Not a day passes here in Holland that I don’t stop and remind myself that I am truly blessed. Playing basketball overseas has been one of the most rewarding and life-shaping experiences thus far in my life because I have come to learn what I’m made of and what really matters to me. When I signed my first contract, my thoughts were consumed by the opportunity to compete at the next level and develop my skills as a player. Never did I imagine I would find a home away from home, meet people that would treat me like family, take weekend trips to various countries, learn some Finnish and Dutch and be able to speak them, cross the Arctic Circle and sit on the real Santa Claus’ lap from the North Pole, set foot in the massive Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, teach a few economics classes at a university in Holland, cruise the streets of Rome on a vespa, walk through the hallways of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, admire with my own eyes Michelangelo’s masterpiece in the Sistine Chapel, and the list goes on…
I am certain that basketball is and will always be a passion of mine because it is so much more than a game. It has granted me infinite opportunities both on and off the court and has also taught me more than any book could about life and all its valuable lessons. It is now my third season playing professionally overseas since graduating college. I have played one and a half seasons in Finland, half a season in Sweden and am currently closing out a season in Holland. In the past three years, I’ve been on a team that finished dead-last in our league winning barely a handful of games, and I’ve also been a part of squad that was crowned National Champions and rarely saw a loss. I’ve had to practice three times a day for one team and also only three times a week for another. I’ve played in front of sold-out crowds and in gyms where you could barely hear the ball bounce because it was so loud, and I’ve also played in front of empty bleachers and in gyms that you could hear every squeak of every sneaker. I’ve been on teams with multiple international players and also been the only foreigner as an American. Looking back on it all, I can say I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum from a player’s perspective. The best part of that realization is that every single one of my experiences has contributed to who I am right in this moment, and I am grateful for the hardest, most impossible times as much as the happiest, indescribably amazing ones.
Fortunately for me, the learning and growing doesn’t stop when I step off the court. This season in Holland has been a testament to that too. During the days, I’ve been working at a primary school as a member of the “overblijf-team,” in which I watch the kids during their recess and monitor their lunch period. Also, before my practices in the evenings, I have been assistant coaching our U20 girls’ team and taking Dutch lessons with some of the foreign players of our men’s team. Every day presents a new challenge, and every day I look forward to it!
I have and will always love being able to lace up my sneakers and go to work on the court, but I’ve also come to love and appreciate everything basketball has enabled me to learn about life and myself. I can’t say it enough…I am blessed!
Can't wait till this summer at SportsChallenge. -Coach Megan Griffith
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