August can be a stressful time for overseas athletes because majority of teams have already signed players and most of them are either heading out or preparing to leave for preseason training camp. It’s not rare for players to sign in August, but there can be this creeping feeling of pressure because now every single day matters as it is now inching closer towards the start of season. When I first got the idea to write this post, it was the middle of August and I hadn’t signed to a team yet. I had passed on a few offers throughout the summer and was fresh off of turning one down a day before writing this. I was speaking with my best friend about this topic and he asked me if I ever get nervous in times like this. My response was “ No, because I know I’ll get a job, I just don’t know when or where. You have to be at peace about the unknown in this business." A response so quotable as that deserved its own blog post.
Like I mentioned in a previous post, I know myself and what I’ve done. The comfortable side of me knows that someone else will see what I’ve done as well and want that on their team. I felt like all of my previous experiences were helping me through this most recent time of uncertainty and I was able to keep steady to prepare myself mentally and physically. The best way to describe this feeling is the cliche “light at the end of the tunnel” saying. The only problem is, this tunnel is pitch black and the light comes and goes quickly. It could be 2 steps away or 2 miles. In this particular case the steps could be days or weeks and the miles could be months. I said I don’t get nervous, and that was probably 99% of the truth. There’s still that 1% of me that is a bit afraid of the dark that I have to fight off internally. Most days I was in great spirits in the summer but there were a few days where I was very low mentally and could barely operate. I think it’s normal to have bad days, you just have to know how to keep pushing forward in order to make tomorrow a good one.
The overseas business can seem so crazy from the outside looking in because for the majority of players, we have to find a new job every single summer. It’s very common to sign to a team for only one season at a time, so every year we try to perform the best we can with the hopes of finding a better job or something equal to what we've already achieved. There are many stresses that we deal with during the season but the biggest one for some is at the end when the checks officially stop coming in. The most frustrating part is that many athletes have no control on what goes on in terms of getting teams to sign them. They put all their faith into their agent with hopes that they do right by them and get them the best job possible. Consistent pressure mixed with some blind faith is the usual combination for many hoopers in the summer.
If you are not an overseas athlete, take these things into account next time you encounter one during the offseason. When you ask them where they are signing to next year before even asking how they are doing, just know they'd rather much tell you about their day. It's not a sin to ask, but just be mindful that they've probably have been asked that question 20 or more times already. For my athletes still in that dark tunnel, don't stop moving forward. As for me, I found my way through the pitch black. We all find that light one way or another.
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