2019 Was The Year of "Opportunity"

I’ve been trying to figure out exactly how I would put 2019 into words. It’s really been hard to describe. Like every year and every season I have my ups and my downs, and to be honest I welcome all of it. Those things are what shape me to becoming a better person, to learning what I can do to move forward in different spaces, it’s what life is all about in the end. But I think if I had to sum things up into one word officially, it would be “opportunity.”

It’s been a trying year full of opportunities and obstacles, but the opportunity to face each of these obstacles and come out ahead. At the beginning of the year I was on a team in Siedlce, Poland where I had returned to playing overseas after taking 3 seasons off from coming to Europe. We had a Christmas break that allowed us to be back in the states and enjoy our families. Upon returning for the 2ndhalf of the season I was presented the opportunity to play on a 3x3 team in the Ukraine with one of my teammates (because she was Ukrainian and her husband was our assistant coach, along with her father being our head coach). It was something new and different, opened the door for some other things and I was able to visit another country.  

We ended up taking 2ndplace in the tournament. After returning from that the season resumed. The weekend we went to the 3x3 tournament I think our team had a bye week so I didn’t miss anything. But after that, our team lost 2 games that our coaches felt we should have won. We were already in the bottom 4 in the league, they didn’t plan or even try and be any higher than that, so once we lost those 2 games they gave up ENTIRELY. There were still about 9 games to go before it was playoff time.

Anyways, they did some extremely grimy things to get rid of myself and my other American, who happens to be my better half, Kristi. Basically because they were calling the season a wash they wanted to get out of paying us so they could save their money. However, that’s not how business works. I caught a whiff of this stench immediately when all of a sudden no one would answer us when we were trying to figure out when practice was. We’ll get into those details at another time. But this situation presented me with another opportunity, to play for another team, a better team. I ended up staying in this same league, but going from a team that was close to last place, to a team that was top 4 and heading to the playoffs. I’ll call that an upgrade!

Once I got to my new squad, Energa, Torun, a club I had played for once before, I felt some new life. But I soon found out that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. For the most part it was a great group of girls, a coach with a lot of experience and smarts, but they had had a LONG season. You know when people have just had enough of one another and dealing with each others’ shit? That’s what it was like, a bit of dysfunction in some areas and it became evident quickly. However, I was still happy to be done with my situation, be around new people, and to be on a much better team. Also, this allowed me the opportunity to return to a place that I truly enjoyed years before. 

I wish the season would have ended the way we would have hoped for, with a medal and finishing Top 3, but it didn’t and people were more than happy to get out of there. I actually didn’t leave right away. I stayed behind so that I could make sure to collect some money, but also it was my birthday the week after we were done so I spent some time in Warsaw. Another opportunity I took advantage of. 

I was home by the end of April and my summer is usually pretty busy so I already had a vacation in the works. My family, Kristi, and I headed to Hawaii for about a week in early May. Definitely a vacation I could never forget. Had a great time, got to relax a bit and enjoy some beautiful scenery while being with loved ones, and the food was amazing! We will have to visit Hawaii again some time. Before we knew it our vacation was over, but we left with plenty of memories. Upon arriving back home we were right back in the thick of things because it was Surge season! 

*I continue to shift back and forth and say “we”…. I’m talking about Kristi and I. You can usually find us together for a lot of things. We’ve had the luxury of playing overseas together once (for Siedlce) and then we play in the summer together for the St. Louis Surge… and then any other time we can be together we make it happen haha. 

This Surge season was VERY different than in years past. Which in itself presented a unique opportunity as well. We had changed leagues, which elevated our level of competition and maybe even our status of some sort. But for me personally, I also equated that to elevating our level of professionalism. As a team/organization that has been together for a while and has been championship contenders every year that I’ve been with them, I also equated this change with an elevation in our professionalism. The change in leagues also came with a change of dynamics across the board, and some other things on the business side and behind the scenes. We had a new coach and some new players who had never done things at this level before, so this was all a learning experience for everyone involved. Looking back, I wish some things would have happened differently, but I think that it was an eye opener moving forward. 

It was tough coming off of the overseas season that I had and coming into this summer with the Surge. I was ready to be in a familiar environment that involved us doing some things that we did in the past, mainly the way we competed for championships from Day 1 of practice and our mentality of going about everything, but with new blood and new people came new challenges and a new way of doing everything. It felt like I was with a completely new franchise honestly. For someone like me, it took a lot out of me, in many ways. And I’m actually realizing now that it is still taking some things out of me because I’m dealing with some similarities currently that I was hoping to get away from. But due to this summer I am able to deal with it differently. So I could easily say that this summer provided me with an opportunity to be more patient with certain types of players around me, to find other ways to try and communicate to reach a goal, and it’s made me get very creative in the ways I try and keep myself sharp and attentive to the ways in which I can elevate my game. Despite how the summer season ended, there were so many great things to take away from it all. 

