For those of you who don't know me I played in Sweden for Uppsala Basket for 4 1/2 season before moving to Germany this past August. The move was a big change any many ways as there are major differences between the two leagues. Personally, there were some adjustments that I had to make.
One of the biggest adjustments I had to make was with how often we practice. Here in Germany we practice twice a day for 2 hours each time. That isn't too much(actually it might be), but when you are accustomed to only practicing once a day for 1 1/2 hours, maybe 2 hours that's a big change. My body had to adjust to that kind of schedule, and throughout that early period I did have a few minor injuries. Our coach just recently started to cut practices and give us one day off during the week. Another major difference between the two leagues is that we only play once a week here, and that is usually on a Saturday or Sunday. Which means if you so happen to lose on that one day(which we did lose on this past Saturday by the way) then you have to wait a whole week in order redeem yourself. This leaves a long week of practice and a lot to think about until the next game especially if you didn't play as well as you would have liked.
In Sweden we would play at least twice a week which makes it easier to get in a game rhythm, as well as to get that last game out of your head if it so happens not to be a good one. Fortunately we have only loss 3 games so I haven't had that problem too often.
There is also a difference in the number of import players you are allowed to have as well as the number of Germans you have to have on the floor at all times. Many teams in our league have at least 3 Americans. Our team has 5 Americans, and you are required to have at least 2 Germans on the floor at all times. We also have the German Cup which we play against teams from all leagues in Germany. This schedule various, but you usually play once a month and if you win you advance to the next round. As a matter of fact we made it to the final four which will be played in May. My experience here in Bayreuth, Germany has been great thus far and I look forward to sharing more of it with you during this week!!!
This week is a bit unusual because we have been having Wednesdays off, but yesterday we went to Frankfurt for a practice game against the Deutsche Bank Skyliners of Frankfurt. I think our coach decided to make this change partly because of our lost this weekend and because we don't play until Sunday this week. It also did not hurt to get in a game against someone else other than ourselves.
Although, we went to Franfurt a little short handed with a few of our players out with minor injuries, it gave others a chance to gain confidence.
We did not keep score so there was no official 'final score' of who won or who loss, but we played really well and got better as a team. It was a good challenge for us as this team was in 5th place in the BBL and has some very good players! Now we have 3 more days of practice to prepare for our game on Sunday.
