Things you should do while living the Pro life

No matter where you are playing or how long you are playing overseas, in my opinion there are certain things you just shouldn’t miss out on because they are life experiences and fun. I just listed the things that came to my mind; the list can be extended at any time ;-)

 

#1 SIGHTSEEING!!!

Being in a different country offers you new things and one of those are sightseeing attractions and architecture. Especially Americans don’t have so many possibilities because America was colonized later than Europe and doesn’t have so ancient buildings. It doesn’t matter what country you are in, you can find it anywhere. Also, each country has their own architecture style, while the south countries are similar, they are i.e. completely different from Russia. Also, it gives you something to do, while you don’t have practice very often, if you play in a semi-professional team.

#2 Get lost

This goes right along with sightseeing and is most likely to happen, if you go sightseeing, but it is a great way to experience the real life of the town/city you are in and it gives you a possibility to get to know other people or practice the language, while asking for the way.

#3 Try a typical dish for your country

That takes a little bit of courage, if you try things such as snails in France or squid with ink in Spain, but it will be fun and worth it. You should definitely try a typical dish for your country, you might even like it. Of course a home cooked meal is better than any in a restaurant.

#4 Learn another language

This won’t be easy and a long term task, but it will benefit you in getting around in the country you are in and meeting new people. Also, it will be a good thing to learn another language and you will understand any foreign friends you have, who learned once your language. It will be quite difficult for the first time, but with any language you are learning new, it will get easier because they are similar to each other.

#5 Meet people outside your team

Definitely meet other people! They will benefit from it just as you benefit from them. They might take you sightseeing or help you learn the language even better.

#6 Explore the nightlife

The nightlife of each country is also quite different. Some cultures prefer to hang out in bars, others go to the club and party and then again others just have simple house parties. Also, the music taste differs, but even though you might don’t like it, it can be a new way of meeting people and is definitely fun, if everybody is running to a certain song on the dance floor and getting their dance on and you never heard the song before.

#7 Use public transportation

Especially Americans are used to having their car and barely ever use public transportation except you life in a huge city such as New York or Chicago. In Europe, public transportation is very popular. Not everybody owns a car, and gas is expensive. Next to public transportation riding a bicycle is the most common way to get around. However, with public transportation the risk of getting lost is lower and you will get to meet new people as well.

Pro is not like Pro

There are quite big differences between Professional Basketball players and I am not talking about salary differences. It rather depends on the professionalism of the team that signs you.

There are more true professional teams on the men side than on the women side, which has to do with the fact that men basketball is still more popular than women basketball and therefore attracts more people, which results in more money.

Real professional teams have several professionals, a big coaching staff, trainers, cheerleaders, and everything you are used to from college. Usually those teams practice twice a day with the whole team or at least the professionals. You are able to go workout whenever you want, get treatments, have a car on your own, have game preparation by watching film and scouting reports, and most importantly everybody speaks English.

However, there are also semi-professional teams. Normally those teams have one, maybe two pros, and the rest are players, who don’t play for a living. They either study or have other jobs. Therefore, those teams practice only once a day and rather very late, when everybody is off of work or done with class. Also, all things you might expect aren’t there. You might don’t even have a doctor and need to tape your own ankles! Sounds crazy? Yea, I agree, but I can tell you that much…I have been there and I have done it! Sometimes those teams also lack discipline and even though practice is scheduled at 8pm, some players just walk in the gym at 8.10pm or don’t show up at all! However, this can’t concern you! You are the professional, who gets paid to be there for every practice and to be there on time!

So once you signed your first professional contract and you might think this is going to be better than college…it might be, but the chances are higher that it won’t be because chances of being signed by a semi-professional team are high!

That means you need to expect that you might practice just three times a week, that there won’t be a trainer to take care of you before the practice or that you won’t get any practice jerseys or sweats. You might be the only one in the gym an hour before the game, while the rest of your team slowly arrives 20minutes later or you have a game with just 7 players, because two decided to go on vacation. There won’t be a scouting report or video session that tells you if the player you going to defend is a penetrator or shooter, but you are still expected to perform and that even better than in college. Especially if you play in a semi-professional team, you have to kill! You are the only pro and you are paid to be the best player on your team. There won’t be any other player, who can step up and score 25pts that night, and even if so, you are suppose to be the top player and not some unpaid teammate! That’s why the pressure in a semi-professional team is higher.

