When I was five or six my mother had an accomplishment book.  It would have a place for your grades and different awards won in school.  There was also the section that asked “What do you want to be when you grow up”.  I wrote, “Work at McDonald’s and become the first girl to play in the NBA.”  Sadly I never worked for the golden arches and at the time I did not know Ann Meyers would be the first woman drafted into the NBA in 1979 (I was born in 1983). On a positive note I was able to fulfill my dream of being a professional basketball player.  The road to get there took work but was well worth it.

I didn’t decide to play professionally until I was in the middle of completing my master’s degree at Slippery Rock University.  Once I graduated and completed playing at Syracuse University I needed a mental break from basketball.  I knew I enjoyed teaching basketball and thought I could be a college basketball coach (stay tuned for that post)…  I interviewed and was hired at Slippery Rock University as a graduate assistant coach while pursing my Master of Science degree in Sport Management.

I noticed while coaching I still wanted to play, I was not done with the game.  So I made a plan:  I would get in shape, complete my degree (graduate in August) and be ready to go overseas in September or October 2006. I figured it could not be that hard because I had teammates who were playing overseas and I all I ever heard was get an agent and you will get overseas. 

The first order of business was getting game film, I wasn’t that concerned if it was college film because that was only a year old. With my film I planned on getting an agent and getting overseas in September like “everyone else”. Needless to say it was not that simple.  For the next year I would meet agents and get told “great I will have teams ready for you sometimes next month”.  Or “I have a team for you. Be ready to go at a moment’s notice”. Ultimately I kept dealing with agents that were making promises that they could not keep.   I tried former teammates or other basketball players who would advise me and send me in the correct direction for help but for some reason everything just kept falling through.

Now if I have learned anything from my parents it is to have a backup plan, be prepared and to do your research.  So that is what I did… While I was trying to get overseas I was an intern at Five-Star Basketball of Greater Washington, Inc (the last credits needed for graduation).  At Five-Star I learned the ins and outs of how to set up and conduct basketball camps.  I also met coaches and professional players that gave me advice on how to get overseas and what to expect once I’m there. It also allowed me time to work on my basketball skills and work with a personal trainer to insure I was in the best shape possible. In addition, the office of Five-Star is in the basement of a law firm (this is very important).

It was the old cliché of days turned to weeks, weeks into months, and I was still in Maryland trying to get overseas.  I was mailing film to agents from Maryland, New York, California; you name the place they received my film. At this time I still had hope; many teams pick up players in December so they can play in January. That came and went, but at the last second there was a ray of hope.  I had an agent that told me he had a team for me in Turkey and be ready to go next week.  Funny thing was soon after he stopped returning calls and emails, no contact. 

That was my breaking point, I was tired of agents telling me “Oh yea I will have something for you or this team wants you” and then they would drop off the face of the earth.  I was placing my dreams in the hands of people who could care less if they came true…  That’s when doubt started to set in, I was now entering my second year from being away from organized basketball.  Did I still have it?  Maybe I’m not good enough?  It’s just not meant to be… (Doubt is your worst enemy)

There were two important things that happened: Now while I was in grad school my mother found an online booklet by Sylita N. Thomas called “Basketball Overseas How-to Guide Book” at the time she gave it to me I looked it over but did not think much of it. Little did I know it would play a major part into getting me overseas…  The second important piece was my co-worker (and friend)at Five-Star Marco Fernandes. For the 2006 season he was  the General Manager for a semi-professional team called the Maryland Nighthawks.  I remember it like it was yesterday, he looked at me and said, “Ro, just be your own agent, do it yourself”.  He told me he was looking to sign guys for the team and all agents would do is send him game film and a players profile.  (The exact same thing I was sending to agents, it was time to cut out the middle man)  After a pep talk from friends and family I was ready to take control of my playing career.

First I needed to get recent film and stats…. I told my former college coach (Marianna Freeman) where coincidently the recreation center she operated had a semi-pro team.  She was able to secure a try out for me; the catch was the team was in Wilmington, DE. What is an hour and a half trip, gas, and toll money en route to complete a dream?  Nothing…  I was able to make the Delaware Lady Destroyers semi-pro team.  The team was a member of the Women’s Eastern Basketball Alliance for the 2007 season. For at least twice a week I drove from Maryland to Delaware for games or practices.  

While on the team I had to make sure I was one of the best players in the league with the stats and game film to back it up.  I did just that well most of it; I was named to the WEBA First team, tied for fifth in the league for scoring, and was first in the league for rebounding.  The problem…. I did not have game film, even though the coach filmed the games for whatever reason he would not give me a copy.  In hindsight I should have brought someone with me to Delaware or to our games in Pennsylvania to film. Again I relied on someone else and I should have been more proactive and taken care of it myself. (Life lesson). 

I was not going to let this deter me…  I had college game film and my player profile with stats and accolades from college and the semi-professional team.  Next I used the website Eurobasket.com a site that seemed to have every team in every country listed on it.  This is where the guide book came into play.  There is a section that lists what countries are good to play in,  criteria ranged from quality of life, safety, competition, and in general if teams paid on time.  There was also a list of countries players may want to avoid.  I created an email stating who I was, where I played, and that I was my own agent.  The email included a link of some game clips and an attachment of my player profile.  Next I emailed every team on the “good countries to play in” list from the guidebook.  I started this May 2007 a full two years after I graduated from Syracuse and a year from when I first tried to get overseas. 

It took about a couple of days to email every team that was on the list.  Next I waited and for the first time I didn’t wait long.  I received emails from teams showing interest, others letting me know they had their team set but I may want to contact Team X.  The teams with interest wanted to see a full game, not the clips I had emailed them.  So I sent game film to teams in England, the Netherlands, and Sweden.  Some teams called to see why I had a two year layoff and was I ready to play. Anyone who would sign me was taking a risk: the last notable game film I had was from 2005… Was I in shape, could I still play, how effective would I be?  I think since I was representing myself and showing the drive and preparation to get overseas teams were willing to take the risk.  

I received an offer from a team in the Netherlands (Celeritas-Donar in Groningen, Netherlands).  I was very excited but I could not get ahead of myself. I was representing myself and did not have the luxury of an agent to read through the contract or know the team history on payment or how players were treated... 

While playing semi-pro basketball my internship at Five-Star turned into a full time position.  When it came time to review the contract I was able to have Randall Rose one of the lawyers from the firm upstairs look at it.  Dr. Rose is a great guy from Boston that loves his sports and always told me “Kid let me know if I can help you out”. He looked at the contract and he said it looked on the good to go.  Next with the help of another Five-Star co worker (and friend) who was the Maryland Nighthawk  GM for the 2007 season, David Lasday and his Facebook account helped me get in touch with the previous Americans on the team to give me insight.  I had done all the research and preparations, I felt good about my decision.  I signed the contact in July 2007 to play professional basketball in the Netherlands.

The process was long and frustrating, but I had learned a lot about myself and my support system.  That was the best way for me to fulfill my dream of becoming a professional basketball player.  People often give up and say no one is helping me, I can’t do it.  In my case it took friends and family providing me with information and the support letting me know  “You have the tools now do it”.

To this day when people ask about when I played overseas, my proudest moment is what it took to get there…

 

 

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