Anyone that knows me well will tell you that I am a very well traveled person. I love going overseas and immersing myself in a different culture. I eat the food, try and speak the language and I try and find out door basketball games. One thing that I have learnt on the many years I have traveled is that kids are the best to be around if you want to really embed yourself into the local way of life. I can see that you think I’m full of crap or a pedophile. Well neither is the case. In my experience, kids do not have the preconceived views of you being a foreigner and tend to welcome you in fairly easily. After all, kids don’t really care about language barriers!
I have had some incredible street ball experiences while I have traveled around the world. From a cheering crowd in NYC to playing basketball with kids in the most remote of locations. Here are my experiences.
Hiking through a remote village in Mambukal Philippines
An example when kids welcomed me; I was hiking in Mambukal Philippines and I got to a remote village and two kids were dribbling a basketball. As soon as I saw them I was drawn to them. What can I say, when I see a basketball no matter where I go I lock in like a dog waiting for its master to throw the ball.When I approached the kids and put my hands out to pass the ball they paused, hesitated. Then passed the ball to me. I wanted to impress them but there was no basketball hoop so I decided to show them my handles. Boy did that ever win them over! I even taught them out to do the spider dribbling drill. Instantly through basketball I was welcomed into their inner circle.
Basketball at the park in Barcelona
Another time where basketball broke the cultural ice so to speak is when I was in Barcelona for the first time. It was 2009 and I had been travelling for over a month and a half and I was a few weeks from getting back to London. I saw some kids playing basketball at an outdoor park so I decided to go have a look. The kids would have been from 15 to 17 years old, so not too young. Luckily I was in my basketball gear so I asked the kids if I could join them. I played with the kids for almost 2 hours and totally enjoyed it. They were so happy to have me play with them that after the games they were doing their best to talk to me in English. They wanted to know where I played and started throwing me alleys so that I could dunk.
Street ball in Queens Park – Queens NY
When I was in NY for the summer waiting for the school year to commence at Long Island University my time was split between going to school and working out and playing street ball at Queens Park.
NY is one of the basketball meccas and the talent just playing street ball is something I cannot describe in words. Whilst in NY I have played against some incredibly talented basketball players. I’d go so far as to say some of these street ballers were far better than the highly paid imports I played with and against in various semi/ pro leagues.
Every afternoon at around 4pm I used to make my way down to the court and play for three hours. The games varied from half court and full court games. In one particular instant coaches came to check the talent on court. I remember briefly talking to a coach that popped down to do some recruiting. Particularly one high school basketball player a 6’8” swingman with amazing athleticism and post moves. A guy that blocked the crap out of me when I went up for a dunk. Oh, I still remember the onlookers reaction when he did that too me.
To this date I have never played street ball at this standard and enjoyment. Well I lie, I did enjoy the time I was playing streetball at RMIT uni in Australia and we went on a massive winning streak that saw us occupy the court of little over an hour. But playing street ball in Queens was an experience. There was betting on games with players and bystanders which at times gave the game that added seriousness (please note I never ever played street ball for money nor did I get involved with betting).
I didn’t only play basketball in Queens but I did visit various basketball courts in NY and no matter where I went the atmosphere is something that I urge every basketball player to try and experience. There is something about playing basketball in the states that makes it that much more special.
Hooping Eltham London
After travelling for 2 months straight in 2009 I was looking to settle down in London for an extensive period of time. Just so that I can get back into a routine. But London just got flat out boring after I exhausted all the tourist spots. For my birthday my one and only friend in London (at the time) bought me a basketball. Thoughtful gift!
After weeks of boredom armed with a basketball I went to the local outdoor court to hone my basketball skills after months off. After a few weeks of going down to the court and not seeing anyone playing basketball one day there were two very tall and skillful basketball players playing some one on one. They too were very surprised to see a fellow basketball player so a conversation was instantly struck. I was then invited to join them and the proceeding weeks we all worked out together at the court. These two basketball players became my team mates when I played for the Eltham Admirals in the London metro league.
In this particular case street was provided me with an avenue to meet like minded people which went on to lead me into the British basketball league.
Greek Islands – Iios
One of the most memorable and joyful experiences I had was playing outdoors while travelling was when I was in Iios (one of the Greek Islands). The last place I was expecting to play basketball as I was on a Contiki tour. This particular night I was with a group of girls from the tour and we just had dinner and we were going out to a night club. On the way we walked past basketball courts with kids playing. Again, tunnel vision when I see a basketball and I ran over to the kids and joined them for a shoot around. What was great was the girls even joined in. We were all well dressed and the girls looked absolutely stunning yet the jumped in and we played a friendly game. I know, I should have wifed one of these women. Forgive me, I was in a relationship at the time. Oh hindsight!
I think the reason why I found this so joyful was that basketball allowed me like it always does when I travel to connect with cultures and in this case the opposite sex. Who would have thought I would be playing basketball in the Greek Islands with six beautiful women just before I went to a club.
On my journeys basketball has played a massive part being the conduit to connect with various people around the world. Where language can be a barrier, a common interest in sport smashes down barriers and has help me embed myself in culture. Street ball is a great way to connect and make new friends. So next time you are overseas spend some time to get a game in with the locals you will never regret it.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. Hopefully you have enjoyed a small snippet into my travel life. If you did enjoy reading this article please share. If you have a streetball travel story you would like to share please use the comment section below.
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