How Raymond Wood is Changing Football in Australia #634

Lachlan Stuart is joined by Raymond Wood, founder of Euro Football Star and a visionary in player development. Raymond shares his journey from coaching in elite leagues like the Premier League and Ligue 1 to creating a global impact through free football academies. 

Discover how his experiences shaped his vision to make football accessible for all and his ambitious goal of launching free academies across Australia and beyond. Whether you’re a football enthusiast, a parent of young players, or someone seeking inspiration, this episode is packed with insights into resilience, community impact, and creating opportunities.

Chapters

• 0:00 Football Agent Discusses Player Development
• 8:32 Career Development Through Challenges and Learning
• 18:17 Investing in Personal Growth and Wellness
• 26:04 Inspiring Goals and Collaborative Support
• 33:39 Wishing Well-Wishes and Future Plans

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

So today I'm very excited to welcome Raymond Wood on the podcast. Raymond has been someone that I was very fortunate to meet at the gym a number of years ago, and he actually encouraged me to attend an event that not only transformed the direction that my business went in, but also yours as well, ray. So, mate, over the last 25 years, you've been a seasoned football professional, experiencing so, with experience working alongside some of the biggest names in the game, including Liverpool, leicester City and PSG or Paris Saint-Germain, and you've recently got your UEFA coaching qualifications. So, mate, I am grateful to have you on here. I know there is so much we can unpack today about your journey, but just quickly, for the audience who are stumbling across you for the first time, can you give us a quick recap on what led you to this point?

Speaker 2: 0:54

Yeah, thanks, lachie. Thanks for having us on. It's great to chat to you and all your listeners. Yeah, I originally come from Liverpool in England.

Speaker 2: 1:01

As most of you will tell with the accent, I was at the age of 15 and 16 at the realisation that I was never going to make it as a professional football player. So I was very fortunate to discover one of my future mentors who said you know, there's other jobs within football you can have, whether you be a coach or a physio or a sports scientist. And yeah, I ended up going down the journey of becoming a coach. I was one of the youngest coaches to complete all my coaching badges with UEFA. By the time I was 21-22, I'd done the majority of them and then, more recently, I've delved into the world of becoming a player agent, and for the simple reason there's loads of good agents around, but there's loads of bad agents as well, and I thought I've definitely got something to offer coming from that coaching background, but also being able to liaise with players and open up deals due to my vast network of clubs and contacts around the world.

Speaker 1: 1:53

What was it that you feel you offer differently to really support your players and the people that work with you, as opposed to agents that maybe aren't doing that as well as you'd like to see?

Speaker 2: 2:07

Yeah, one of the big things, lockie, was that in the 90s and early 2000s, the way they set up football agents was you needed to be a lawyer because you needed to be able to manage the contract side of it. So what you ended up with? You ended up with a spate of lawyers coming into the football world and from a contract point of view, yeah, amazing. But from a football knowledge point of view, absolutely zero zilch. And this is like for the past 20 years. Some of the biggest super agents have been ex-lawyers and, I'll be honest, a lot of them are winging it as they go along.

Speaker 2: 2:40

In regards to football terms, the football agents of the future is changing now and I think UEFA have realized that as well, which is the governing body of football in europe that really we need people who've been heavily involved in football whether you've been a coach or a sport scientist or a physio but someone's been in and around the game for 20, 25 years, and that's the uh, the new direction. So I think for me, the fact that I've developed some of the biggest players on the planet I've worked in the Premier League, I've worked in Ligue 1 in France, I've worked at some of the biggest coaches. I've seen it from that side as a coach and as a player, and then now being an agent as well. I know exactly what a player needs and what they're looking for, and I think it gives me a real leg up on everyone.

Speaker 1: 3:22

So the future's bright at the moment it gives me a real leg up on everyone, so the future's bright at the moment. What was it like when you first got into the industry, having the experience on the other side and now being as an agent and obviously, if you've got your player pathways and programs that we'll talk about shortly? Was there ever any imposter syndrome or self-doubt as you were sort of making leaps and bounds into the scene?

Speaker 2: 3:45

Yeah, I mean, I always had an imposter syndrome because I always, like the industry is very, you've got to be an ex-pro to be a coach and to be successful as a coach, and that's what I went through for 15 years and I used to think a lot of people used to say that, but I think it was perception, I think it was the way I was perceivingiving it. It was only when I got to like maybe the age of about 34, 35, I actually started to realize that only was a very good coach. I was probably one of the best development coaches on the planet because of I literally bury myself in reading books, audio books, researching, uh. And then, yeah, that imposter syndrome was a hard one to come over.

