Tyler Ames

Hey Craig.

Quick snapshot of my footy experience. I started playing for the Denver Bulldogs after meeting an Aussie who I recruited into my Public Accounting firm and befriended. He was a big West Coast fan and got me sucked in by watching games prior to introducing me to the team. I played in the reserves team for Denver at the Nationals in Austin in 2015 I believe and ended up winning a medal for most consistent. I met a another Aussie who played for Austin and he got me connected to a few at the USAFL to start discussions around becoming the first American to start the exchange through Darwin. I went through an interview process that next 2016 season and was selected at Nationals that season and left from Denver to Darwin to live with Mark Motlop and Play for the Darwin Buffaloes in January 2017. I played multiple games in the reserves and got selected to play in a Senior Match at the TIO oval on a Friday night game against nightcliff to end the regular season. After finishing the season I drove from Darwin to Victoria through the middle of the country with one of my Aboriginal teammates.
I played a couple practice matches with Nyah west which is in a country footy league near Swan Hill. I was then placed with a family in Croydon and Played footy for Montrose which was in the top division of the EFL. At the start of the season I started off the bench in the reserves, the next season I was selected as the Captain of the reserves and started and played the majority of every match and by my third season I was selected as a Senior Leadership Captain but again played the entire season in the reserves. That season I was asked during our bye round to transfer for 1 rd to play in Corowa in a Country footy league which allowed me to play a game in NSW. I flew back to Houston to try out for the Revos in February 2020 just before the pandemic, obviously that was cancelled as well as the entirety of the 2020 season here in Victoria. Then last season I was recruited to play for Vermont one of the most successful clubs in Victoria who are also in the Premier divison of the EFL which is just one step below the VFL here. I believe we had around 16 guys listed in the VFL from our club. I was able to get a transfer during another Bye week to play for a club in Queensland just outside of Brisbane. Our year was cut short this past season due to another covid lockdown but the Seniors finished top of the ladder and our Reserves finished 2nd top. During my time here in Victoria I've played a few additional games (illegally during bye weeks) with different clubs in the VAFA which is the amateur league around Melbourne as well as in the RDFL (western League) and got chosen to represent the Rockbank Rams in an RDFL Allstar game in January 2020 which also raised money for bushfire relief.
That's a bit of the journey to this point, I've been fortunate to have both met and played with many AFL stars (mostly unbeknownst to me at the time haha) and had just a slew of experiences throughout my nearly 5 years in Australia. It was never a plan to stay more than 2 years but I've carved out a pretty amazing life here and am pursuing massive dreams outside of footy here in Aus as well as still pursuing representing the US for the Revos in the International Cup in 2023.