What’s up World?
Today is Saturday. Usually, I spend my Saturdays by resting up from the game and road trip that we had the day before. However, this weekend we only have one game. We play Plymouth tomorrow at home at 2pm. We had our first home opener last Sunday and it was a great turnout. More importantly, we got the victory. The crowd was very supportive and showed great energy throughout the entire game. I was surprised by how rowdy it was. Surrey is normally very quiet. I guess our fans see our home games as an opportunity to blow off some steam. I loved it!
As I’ve mentioned before, professional basketball players often have a lot of downtime between practice and games. If you don’t figure out a productive way to use this downtime, you will catch yourself staring at the walls. That is part of the reason why I started this blog. When I was in Portugal, I had so much downtime that I almost lost my mind. I started this blog as a social outlet because I had no social life. Fortunately for me, the U.K. is different. But, I still have a lot of downtime. It’s important to have other interests outside of basketball.
As players of any sport, out entire identity is often based on our sport. Everything we do, how we carry ourselves, how we dress, etc. is often rooted in the sport that we’ve played since we were kids. However, as we grow older, we start to find other interests outside of the sport. In addition, finding these other interests help us shape our identity and become more well-rounded people. For example, I’ve learned that writing is something that I’m pretty good at (I hope you guys agree with me) and I’ve found a passion for cooking and trying new dishes. Also, I’ve learned to appreciate all of the little things in life that we often take for granted.
Another thing that I think is very important is getting away from the sport and “rebooting your mind”. As players, we spend a lot of time in the gym, working on our craft, doing the same routine over and over. After a while, this becomes very redundant. That’s why I think it’s important to stay out of the gym certain days and do something that you normally wouldn’t do. For an example, I took a walk today in Surrey Hills. I wanted to clear my mind and walk in nature. On the other hand, everybody is different. Some people might not feel the same need to take a mental break from the game. Certain people are so consumed with the game that when the ball stops bouncing, they find themselves feeling empty and lost. I can relate to this feeling because that’s what I was going through last fall when I didn’t have a contract.
Furthermore, I think it’s only right to explore as much as you can while your living in these different places. It would be sad if I went to all of these different places and didn’t explore the sights and sounds. I think it’s easier to get acclimated to your new environment if you try to live as a local citizen. If you don’t explore the sights, foods and cultures, I can assure you that it will be more difficult to get comfortable where you’re at. When I was in Portugal, I tried different types of foods. There was a bakery right below my apartment where I would go almost every morning and try different custards, cookies and cakes.
There were times in college when I wondered what it would be like to be a regular student. When you’re a student-athlete in college, your entire schedule is set around your practice hours. At the end of the day, you really spend more time in the gym than you do in the classroom. This is kind of ironic because they always say “student first”, but that’s a topic for a different day. There were times when a certain event would take place on campus but I couldn’t go because of practice or games. It would really hit me when people used to leave campus for winter or summer break to go and see their families and enjoy the holidays. I would always see my friends getting picked up by their parents. Meanwhile, we had to stay on campus because of hoops.
I’ve learned to appreciate all the experiences that basketball has brought, even if it’s not related to the sport. One day, the ball will stop bouncing for me too. When that day comes, I want to make sure that I took advantage of every opportunity that I had while I was still playing, whether it was basketball related or not.
Here are some pictures I took today while I was walking in Surrey Hills.
#SHiNE
Tune of the Day
– E
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