Being a professional athlete is a tough job, from having multiple practices and meetings a day to workouts and conditioning year round. Imagine doing all of this, along with adjusting to life in a new country. Former Seton Hill University (SHU) basketball standout Kameron Taylor is doing just this.
After graduation from SHU in the spring of 2016, he signed with the German Pro-A team, Ehingen Urspring. The team is located in the city of Ehingen, Germany, and the biggest city closest to them is Munich.
Taylor said that the adjustment to living in Germany isn’t that hard.
“I don’t think I have met a person yet who doesn’t speak a little bit of English, and I am learning a little bit of German myself, so it’s been a fun learning experience so far,” said Taylor.
European living is vastly different than American, from the food to the culture, customs and people. Taylor has had an easy transition because his teammates are making it easy for him.
“The thing I like most about Germany is my teammates,” said Taylor. “They are really cool and work with me when I come across any problems.”
Having a support system like that is important in adjusting to life in a foreign country. Although being away from home is tough, Taylor is adjusting and having an amazing learning experience. What he misses most from home “would definitely be my friends and family, here in Germany I’m starting life all over it seems like, and I’m starting out unfamiliar with everyone.”
For those of us who are unfamiliar with European basketball, the season is as long as a regular college season, possibly a little longer depending on playoffs. A major difference is the amount of games that are played in each league as well. For example, in European basketball, they play one game every week, whereas in America, the NBA plays multiple games per week.
The other major difference between NBA and European basketball is that in the NBA, there is a greater focus on the individual athlete versus a team effort. Looking at statistics from European to American basketball, the points scored per game are spread out more evenly in European ball compared to American basketball.
Taylor should be back in America around late April to early May and hopes to sign another contract with either a European or American team at that time.
Published By: Paige Parise