Speaker 2: 4:23

Now I've gone around the other end of the scale and it's like I just lead everything. Every foot gets led with absolute super confidence. And also I don't claim to know everything, and if I don't know something I'll hold my hands up and go. But you know what? I'm going to find it out for you, because one it'd be good for me to know, but also it'd be good for my players to know as well.

Speaker 1: 4:44

How do you get to that point? Because that is a huge skill that people could learn and take across all industries being able to put your hand up, especially when you're in the position you're in. Ray, I know across the board and especially across Australia, you're like one of the go-to men if people want to get their players developed. So with that I would and I don't want to assume, but if I was in your position I feel there would be a fair amount of pressure that I would take with that. So be able to be humble enough to stand there and put your hand up and say, hey, I don't have the answers. How do you develop that? How do you learn to get comfortable with that?

Speaker 2: 5:22

Yeah, I think it comes down again. I think more to around because I'm 45 now, but I think it was around 35, 36 when I actually come to the understanding that it's actually okay to not know something or to actually not be sure on something, to go out and ask that question, and I think it's a. It's a great thing to show your players and anyone you work with in life as well, if you can actually you know just hold their hands up and go. I don't know, but I'd really really love to know. But also, I think it comes down to as well actually knowing who you're asking for the information is actually going to give you the real answer as well, and they're qualified enough to give you that answer.

Speaker 2: 5:58

Because, as you know, nowadays it doesn't matter the industry you're in with google, everyone knows everything and it's like and it's a scary world and it's like. That's why you've got to really really challenge yourself as well. When you're asking the questions, make sure you know you're asking it from the people in the know before and you've got to be careful because you know as well as me in the fitness industry and the sports industry, you've got to be careful what you're advising people, because it's a. It's a physical game. People could get hurt and you've got to make sure you research and you know what you're saying, and also we both cross that border of nutrition and diet and all that. So you've got to be really careful on what you're saying.

Speaker 1: 6:35

For sure and obviously you know, with your work in developing players you mentioned you're one of the best at it on the planet, especially for developing junior players, and I know you've established Euro Football Star. You are looking across, obviously, player development, skill development, but then also connecting people, helping them build their mental resilience and I guess, even shaping who they become as young athletes as well. How do you go about doing that from such a young age around? Obviously, when you're a, a kid and I know when I was a kid, like sport was everything and becoming professional was all I wanted, there were things that I neglected that I know you work on from developing people's mindset, their relationship with failure. So how do you go about, I guess, bringing that into the athletes that you work with?

Speaker 2: 7:24

Yeah, I was very lucky when I went down my coaching journey. I started off with the real young players like six to eight years of age, that foundation, and then I was very fortunate to then work through what's called Youth Foundation where I was in charge of 12 to 16s and developing them for the senior game. So I think over that 10, 12-year period in Europe I really learned from a five or six-year-old all the way through and I really thought you know what, if I'm going to do it, I'm going to go from five and six years of age all the way through the ages slowly and learn everything. The big thing and I mean it sounds like common sense to most, but when you're six, seven, eight years of age 100%, you sense to most, but when you're six, seven and eight years of age 100 you've got to have those elements of fun. It's got to be fun for the kids because otherwise they're not going to do the sport. It's that simple. But also as well, I think it's about teaching them responsibility and actually even at the ages of eight and nine, how they can actually take ownership for the game and get more out of the game, and educating them, like you know if you're a professional player, this what you need to do, these are how many hours you need to do, and it's a really, really good way to go at it.

Speaker 2: 8:28

So I feel very blessed that I sort of took myself on that journey. I used to always throw myself in the deep end Like people used to laugh at me because when I was coaching in the pro game in England, I was also working in childcare and daycares. And people are like why are you doing that? For you know you're working at Leicester City and I'm like because I want to learn, if you can coach a four or a five-year-old, you can coach a ten-year-old. And that's what I really done. I really always intuitively knew to chuck myself in the deep end and have a challenge and through that adversity I learned a lot along the way.

