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Brad Smith is a great example for any aspiring college athlete. Not only did we gain him a 100% scholarship for golf, but he fully utilized the opportunity to improve his golfing abilities and take his game to the next level.
In 2009 Brad graduated with Honours and now has gained his Australian and Asian tour card for 2010.
Read his story below
Bio
Name> Brad Smith
Hometown> Adelaide, Australia
University> UAB, USA
Handicap when turned pro> +3
Greatest Moment> Winning nationals and gaining my tour card
Name> Brad Smith
Hometown> Adelaide, Australia
University> UAB, USA
Handicap when turned pro> +3
Greatest Moment> Winning nationals and gaining my tour card
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My name is Brad Smith and I am from Adelaide in Australia. I graduated from the University of Alabama – Birmingham in May 2008 with a degree in Communications Management on a golf scholarship. I have been a professional golfer since I graduated, first playing a year and a half in the US on the mini tours to now being a full member of the Australian and Asian professional golf tours.
Going to the US for college was something
I always wanted to do but had struggled to get organised,
organization that Athletes USA can provide. Finally in 2004
I was given the opportunity to play golf for Indian Hills
Community College in Iowa, which I attended for two years.
College life was everything I had hoped for and more!
Everyone in the Athletic department and academic labs made
me feel so welcome, and being a foreigner made it all the
more enjoyable.
Outside of golf, life was fantastic, all the instructors
for classes were very helpful in making sure that the
athletes were taken care of, and always allowed make up
time when we were out of town playing in golf
tournaments. On top of that they were always interested
to know how you’ve played when you got back. Weeknights
and weekends during other sports seasons were spent
watching basketball games in the arena with a full
crowd, or at the softball ground cheering on your
friends.
The highlight of my time at Indian Hills
was becoming the National Champion in 2006 at Ruidoso, New
Mexico. I played great golf all week and found myself in a
playoff for the title. With all my teammates, their family
members and a number of the others teams watching me and my
opponent I came away with a victory, and a championship ring
to go with it. You could have one too!
After completing my two years at Indian
Hills I had a choice to make. Where do I go from here? You
will have options to go straight to a four year school and
the friendly Athletes USA staff is there to help you do
this. Coming from a junior college or community college I
needed to transfer for my final two years to a bigger
school.
The transfer process was great. I
was entitled to five fully paid for visits by other
schools who wanted to recruit me. I used time over
the winter and early spring during my sophomore year
(2nd year) to take these visits. I had
narrowed my choices down to three, the University of
Tennessee – Chattanooga, the University of Alabama –
Birmingham and Belmont University (a private school
in Nashville, Tennessee). Each of my visits were a
blast, the school put me up in an awesome hotel,
paid for my flight down, along with lunch and dinner
with the other guys from their team.
The next step was being offered a
golf scholarship, which the Athletes USA team will
help you do. UTC offered me a full ride or 100%
scholarship, as did Belmont. However I ended up
choosing UAB who offered me an 80% scholarship.
Although the other two schools had offered me
greater financial opportunities I felt that UAB gave
me the best chance to better improve my golf game
and education. Athletes USA specialists can assist
you in reviewing a number of variables from, your
financial situation, education and athletics.
The big school was something new for me. An average sized school by American standards, only 16,000 students, like I said an average sized school. Can you believe it! I had such a great time in Birmingham; a bigger school means bigger everything! The student gym was brand new approximately costing $26 million, huge cafeteria with everything from burgers, pizza and fries, to a full salad bar and daily specials prepared by the chefs! There were all kinds of medical trainers and training rooms for us to use and we had access to academic tutors upon request for any class we were struggling with. The basketball stadium was packed out for all home games at around 10,000 screaming fans, and believe me the atmosphere was unreal! Our golf tournaments were always played on fantastic courses and the tournament gifts ranged from watches, to PSP game systems, belts, clothing and money clips. Our team usually flew our would take the team van, which has since been upgraded to a $100,000 Mercedes Benz van with reclining seats, wireless internet, satellite TV with a 40 inch plasma, and retractable wooden shades if you need to sleep! Some of the bigger schools will fly privately a number of times throughout the year as well on the school jets, pretty impressive!
All I can say in summing up is that the
four years I spent in college were the best four years of my
life and I would never take them back for anything, other
than to enjoy them all over again! If you are planning on
going or thinking about going just do it because you won’t
regret it. Athletes USA is there to provide you with all the
professional tools you need in order to make it happen. Now
that I am finished talking you can get back to the main page
and sign up to one Athletes USA’s programs that best suits
your financial situation.
Don’t be shy sign up today and see what
Athletes USA can do for you!
Brad Smith University of Alabama – Birmingham Golf Scholarship Degree (Communications Management with a minor in Mass Communication)
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