A Life with basketball (player–coach)
Over a decade, my life has been around basketball. Constant travelling, moving, packing, getting to know many places, many people, many cultures and languages.
I am not going to lie. It can be very hard sometimes, but we should always look at the bright side.
I firmly believe that things happen for a reason and we should take full advantage of them, when they present themselves.
My husband switched careers, going from being a player to become a coach, but the basketball lifestyle hasn’t really changed. On the contrary. It seems like there is more basketball around, and let’s face it, it’s not really a safe occupation, where you can get fired within few lost games in a row.
My take, and my duty, is to be supportive and, many times, to be independent and having time to myself.
Let’s just say, that I have no problem of doing what I like the most, and that is to travel and explore (as you can see on my Instagram profile).
I have met many amazing other basketball wives, being in the same position as myself. And with some of them we create beautiful memories and good friendship, to support each other. I have seen the struggle some of them were having, mainly due to culture differences, and of course, language barriers.
My recommendation is to try to learn at least little bit of language the locals speak, because that’s the best way to come closer to your surroundings. In that case, you are able to communicate better with people, and trust me, most people all around the world appreciate the effort, a foreigner makes to speak their native tongue, especially the ones that are very hard to learn and speak.
My husband taught me Czech over a decade ago, just the basic stuff, really, and made sure that my pronunciation is very good. Guys, you wouldn’t believe how much difference it makes to be able to understand and communicate with other Czech people around me. My time in Prague has been great, mainly since I understand them, and they understand me (well, most of the time…wink).
And then it’s the part of being adventurous. I have always been this type of a person, that gets easily bored doing the same stuff and I can’t stay put too long in one place.
Therefore, exploring is the best way to use my time, and I absolutely love it. I understand that we are all different, and not everyone is the way I am. But you can always get to know or be aware of someone close by, who will be the catalyst and get you out of your routine, which can be boring sometimes.
That’s why it is important that the basketball wives should be more in contact, share their experiences and help each other out. We all live a life that it’s not easy but at the same time, if used properly, offers many things that many wives just can’t have.
So, let’s embrace the fact that we get to live this type of life, many times, it’s a matter of only few years. Well, in my case, I have been living this life for 13 years now, and it looks like a new adventure is a waiting to happen. Stay tuned!