Speaker 1: 9:00

And it's awesome that you're able to see that from an early age. It's one thing that I wish I did. Maybe a little bit sooner, probably before jumping into my own business. I feel I wish I took almost like an apprenticeship with other coaching companies or sales companies, just to learn how they do it at scale and maybe with bigger, higher ticket sales. I wish I did that and now I feel like I definitely could do it. But I'm telling myself I'm too far invested into my own company and what I've been doing to sort of take a sidestep to continue developing those skills, even though I still am. But it's always fun to go through those apprenticeship moments, that's for sure.

Speaker 2: 9:39

Yeah, 100% the advice I would give anyone. Anything you want to do in life, try and start right at the bottom and then work your way through. A good example I can give you on this one. There's a guy at Leicester City. He's been there for over 25 years now and he's now one of the heads of football and one of the head scouts started at the club 20 years ago. He was the cleaner in the stadium and he's just a testament to just like start at the bottom and work your way up and you know sometimes when you get to certain jobs in businesses like you might get to that level that you thought you wanted to get and go. Actually, I don't enjoy that. I want to go back to mopping the floors because that was life was a bit easier, but it's good to see it from the bottom all the way through and for some people it's a great way to do it.

Speaker 1: 10:26

Definitely right. I think you definitely need those experiences, Mate. You've been jetting all around the world like nonstop. You're on a plane. Whenever we catch up, you're flying somewhere or coming back from somewhere. You're running seminars. Can you give us a little bit of a rundown on what the seminars you're running, what they're for and, I guess, what the plans are with that?

Speaker 2: 10:49

Yeah, so yeah, I think I've got more air miles than Richard Branson at the moment. I've done 96 flights this year and I'm not doing any more. I'm absolutely done for the year. But yeah, back to the question the events. We run something called Football Forum. Back to the question, the events. We run something called Football Forum.

Speaker 2: 11:07

And what I done was about four years ago I decided to look in a complaints department in football in Australia, in the USA and in Canada and once I started to look in the complaints department I realised there was a lot of issues and I picked out one or two that I thought I could really help. So the first thing I've done was wrote a book called the Professional Player Pathway, where I basically share all of my knowledge and backgrounds working in the pro game, and then I developed a program that we run called Football Forum, which entails the pro player pathway. So we travel the globe looking for players ages from eight years of age all the way through to about 22. It allows them to come out completely free of charge. They get tested on the field objectively, because one of the big complaints in football in Australia and in the USA is that when players go to trials. It's the most subjective, opinionated exercise you will ever see on the planet. So I thought we need to just look at, look at doing that and the next thing is we do an in-house sort of like event that we run and the in-house event is like in a hotel room where we actually share stories, share stories from the book, and we actually talk to people about how they can get involved in becoming a professional.

Speaker 2: 12:24

If you you're a mum and dad, if you want to help your son and daughter on the journey, and then that whole day we then give them a $1,000 report and access to a programme and it basically shows them that, objectively, you're there as a player and to make it as a pro, you need to get there. But then we actually build the steps on how to get there and to make it as a pro, you need to get there. But then we actually build the steps on how to get there and we actually educate the players on how we can do that over a four-year period and to date, since we've done it, we've had in excess of 25,000 players through the programme. It takes about four years to get through the programme. To date we've had about 28, 29 go through it in its entirety and all of them have signed professional scholarships or academy signings in the uk or europe. We've actually unearthed 100 full proof system if you follow it from a to z and what does that look like from following it?

Speaker 1: 13:17

is it more personalized to say I'm a dad, I've got, you know, a young child that is keen to have a crack at the professional league? Is that all personalized, or how does that go about coming into place with the frameworks, or is it something that anyone anywhere can follow?

Speaker 2: 13:34

Yeah, that's one of the complaints that we discovered when we looked in the complaints department was that everything was very set around the team dynamic and what we discovered in the premier league in 2010, I worked on a super project and they spent 1.6 billion pounds on this project on how to develop superstar athletes. So I was very fortunate to have all this started and what we discovered personal development and one-on-one is the best way to develop anyone and anything in life. So this program is an actual individual deep dive into that person. So whether you're eight years of age and you're just starting as a soccer player or as a rugby player, or you're 16 and you've been playing at a really elite level, it doesn't matter. It knows because from grabbing the data, it knows exactly where you are on the journey. And then some of the things that we do on our program is we do things like dna testing, because obviously anyone knows who's got a card. If you've got a diesel car and you put petrol in it, it doesn't work and it's the same in your body. Also, one of the other things all the players are on gps trackers. A lot of parents are like wait, damn, I put my eight-year-old. He's too young to have a gps? No, he's not, because you've got to understand, it's fun and it's engaging and the kids love technology and you've got to start to embrace technology.