On the other hand, you won’t have as much conditioning practice as you had in college. Now you might think “my dream came true!”, but that isn’t the whole truth. Coach just doesn’t have time to work on your conditioning with only three or four times practice a week. You will be asked to do it on your own or better you won’t have any other choice, if you want to be the superstar of your team averaging a double-double each game.
Practice can be hard at times as well since some players might miss practice for different reasons. Those teams lack discipline in general, but you can’t forget the fact that those players play Basketball just for fun and might don’t care as much as you do!

Also, in a semi-professional team aren’t too many team bonding activities outside of practice because most of your teammates won’t have time to do anything, which will leave you to yourself most of the time. This can be quite depressing and unsatisfying, if you are left in a place with the next biggest town miles away, and no car or any other possibility of transportation. Sometimes you won’t have a phone and need to get the internet set up on your own, so you should b prepared for things like this.

Also, think about those things when you pack. If you play in a semi-professional team you won’t have practice gear or basketball shoes provided, which means take it with you! Basketball shoes are way more expensive in Europe. Just make sure u don’t expect the wrong things, so you won’t get disappointed and will be able to have a good season in a semi-professional team because if you have a really good season, you will be most likely signed by a higher professional team the next season!

The Shadow-Side of being a Pro

Don’t get the title wrong, I love what I am doing because Basketball is the love of my life and I just saw this summer, while I was at home waiting for a team to fly me in, that it’s not time to stop yet even though sometimes thoughts of settling down are hunting me. However, I wanted to write about the not so pleasant side of being a professional athlete because I am sure many people aren’t even aware of those things. Unless you are playing professional, have a family member or a real close friend, who is a going through all this, you probably haven’t thought about any of the follow things and I want to show others that all that glitters isn’t gold. Also, it might help you make a decision for yourself, if you think about entering the business, if you are really made for it because believe me, not everybody is!

The Waiting

Normally all college-athletes, who are having the dream of playing overseas, are aware of the fact that it will be hard to make a team at first. Of course you would think, if you played at a school like UNC or UK, you will have it a lot easier than others or if you put up 20ppg, the offers will just fly to you. However, that’s not often the case. Not many European coaches or teams know the difference between a high ranked NCAA I school and any NCAA I school, or NIAI I what’s that? It’s D1, so it must be better than NCAA II, is what some of them are thinking. Also, it’s usually not about what you know or what you can do; it’s about who you know! That’s not just a fact in everyday life, but also in Basketball. All right, you know you probably will have a hard time getting on a team your first year, but you think you just have to get your foot in the door. As soon as you make a team you can dominate and get off to better teams in better leagues the year after. Well, have you ever thought about that the waiting process never ends? Yea, even though you had a good season, you probably will have to wait the next season again and that because of several things:

- Economic crises – even though they say we passed it, it’s still there. Teams are pokering with the players, waiting long time to sign them because they hope they will get desperate and sign for less, which in many cases works

- Half-season contracts – it seems that more and more teams start the season with less foreign players or inexperienced ones to see how the season will go. Around December/January they face the fact that it is not enough and they will add more players to their rosters. However, that means many professionals are offered only a half-season contract, which means less money and longer waiting.

- League restrictions – there are restrictions for foreign players, some leagues can only sign a certain number of Bosman (European) players or have a limit for Americans or foreigners in general. That means there are limited job opportunities and you might only get a job, if another foreigner got injured or didn’t perform well and gets send home. That also means, you will have to wait until this happens, which most likely won’t be in the preseason.

- Cheap players – especially Americans have to live with the fact: There are a lot of you!!! And you can always find one just as good as you, who will play for less money because “hey, I just need to get my foot in the door!”

- Your satisfaction – you might have offers, but they aren’t good enough for you, you want to wait for a better paid job, a higher league or an offer in a different country, so you turn offers down, which at the end increases the wait.

Basically the wait never ends, unless you get signed by a team and the team wants to keep you and signs you for several years. In my own career, I actually had to wait each year longer than the season before and there wasn’t any relation to my performances the season before. You will have to ask yourself, can you live with not knowing where and when to go to your next job or even if?

For friends or relatives, you need to be patient with the person, who goes through the waiting process. Nothing is worse than to ask every few days, if they know where they are going yet or if they have signed yet. You will find out soon enough, but don’t be making them feel any worse, while they are already impatiently waiting.

The Unknown

One day you might count to one of the lucky people, who made it…you got signed! Or you might have a team interested in you, which flies you in for a tryout, either way you aren’t safe (yet).