- Got to play against some really great competition. Players that I usually only see overseas and on top clubs across the globe. For me, this means that more and more players are looking into these opportunities we are trying to create by playing on high level and professional teams in the GWBA and leagues alike.

- I love team road trips… and we went to Wisconsin, Nashville, and Detroit. Will we get to go to a dope place this summer? I hope so.

-  I don’t think I’ve ever had a coach like the one we had. Duez Henderson… a nice guy and someone you feel you can talk to. I think we need to get to know each other better if he will continue coaching us. Not sure what the future holds overall because this is still a business and life happens, but I definitely think he will go far in the coaching world. Currently, he is the assistant at Washington University in St. Louis and those girls are lucky to have him. 
- I dealt with some injuries and I’m proud of the route I took in bouncing back. Happy about the team that surrounds us, from our doctors (Dr. Brophy was awesome), to our chiropractor (Dr. Lev).. I don’t know where I would be without their help this season. And then of course our trainer (Tracey) was great too. 
- Friendships… the summer allows me to really let loose and have a good time with great people. And although we work together with this team, I always enjoy the times I get to hang out with our owner, Khalia Collier. I hold our group of people near and dear. You ever had a group around you that makes you “level up?” Well, that’s where mine comes from.

Once the season with the Surge ended I still wasn’t signed just yet. We had heard a few things here and there but nothing was concrete. I was really trying to get out of the league in Poland. I had played there for 5 seasons and was ready for a new experience, a new league, and a new country. My top 5 countries that I was trying to play in were:

1.) Turkey 

2.) Israel 

3.) Italy 

4.) Spain 

5.) France. 

    So of course when the opportunity to play in Turkey came about I was all for it. I have been to this country before, when I played Euroleague, and I had told myself a long time ago that I was going to make sure I made it back here somehow. Playing in this league has been an opportunity I have been after for a while. The league itself is so competitive and so many great players have continued to come through here regularly.

Currently, I am here now and although the season has been a struggle, I am grateful for this opportunity. Each and every day I try and find a new way to overcome the obstacles we are facing here in hopes of turning things around. But that’s what this year has been all about for me, taking advantage of opportunities, turning obstacles into opportunities, and providing myself with the opportunity to be successful!

   And although I have only really spoken about my opportunities on the court, I have also been taking advantage of my opportunities for things off the court. At the end of last year I made a conscious decision to focus more on my brand outside of my time playing. It's been a process that makes me come out of my shell a bit. My brand is called, Best Ever Created. A play on my nickname, but it also came about a long time ago in a conversation I was having with someone about being creative and going after things in life. So with my brand I focus on people like myself, who are athletes but we do soo much more. There's a community out there that wants to be recognized for all the things they do outside of their respected sports field. I've been able to interview and pick the brains of so many athletes that are killing the game in other areas. From authors and graphic designers to global ambassadors and people who have started their own prep schools. 

   When I think of how much I wish I had known growing up, the people I wish I would have been able to speak to because I saw them as role models for the things I was interested in, it brings me great joy to be able to link some of these people together, or to promote some of their work. And this was an opportunity I decided to create on my own. It's been fun and exhilarating. Wakes me up in the morning to figure out my next step and who I will get a chance to network with next!

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    As I prepare to go into the New Year with new life and a fresh perspective on things, I pray that everyone who has taken the opportunity to read this also takes the opportunity to go after the things they want in 2020. It’s time to go harder. Take advantage of these things you view as obstacles and use them as stepping stones towards something greater. No one said it would be easy, but there are so many things out there that make it all worth it!

 "Expect change. Analyze the landscape. Take the opportunities. Stop being the chess piece; become the player. It's your move."

- Tony Robbins

Sitting near home plate at Busch Stadium with my Best Ever Created baseball t-shirt that I designed myself. The St. Louis Surge had the opportunity to throw out the first pitch during the summer! June 2019

My second game with Energa Torun, against my old team MKK Siedlce. I think we won by 35 or so.

The Best Ever Created brand logo. It's funny how things just come to you one day!

Winning a silver medal with this squad in the 3x3 Tournament in Kiev, Ukraine. Jan 2019

Family photo in Kona, Hawaii! May 2019

One of the many views from my trip to Kona, Hawaii. Pictures could never do it justice. May 2019

A photo of Kristi and I as we celebrated my birthday in Warsaw, Poland. April 15, 2019

A beautiful view down an alley near my favorite coffee shop in Torun, Poland. March 2019

St. Louis Surge... Squadddddd 2019

Not pictured - Nici Gilday