Speaker 2: 14:50

One of the other big things that we do is match analysis. So one of the things that kids in Australia and the USA don't get they don't get access to some of the best coaches in the world in football because, admittedly, the game of football is the best in Europe and in England at the Premier League level. So what we do is we connect our players to these coaches in the Premier League to do a match analysis for them, so we're effectively bringing something to their front door that they would never ever be able to get access to. And yeah, I think what we've unearthed is a game-changing program and mission is to leave a legacy. So when I'm not here, no more I hope someone else picks up the reins and realizes that anything's possible if you set your mind to it where did that belief come from, that anything's possible if you set your mind to it?

Speaker 2: 15:34

where, where it come from from me was reading a book about four to five years ago. I always sort of knew it but I didn't know, I didn't have like the sort of the fuel to drive that car along properly. And it comes from our friend, david Goggins, who we've both met before and seen at events. And after reading that book and listening to his audio book, it made me realize how much we're leaving on the table. And you know the journey that you're going down now.

Speaker 2: 16:01

I started about four years ago and I was, you know, I was, I was, I was over, I was overweight, I was, I was drinking, I didn't have a healthy diet. And one day I just decided to put a pair of runners on because I'd listened to David Goggins and I started running. And before I knew it, you know, if you were to say to me, ray, you're going to run 90, 100k training weeks, you're going to run half marathons every weekend, you're going to run eight and nine marathons, you're going to run two ultra marathons, I was a laughed at. You know, there's no way I could run for 80 kilometers like in a race and roll on.

Speaker 2: 16:35

Two years later I did and I started to realize that we are absolutely leaving so much on the table. It's not even funny. And it then kicked me into gear for business and for helping my players. And again, if you would have said to me two years ago in 2024, right, you're going to do 96 flights, you're going to see 25,000 players for your program, I would have just went. Not a chance, there's no way you could do that many. And it's funny when I tell people I think they think I'm lying when I say I've done 96 flights and it's like I've done it, I've got it all. I've got all the flight numbers, I've got it all in my diary. I've kept everything. It's like it's real and it shows you how much we do leave on the table.

Speaker 1: 17:15

How do you juggle that Like? Travel is obviously very exciting exciting, I travel a bit as well but it's also very inconvenient. It takes away a lot of routine. How have you managed to one continue? Obviously you're traveling for work, but you're a father as well. You're continuing to look after your health. You're staying embedded in the community. How do you manage to juggle all of that while, I guess, aggressively growing your business?

Speaker 2: 17:41

Yeah, what we do is we have sort of like quarterly meetings every 12 weeks with me and the staff and the team, and I've got staff in the UK. Now I've got staff in Australia. But one of the things I've learned it's good to forward the plan and it's really important to have a plan and you map everything out. But the two things that I've learned is one is trust. You've got to trust other people around you to do stuff for you, and for most of my life I've always been a little bit of a control freak, because when things go wrong I'm like I should have just done it myself. I don't know why I've trusted in that person. But once you give up a little bit of that trust and let other people do it for you, that's the first big step. I think the second big thing is as well is just working one day at a time and just focus one day, one week at a time and don't look any further ahead than that. I think if you do look like for the next 12 months ahead, you'll get overwhelmed. I mean, I'm already looking at eight international trips already for next year, before we even start the domestic stuff, and I just can't look at that and start micromanaging it stuff, and I just can't look at that and start micromanaging it. I've got to just go okay. Well, that's the plans, but I'm just only going to look one week ahead and just work one day at a time and that's what I found worked for me.

Speaker 2: 18:51

I'll be honest, I did have a bit of burnout last week. I got really ill last week. I was down for about three days when I got back from Europe. But I've got one of these amazing devices called the woooot and it was really phenomenal. It picked me up about 24 hours before I was about to crash and I could sense because the Woot readings were awful, and I just literally put myself to bed for two days and, yeah, I woke up feeling good and I'm back up and running again how important is that, I guess tracking and managing your own energy and wellness to the success in your business and as a father as well?

