Hi Teammates!
Basketball… As I had played so poorly the season before, my agent was struggling to find me a new contract. To stay in shape while I waited, I agreed to a short-term contract with my old club Kapfenberg in Austria. I would play for them during the preseason while I was looking for my next team. I participated in the preseason games and won the Austrian Supercup title before the regular season started, and then I was off to England. In England, I played for the Leicester Riders in the BBL (1st League). I had played against them the two years before while I was in Portugal and made an impression on their coach. We kept in contact and eventually I signed to play there. My season was great for my confidence and I played well. I think I needed that after the disappointing season in Oldenburg. As a whole though, my experience in England was like a rollercoaster. We were losing more than I had expected and eventually the coach that brought me in was fired. We had many injuries, but with those injuries, I was able to find a new level to my game because I was forced to play the point guard almost half the season and I flourished. I knew I would not return to Leicester after the season was finished, but I was thankful for the opportunity to add a new dimension to my game.
Life… Socially, Leicester was one of my favorite cities that I was fortunate to live in. I had a blast there. I lived in a huge house with one of my teammates and we had many long nights of either pub-hopping (or crawling haha) or deep discussions that lasted into the early mornings. British people know how to have a good time and I fully embraced that! It was fantastic to live in a place where English was spoken. I was so used to having to learn or understand new languages from the places I lived previously. Another positive aspect was that when my coach got fired, I got to host his radio show on the BBC (British Broadcasting Company for those of you wondering). I enjoyed doing those interviews and talking about the upcoming games. I guess I like running my mouth. I only did that a few episodes until the new coach was hired but it is something I will never forget. Driving on the other side of the street is not as difficult as people think, and I loved the fan culture there as well.
Next… After the season, it was time to move on again. Although I enjoyed playing in England, things were not as professional as I was used to, so I decided to move on for the twilight years of my career. Switzerland would be my basketball home for the following two seasons.
Thank you for taking the time to read my words!
Sean