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Years ago
Sydney Swans sign basketball player
THREE years after signing a former Canadian rugby union international, the Sydney Swans have added an athletic US college basketballer to their books.
Having recruited ruck prospect Mike Pyke in 2009, the Swans have now signed Alex Starling after testing showed he had the athletic potential to make the switch to the AFL.
The 22-year-old certainly impressed former Sydney Swans coach Paul Roos, who believes Starling can make the transition to Australian football.
"Alex is not only an outstanding basketballer but he has also played American football as well,' Roos told sydneyswans.com.au.
"We saw an amazing athlete with great speed, great hands and an incredible capacity to learn a new game.
"Of course we understand Alex has a lot of work to do but certainly he has the right attitude to attack this enormous challenge."
Starling is finishing college in Florida but will make several visits to Sydney this year to meet with Swans' coaching staff and develop his football skills.
He has been signed under the AFL's International Scholarship Scheme, which will allow him to train with the Swans and also complete his four year degree at Bethune-Cookman University.
If things progress as planned, he will be recruited to the Swans' list as an international rookie in 2013.
Starling, who is 196cms and 93kg, was identified by Roos, the head coach of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy, during a trip to the US last year.
Roos held a two-day mini-draft assessment camp in Redondo Beach, California, last June, attended by four college basketballers who were identified through Roos' network of contacts in the US. Starling showed the most exciting potential.
He then came to Australia last August and took part in three weeks of testing at the Swans' base in Moore Park, where he was assessed by Swans' coach John Longmire, development manager Stuart Maxfield, head of player personnel Kinnear Beatson, and Roos.
Beatson, who heads the Swans' recruiting team, said it was exciting to unearth a player with Starling's qualities.
"We believe Alex has the physical attributes required by the modern AFL key position player, which are difficult to find via the national draft,' Beatson said.
"He displayed the ability to grasp the skills of our game, particularly soft hands in marking contests and the capacity to weight his kicks. We are excited about his potential and what the future holds for Alex. He showed in his time with us last year that he also has a fierce desire to succeed."
Starling is known as a strong competitor and leader on the basketball court, and is renowned for his defensive pressure.
"One of the most important things about Alex is we believe he can transfer those attitudes to our game,' Roos said.
"He is very keen to come to Australia and have a real go at making it in the AFL.'
Starling will make several visits to Sydney this year and his training and skill acquisition will be guided by Roos, Maxfield, and development coach George Stone.
Training an athlete from a foreign country and code will be familiar territory for Stone.
He is credited with teaching Swans' premiership player Tadhg Kennelly the finer points of Australian football after he came from Ireland having not handled an oval ball.