A very good sign is, if you have a signed contract and a flight ticket, one of them isn’t enough! I have heard from many players, who were suppose to go to play for a team and it never happened. I had to experience it on my own this year. I signed a contract, but never received a plane ticket. Two months later, I decided to opt out of my contract and sign with a different team, and it was to my own good because the league, where I had signed before, got cancelled!

However, let’s say you got that contract and the plane ticket, you still don’t know what the upcoming year holds for you. Will the new team really live-up to all the things they promised in the contract? Will you get along with your teammates, the coach, and roomies (if you have any)? Will you fit into the style of basketball that your new team plays? How are the culture and the people in the new country? You don’t know, but here is only way to find out, experience it!

Also, you need to think about are you ready to go through this every year? Okay, if you play a good season, you might get signed by your team or another team in the league or maybe a league above, which gives you the opportunity to get even better used to the country. However, the opposite can be the case, too. So far it’s my third year of playing professionally, and I have been every year in a different country. Are you ready to experience the unknown just like the waiting every year? If you are a parent, husband or wife, can you handle not knowing how far your partner will be away from you next year or if you can go with him or not?

The Adaptation

Even though most things will be new to you, you are asked to adapt. This process is harder for American players than for European players since even though there are differences among the countries in Europe, they are still having things in common.

The adaptation process goes two ways – on and off the court. Which one will be easier depends on the player and their previous experiences. If you transferred or had a coaching change, the on the court adaptation might come easier to you. On the court you need to adapt to your teammates, the coaching staff, and the style of basketball your coach wants to play. The style of basketball your coach wants you to play and your role in the team will affect your performance and therefore your future. Coach might prefer a set-play offense, while you are a run-and-gun player, so you will be asked to adapt. Also, some coaches prefer to run their sets all the way so the young players learn how to be disciplined, while you are rather an experienced player, who reads the defense or can play 1on1, so that you don’t need any sets. Adaptation is also needed, if you are asked to play another role. You might be a true shooting guard, but one of the point guards get injured and now you have to bring the ball or you are a big outside player, who has the ability to play the 2 to 4 position, but the new coach rather wants you to play inside and not shoot any threes this season. Then it is on you, coach requests, you try your best to adjust.

Another thing to adjust to is the language. Of course in real professional teams with many Pros, the language is most likely English, but did you ever think about that more than half of your team and your coach might don’t speak the same language as you? Sure, now you might say that isn’t my problem, coach knows I only speak English. Uhm, yea coach might doesn’t care either, but soon you will. Latest when you don’t know how to tell your point guard to give you the ball up high instead of a bounce pass or how to tell your post player to call out the screen loud enough, so you don’t run into it all the time.

The language barrier is also an important factor off-the court, whenever you have a team-bonding activity everybody is talking Finnish and you have no idea how to get involved in the conversation or on road trips you have to watch movies in Spanish. This also hits you, if you need to go to the store and buy something, the pointing method doesn’t always work.

How about the food? I know how most Americans love scrambled eggs and bacon in the morning or some fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. Well, to tell you the truth unless you can cook it yourself or mom comes to visit that aren’t common dishes in Europe. Not only the food, but also the living is quite different. You won’t find air conditioning, dryers and dish washers as often in Europe. Also, you might want to consider using public transportation instead of your car since gas prices in Europe are way higher than in the US.

Another factor about the adaptation is your relationship with your family. Are you really close to them? Do you call them every day? Can you make it 8-10 months without seeing them again? Can they make it? I know you might think now, I was apart from them in college, I can do it. But going overseas is different from college because going home every month and talking on the phone every day won’t be possible when you are across the ocean miles away. You might have kids, a husband or a wife, who you can’t take with you and you need to consider this very carefully because I know a lot of players, who got home-sick and had to stop the basketball life overseas. However, friends and family can make it easier for you as well. If you have a close one playing professionally, help them to get used to the European life, maybe learn the language together even if you aren’t in the country, be supportive and help them to stay positive.

If you are an open-minded person, try to explore new things, and can stand on your own, you will have a valuable experience overseas.

The Pressure

Along with the adaptation comes the pressure. You are asked to perform and the excuse of getting used to the new team will only last for a couple weeks. Therefore, you are the professional. You are supposed to adjust quickly, be able to play any style of basketball, score, rebounds, and get your teammates involved. Who doesn’t perform, goes home! This isn’t just the case in the first couple weeks, when your try-out period is going on, but also during the season especially if you play in a team, where you are the only pro or only one other foreign player. You are asked to perform, you can’t take nights off! Also, if you get hurt or sick, you have to step on the court and give your all. Ask yourself, can you handle the pressure?