Speaker 2: 19:28

Yeah, it's super important. I mean, as we met in Function Well, in the gym and I'm a big gym goer I love that whole wellness stuff. I love ice baths, saunas, meditation. I think the biggest thing that I've learned in 2024 is actually it is so important to love yourself and look after yourself, because if you don't, you can't look after anyone else. I mean, I've got two daughters full-time. I've got two dogs, I've got about 14 staff and it's like I can't look after all of them if I can't look after myself. And I'll be honest with you, some days I literally would just go right the daddy's off, the phone's off, the kids are in school, I'm off to the gym for the morning, I'm literally just gonna lie in a sauna for two to three hours and have a swim, and you've got to do that sometimes. And that's the biggest lesson if I can go back and teach myself, anything to my 25 year old-old self would be to love yourself a bit more, because, yeah, I definitely didn't love myself for me to end up like that.

Speaker 1: 20:30

What do you feel changed in that relationship? So, obviously, being at a point where you didn't love yourself and I know that you've gotten off the alcohol as well to the point now where you do love yourself For anyone listening out there how did you want to accept that maybe you weren't in a position where you had a great relationship with yourself? And what did that process then look like to heal and change that?

Speaker 2: 20:50

Yeah, I think it was like actually sitting down. I remember one day writing things down and writing down what I thought was really affecting me, and I always knew deep down that you hear things like drinking's not good for you, bad food's not good for you, but you always just brush it off and I started to look into it a bit more and thought, well, why is drinking not good for you? Is it? Is that subjective opinion, or is that an objective opinion? And once you actually like we spoke about it 10 minutes ago like researching and getting the right information. I've done a bit of research and like even down to like alcohol, like I wouldn't say I was a big drinker but I would have, like you know, a few beers on a saturday and I used to tell myself it was a reward.

Speaker 2: 21:29

And you know, I discovered an amazing book I told you before, called the alcohol experiment, by annie grace, and it was the most amazing book ever because she actually educates you that 99 of people don't choose to start drinking. It's culturally gets given to you when you're 15, 16, 17. You're old enough now, son, you can have a beer, you're working. But what they don't actually realize, like my mum and dad didn't realize, and I don't have a gripe against them for doing it. They didn't have the education then. But by giving someone who's under the age of 21 an alcoholic drink, it actually basically makes you dependent on alcohol, and that's the truth in it. And basically alcohol, as we know, it's ethanol and it's what you put in a car. So as soon as I understood that, I went wait there, I didn't choose to drink first, because dad gave me a beer when I was 16. And the second thing was I now understood why I was still drinking and I was having this reward mechanism, that of a weekend I deserve to have six to eight beers, or whatever it may be.

Speaker 2: 22:27

And then, once I got rid of that hence I stopped drinking about three years ago and, wow, my life has changed so much just from stopping the drink. And then the next thing kicked in was the fitness. Then I started to delve into nutrition and it was like and then you start to see the results, not just in your personal life but in your work life as well, and my advice would be challenge everything that you do in your life and actually write down and look where it actually come from and where it stems from, and if you think it's a good thing and it's it's productive for you in your life, then keep going with it. But if it's not a good thing for you in your life, then stop it. But actually understand why it's not a good thing. And I think once you write it down, it's not a good thing for you in your life, then stop it, but actually understand why it's not a good thing. And I think once you write it down, it's an amazing tool to do a pen and piece of paper.

Speaker 1: 23:10

That's awesome, and obviously I've watched you and you over the last number of years as well, and you're on such an incredible journey, a very inspiring journey. You invest a lot in yourself, your personal development, your professional development, your professional development and, as a result, you've become better across the board in all areas. Who have been some, I guess, pivotal role models, not only in the football space, but in life and business in general? And what does it look like, I guess, when I say investing in them in terms of, like, what have you learned from them? The lengths that you've gone to to be around those people, because I think that's often not spoken about enough, and I know you've done it very well, yeah.

Speaker 2: 23:50

I've invested in a lot of different people over the years and one of the things that I've always been really scared of you always have this fear base of that's $500, that's a lot of money. If I spend that, it means I'm not going to be able to do x, y or z for the next couple of weeks. And once I removed that fear and started not being scared to spend money and commit to doing things like training courses and investing in yourself and I'll be honest, I think I've probably across sports, football and self-development I've probably spent in the region a half a million dollars in my lifetime and I think that's a lot, but for some people it's it's not even close to what some people spend. One of the most influential people I've I've met and I've read a few of his books was the guy called Malcolm Gladwell and he wrote a book called Outliers and he really kick-started all this for me about seven or eight years ago when I started reading his books and it really showed me the benefits of self-development and actually challenging everything around you.

