So if you know me at all, you know that playing basketball is one of my passions. The last month I had been itching to play in any sort of manner: pickup, real games, or even just finding a place to dribble. Finally, a couple weeks ago, my host mom put me in contact with a trainer at a gym, who put me in contact with another trainer, who told me to go to a place in Triana Tuesday night at 9 to play.
Now, I don’t live in Triana, its across the river and about a 25 minute walk from where I live in El Centro, by the cathedral. That Tuesday, I gave myself about 40 minutes, knowing I could get to Triana in about 25. The problem was, I didn’t have an actual address, only a street name, and a door in Spain could lead to a school, restaurant or gym and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference from the outside.
Needless to say, I was lost for a solid 45 minutes, wandering up and down the street and asking people on the street if they knew where a basketball court was. Finally, a man pointed me in the right direction, and I found it. The trainers (its not coaches or practices here) and players welcomed me, and I played what seemed like pickup with them. I found out at the end that the team is from the college in Triana, and that they played in real games. This new development had me really excited, but I wasn’t about to pressure the head trainer to let me play after just meeting him. He told me to come back the next Tuesday night, and I left on a great endorphin high, relieved that I found somewhere to play and excited about the possibility of playing organized Spanish basketball.
The next Tuesday came, and I made it to training a lot easier, even showing up early. Only five other players showed, so we played 3-on-3 for the hour and a half, and that was it. This had me a little confused because I was told this was a college team, and yet we were only training once a week, by playing 3-on-3 with a third of the team showing up. This was vastly different from even YMCA basketball back in the states.
Anyway, the trainer asked me if I would like to play in the official games with the team, which I immediately said yes to. ¡Que suerte! (What luck!) However, each player needs an ID card to play, and normally to get that you have to submit your Spanish nationality papers. Obviously, I don’t have those, but the trainer said he would ask if my passport would suffice, and would get back to me.
With a lot of luck and some good timing, the trainer and I managed to set up my player card, and I was able to play on Sunday! The trainer played me last off the bench, not something I am unfamiliar with but not something I was expecting either. In comparison, I think I am on the same skill level as just about the starters, but I haven’t had a lot of time to practice since getting to Spain. Anyway, I finally got in, caused a steal on a long inbounds play, was passed the ball, and was immediately…called for a travel? Get this, in Spain you have to put the ball on the floor before advancing and planting your first foot. Totally different from the way its called in the US! I was called for it twice on Sunday, with the ref looking at me almost pitifully as he explained it for a second time.I had the trainer and players explain it to me after the game as well, and it is something that will definitely take some work to change. Another Spanish culture shock!
Beside the strange travel rule, the game went great, we won by 20 and I got to play organized basketball for the first time in a few years. I’m so relieved to have a constant place to play, plus I will have a big group of Spaniards to interact with, which will be awesome for my abroad experience as a whole. Now I just have to figure out how not to travel, and things will be good! I couldn’t have imagined a better basketball situation than the one I have here. Ballin!