For the outside world, have you ever considered that it is hard to bring it every night to the table? Sure you think, they are doing what they love, but it isn’t always positive!

The Love and the Hate

The love and the hate is what are going to happen to everybody at some point. When you come into your new team, there are people, who are going to love you immediately. They are glad to have you; they see you as strengthening of the team to get more wins. And then, there are the people, who are going to hate on you. They are jealous right from the start, be it because you make more money than them, be it because you take their playing time away, be it because you immediately became cool with whoever was their best friend before, be it because coach loves you or be it just because you are living your dream and they aren’t.

You just got to overlook the hate and don’t let this affect the game of your team. You can’t be friends with everybody, and each year it will happen to you that you become good friends with some of your teammates, from whom you will never hear again as soon as you are gone and then there are always one or two, who will stay in touch with you even if they haven’t seen you in years.

And even though the love and the hate can affect the game of your team, you probably have to face the same issues in any other kind of job because there will always be people, who love you and people, who hate you.

The Countdown

I’m sure every professional athlete knows what I’m talking about. There are certain times in a season, where you just think about going home. Usually it is the time after you have been 2-3 months at the new place, and some event is about to happen. Most players start the countdown for the first time in November. You have been since August/September at the new team and Christmas is around the corner, so you get excited to go home.

The same is about to happen in February/March again, when the end of the season is ahead of you. It’s not that you want the playing to be over or don’t like it at the new place (although that sometimes is the case as well), but you are just excited and happy to see the fam, get your favorite food cooked by the best cook in the world (your mom), hang out with all your friends and summer is right around the corner. Even though this excitement carries you through the hard time, the countdown time is one of the hardest times in the season.

For family and friends, I think it is the best to support your overseas playing relative/friend even more during this time. Start making plans with them, when you get to see them, which will have them something to look forward to, and make the time pass by quicker.

The worst things that could happen

I know this sound really negative and you think you don’t always have to assume that the worst happens, but those are things that are quite common and the more time you spend overseas the more likely it is to happen to you.

The worst for anyone is to lose a loved one, while you’re half around the continent. Even though it is already hard to know that someone close to you is sick or had an accident, losing the one you love, is the worst. You need to know that you can’t just always leave. Sure, if there is no other way than to go home, you will go, but you need to consider that the chances of losing your job are high. Most teams will replace you. Also, if you stay and this has an effect on your performance, the pressure comes back at you to get those wins for your team.

There are two other things, which are right next in line about the worst things to happen. One is injury and the other one not getting paid, sometimes the one leads to the other.

Most athletes have been injured before and know that it is a hard time, but this time you are a pro, you can’t do your job because of it and might even lose it. Also, if you are injured long time it will affect your future because it will have an effect on your stats and on the amount of offers you will have for next season. Also, you need to think about what if the life of basketball as a pro is over for you because of a serious injury.

Not getting paid happens more often than you think. Teams are broke, sponsors step back, and the management promised things they couldn’t keep – the list is long. And if basketball is your job, your way of making money and you don’t get paid, then you have a problem. Not only is it a bad feeling that you gave your all for already two months and haven’t seen a cent, but also what if you sit somewhere in Italy and don’t know how to get home? No plane ticket, the team has no money to get you one; you don’t have any because you haven’t been paid, so how do you get home? Ever thought about being caught in an apartment in Europe without light and water? Sounds kind of unrealistic, but has happened before! The team went broke and couldn’t pay for electricity or water; on top of that you don’t have money to buy food. This aren’t things that happen all the time and I don’t want to scare you away with stories like this; I just want to show the risks a professional athlete has to face by the life they live, because from the outside it always looks so great.

Another thing that made it on “the worst things to happen”-list is having no internet. You might think now, that’s not as bad, but believe me for a professional athlete it is! It is their way of communicating with friends and family back home, watching TV in a language they understand, finding out what’s happening in the world, and check all basketball related things.

Of course there are other things that aren’t as pleasant that can happen, i.e. not having hot water for two months, living 45min out of town, and not having a car, having no workout possibilities during the day, but they are all still manageable.

With this I want to close the shadow side of a professional athlete. I hope I opened the eyes of some people, who always think we have the greatest job on earth, and that I could help some players to make up their mind about what they want to do. Please feel free to leave comments! Have a nice day!