Speaker 2: 24:47

And then, you know, further down the line, as we know, you know I've met, you know I've been to events with a guy called Ethan Donati, I've met one of the biggest in the industry in relation to like branding and self-branding was like a guy called JT Fock, and there's been so many different people I've met like a guy called JT Fock, and there's been so many different people I've met and one of the things that I think I've realized is that just investing in yourself not just from a health perspective, but actually backing yourself and also going to do something that's maybe not directly aligned with your industry, but actually discovering that everything is intertwined when you look into it.

Speaker 2: 25:21

So don't rule out, like you know, if you're not a PT but you're in the game of rugby union, still go and go to a PT conference because you still meet some of the most amazing people on the planet, and some of my best contacts have come from non-football industry and they've really helped me and that's one of the things that I've learned no matter what business you're in, you need to learn about business, you need to learn about money, you need to learn about finance, because if you don't, you're not going to have a business, and you need to make sure you're upskilled because you're not only do you owe it to yourself, you owe it to your staff, but you owe it to, like your players or your customers or your clients, whoever they are, to make sure you look after your business properly as well. Otherwise, you're not going to be able to spread your message and your legacy.

Speaker 1: 26:03

Man. I love that. I think it's so important to collaborate and learn lessons from other industries because quite often if we're faced with a problem which life is full of problems and then learning how to solve them, if you have a fresh set of eyes, it allows for innovation or maybe more efficiency in solving problems. I look at the support that I've got for the 58 marathons and it's so humbling, and I definitely set the bar low in regards to our sponsorship packages. We put together a sponsorship kit for what we could offer and we've exceeded that in terms of. We've literally even still to this day and we've finished our sponsorships got brands wanting to be part of it and people and companies wanting to be part of it, which has blown my mind.

Speaker 1: 26:50

But then when I sit back and I think about my journey over the last 10 years, I've spent in excess of $150,000 in my development and traveling, networking, meeting people. To me, I'm then like, okay, well, it's no surprise. I've met all of these people and they're now part of my network and they believe in me and they want to be part of something as well, which is cool, and I think for me that wouldn't have happened if much like what you were saying, ray. I've gone to events in different industries, I've met people from all walks of life and I've continued to invest in podcasts, in books, to become the best version of myself. And now that I'm attempting to do something extraordinary, there's a whole, I guess, team of Avengers behind me championing that.

Speaker 2: 27:34

Yeah, it's so important. And you realize as well it's not possible on your own. You need support. And that's where I used to go wrong as well in my 20s and early 30s. One, you think you can do it all yourself, but two, you don't realize the pressure you're putting yourself under. And once you start engaging with people and and also being a, you know, humble enough to accept things like sponsorships and support and stuff and that it's a game change because you don't realize. I mean I think you do know, but you know.

Speaker 2: 28:03

You know the way David Goggins has influenced so many people around the planet. You know you're gonna be the next David Goggins. There's gonna be another Raymond's words. Who's gonna pick up your book, who's gonna read your story? And not only are you gonna change Raymond's woods life, lockie, it's the people who Raymond's would then change his lives for. And I look back and think, like people say to me, like who's? Who's that? One of the greatest people you've ever met and one of the most inspirational people. And I always say to David Goggins but at the moment as well, I'll be honest, lockie, it's you, because I know the ripple and the wave that you're going to affect, not for the next five years, for the next 30, 40, 50 years, because people are always going to read about remember that crazy australian guy who run 58 marathons in 50 days, like and people are going to speak about it forever and talk about leaving a legacy. And if one person picks up your book in the future and goes on that journey and betters themselves, then for me it's all worthwhile.

Speaker 1: 29:01

I appreciate that, mate. It does mean a lot and obviously, when you're in the thick of it, you don't necessarily get to view yourself in that, because I do have a big, big task ahead, but that's you know, that's the ultimate goal. And, similar to yourself, goggins, there's so many people who have. Because of them and how they've inspired me, whether they've gifted me a book or they've reached out to me when I needed it or they've done something that I thought was impossible, and they've taught me and supported me along the way. It's allowed me to get to this point and to your point. If I can help, you know, continue to help more people doing what I love, then that's a job well done and it's not going to be easy, but it's part of the journey, and much to yourself, ray.

