose basketball. Our middle son was lucky enough to be nominated by Basketball NSW to represent Australia in three events. Through that and a couple of contacts, he got lucky and landed a D1 scholarship at Santa Clara University. This may be the path for the rare few who play for Australia, but it wasn’t the path for our youngest son.

After being cut by the NSW U18 state team, and seeing what a great experience his brother was having, our youngest decided he wanted to go to the US to finish High School. AAU tournaments are awesome and the AUSA Hoops tour presented many options and ultimately sealed a D1 scholarship for our son. But what really got him that was his hard work the years before at Scots Academy in Sydney, then 2 years at Montverde Academy in Florida in the US.

If you follow US HS basketball, you know Montverde. He ate, drank and slept basketball for 2 years, studied hard and challenged himself to be the best he could – in all aspects of his life. Simply put, you can get better anywhere, but if you want to be the best you can be, then you have to play against the best talent you can find. So, if you want to play college ball in the States, you simply have to go there.

Playing at Montverde, our son has played with and against literally hundreds of D1 prospects, and you simply won’t find that many in Australia. You can’t replicate the talent, size, quickness and attitude. You just have to go there. A tour is one thing….but going to HS in the States is priceless. The sacrifice is enormous – financially and otherwise. But, the payoff lasts forever. ‘No regrets’ was our son’s mantra, and now he has 4-5 years of free education and a life experience staring him right in the face! He would never have had that without the AUSA Hoops tour, and his time at Montverde Academy.

The guys at AUSA Hoops have developed a great network in the States. Their AAU Tours are second to none. And if you really want the full experience and give it your best shot….you should consider finishing HS in the States. Go for it!”

— MIKE & HEIDI HEALY