\n Interview\n <\/p>\n
\n Oscar Berry sat down with Melbourne Media to share his excitement about beginning his AFL journey in red and blue\n <\/p>\n
FOR 23-year-old defender Oscar Berry, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind – and the excitement of officially becoming a Demon is starting to sink in.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s exciting,\u201d Berry told Melbourne Media.
\u201cI\u2019ve been eager to get over here for a long time, so it\u2019s pretty surreal being here at the club and taking it all in. I\u2019m just excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
From college to an AFL dream<\/p>\n
Berry\u2019s journey to Melbourne is unlike most. Growing up in Melbourne, he played junior football with Aberfeldie before moving to the United States to pursue college basketball shortly after beginning his time with the Western Jets.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoving over to the States, the one thing that was holding me back was missing footy,\u201d he said.
\u201cI\u2019m super excited to get back to the game and play a sport that I\u2019ve been playing since I was six.\u201d<\/p>\n
After a few years away, picking up the Sherrin again has felt natural.
\u201cWhen I was in the States, it was a struggle finding someone who could kick it back to me,\u201d he laughed.
\u201cBut now that I\u2019m back in Australia, I\u2019ve already met up with a couple of the boys, and it\u2019s been really good just to get the ball back in my hands and get some leather poisoning.\u201d<\/p>\n
A unique opportunity<\/p>\n
Berry\u2019s signing came via the AFL\u2019s Category B Rookie pathway – one that perfectly suited his background and athletic profile.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Category B rookie was always in the back of my head,\u201d he said.
\u201cGiven that I\u2019d played four years of college basketball, that opportunity was there.
We reached out through my agent – who had a connection through my local footy club – to see if there\u2019d be any interest, and there was. Melbourne was one of those clubs that really had a vision for me and how I could impact the club. It just worked out perfectly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Development and direction<\/p>\n
That vision – and the club\u2019s emphasis on growth – was what sealed the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really development-focused, especially since I\u2019ve been out of the game for so long,\u201d Berry explained.
\u201cThey really took the time to explain how they\u2019d develop me into a player that could impact the game. With Kingy coming in, it\u2019s a brand-new vision and a fun style of football, and I\u2019m really excited for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Family foundations<\/p>\n
Sport runs deep in the Berry family. His father\u2019s work in high performance and his brother\u2019s experience in the NFL have shaped Oscar\u2019s professional mindset.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been big influences,\u201d he said.
\u201cThey\u2019ve shown me what it means to be a professional. My brother\u2019s taken me into locker rooms over there and introduced me to some big-name players – it\u2019s been a super cool experience.
He\u2019s really taken me under his wing when it comes to talking with agents, coaches, and just understanding what it means to be a pro.\u201d<\/p>\n
Off-field energy<\/p>\n
For those yet to meet him, Berry describes himself simply:
\u201cSuper joyful. I\u2019m always smiling, always finding something to do – you\u2019ll never find a dull moment with me,\u201d he said.
\u201cI\u2019m very charismatic, very positive, very optimistic about everything.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Interview Oscar Berry sat down with Melbourne Media to share his excitement about beginning his AFL journey in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-250890","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-text"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250890","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}