Speaker 1: 29:41

You've done that through the vehicle of your business and what you're achieving.

Speaker 1: 29:45

I get so inspired every time I see you've given someone a scholarship, you've run another event and you have hundreds of people at these events and you're giving people the opportunity to turn their dreams into reality. Had you not been bold and courageous to step out of what was normal and take the risk to do that and I know there's so much more we could dive into. That would not have been easy, but you've gone out on a limb and you're making people's lives change as a result of that and, once again, every time you post that I'm like I need to go harder, I need to be bigger. So I can thank you in the same way and I hope people that are listening to this just realize the power of the people that you keep in your community. If you have motivated and inspired people doing cool shit and big stuff like it's only going to want to make you elevate, especially when you're looking at it through the lens of this person's not taking from me. They're adding to me.

Speaker 2: 30:41

Yeah, yeah, a hundred percent, and it's all about adding value, and that's one of the big things I've learned over the years.

Speaker 1: 30:46

And Ray, what's the big goal for 2025? I know you said you've got a number of international trips booked. Where can we see you going in 2025?

Speaker 2: 30:56

So big thing is we're about to launch, in January, australia's first free football academy. One of the biggest things in Australia is that parents pay $4,000 to $5,000 a year for fees for football. We've gone out and built my dream, which was to make an academy completely free of charge, so we've done that for 60 boys and 60 girls. My next vision is obviously you know, I've got my book, the Pro Player Pathway we're trying to. The book's already a number one seller globally, but we're trying to get it to the point where we're selling like maybe a million dollars of books a month, because the money that we raise from the book we're putting towards the free academies.

Speaker 2: 31:34

So my vision is I looked in the complaints department in Australia and for 20 years all I've seen is parents, clubs, federations all complaining and moaning about the cost of football. So I thought you know what? Rather than waiting for them to fix it, I'm going to fix it. So what I'm doing is I'm setting up a free academy. In Sydney, in Melbourne, in Adelaide, in Perth, in every main city of Australia. We're going to set up a free academy. So that way, if there's families and kids who can't do football because of the financial constraint, well, no more as that happening. That's my big vision and big dream. So my dream for next year is to get $12 million in book sales and also to fund as many free academies, and not just in Australia. We're going to be planning to go to the USA, canada and also into the Middle East as well.

Speaker 1: 32:20

That's extremely exciting and I'm glad we got to hear that here, because there will be a lot of people who have children who are going to be able to tap into that. But, mate, that is what I love being surrounded by hearing people with goals like that and the conviction that you have behind it and, obviously, the runs you have on the board for the last couple of years. I can't wait to see that come to reality. So, ray, for people who are wanting to know how they can get involved and attend some of your workshops or the academy, where will they be able to find all of that information?

Speaker 2: 32:50

so you can reach out to me on socials, on tiktok, instagram, facebook. It's at the raymonds wood, or you can go to our website, which is euro football starcom and everything's on there, and also, if they dm you well, I'm happy for you to share my information.

Speaker 1: 33:06

Awesome. I'll do that so for everyone listening along, if you're driving or whatever, just make sure you check the show notes below and it will be all linked there. But, ray mate, you've inspired me. You continue to inspire me. I look forward to following along what you achieve in 2025. It's going to be huge and once again, I know that along these days where I have some rough trots running on the road, I'll open my Instagram and you'll have posted doing a workshop or giving a scholarship and that's going to make me want to work harder in those down days. So I appreciate that. It's been honestly, truly great getting to see your success. So thank you so much for coming on. I know you're a busy man.

Speaker 2: 33:42

Have a incredible new year, an incredible christmas with the family and enjoy some downtime yeah, and see you and your family as well, mate, and I will see you in the morning for your run as well.

Speaker 1: 33:52

Seven o'clock seven o'clock mate. So everybody, that's raymond wood from euro football star. He is doing incredible things as an agent and helping develop young players not only in aust Australia but all around the world. So if you want to get in contact, hit the show notes below. You'll be able to find him at TheRaymondWood, on all social platforms and through EuroFootballStarcom. Thank you, guys. My name is Lachlan Stewart. As always, do something today to be better for tomorrow.