My Rocky Road to Basketball in Spain

The fact that I am in Valencia today is neither a coincidence nor a spontaneous decision. This story began several years ago, when I was looking for inspiration and trying to “pick things up” by watching games of top Spanish youth teams on YouTube. Everyone may see it differently, of course, but from my perspective, Spain has one of the best youth development programs in the world. At that time, I was watching teams such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Joventut, Valencia and others. The team that impressed me the most with their style of play was Valencia. Besides their fast pace and offensive combinations, what stood out to me most was their defense. I don’t just mean full-court pressure. There was something more. The way they defended the passing lane was different and extremely effective. Looking back, I can say it wasn’t just a naive impression. It is truly the way players here are taught to defend.

Now to the actual impulse that led me to leave for a longer period of time. I had always wanted to go abroad through Erasmus, to experience a new culture, meet new people, and step into a different environment. However, since I was coaching, leaving in the middle of the season for an extended period was never really an option. I thought about it for a long time because I didn’t want to leave my club or my players. At the same time, I have my own goals and ambitions. Eventually, I decided to apply for Erasmus and plan to go abroad during the following academic year. Maybe it was coincidence, maybe fate, but among the offered universities was the University of Valencia. I didn’t have to think long about where to send my application.

I successfully passed the admission process, and everything was heading toward starting a six-month exchange stay in Spain in September. Even before leaving, basketball was naturally on my mind, it was the main reason I wanted to go in the first place. Through an acquaintance who might have had the right connections, I tried to arrange an introduction to someone from the local youth program. According to our preliminary agreement, I was supposed to reach out again as my departure approached.

However, the first complications appeared even before I left. I had applied for Erasmus as part of my follow-up master’s degree. During the writing of my bachelor’s thesis, I encountered several difficulties, which meant I could only take my defense and final state exams in the autumn term. That meant one thing: I had to pass everything on the first attempt in order to smoothly transition into the master’s program. It all started promisingly. I successfully defended my bachelor’s thesis and passed the exams in teaching qualification and economics. However, I did not pass the final exam in coaching. Yes, a coach who fails a coaching exam doesn’t sound great. But that was the reality. I had to react quickly and figure out how this problem would affect my planned Erasmus departure.

Because I did not progress to the master’s program, I was not eligible to go on a study Erasmus exchange. Suddenly, the entire plan began to collapse. After communicating with the coordinator, however, another option emerged: going abroad as an intern, provided that I arranged everything directly with a host institution abroad. And since I already had a flight to Valencia booked for the very next day, I decided to go anyway and trust that everything would somehow work itself out once I got there.

As it often happens, reality turned out to be different from what I had imagined. The contact who was supposed to connect me with the academy suddenly stopped communicating with me, and I was left completely on my own. Naturally, the beginnings were not easy at all. At times, it felt as if everything I touched was about to fall apart. But that didn’t discourage me. I quickly realized that no one had really helped me before either, not when I went for an internship in Belgium, nor when I traveled to Germany to explore basketball there. It had always been my own initiative, and I had always arranged everything myself. In the end, I was actually glad that I could handle it on my own again. I knew the feeling would be even more rewarding.

I started, of course, with emails. I think I sent around six of them, but I never received a single reply. So there was nothing simpler than going directly to the training facility where they practiced and trying to speak to someone in person. What I didn’t expect was that I would soon collide with another reality, probably the most significant one: the language barrier. No one there spoke English. That was a major problem, and one I hadn’t anticipated. Still, I have to say that everyone was very kind and welcoming. In broken English, they eventually explained that I was free to sit in the stands and watch any practices I wanted.

So for the first few weeks, I simply sat in the stands and learned by observing everything I could. But that wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I wanted to be closer, to truly gain insight into the internal structure and functioning of the academy. At the same time, I needed official documents to be signed in order for my internship grant to be approved. So I kept asking, searching for opportunities, and trying to find out whether they would accept me as an intern. And then, one day, the breakthrough finally came.

When I once again tried to start a conversation with one of the coaches from Valencia Basket, he pointed me toward a manager standing nearby. It turned out she worked for EuroProBasket and, fortunately for me, spoke fluent English. For the first time, I was finally able to clearly explain what I was trying to achieve. She immediately warned me that the language barrier would be a major issue. She told me that although she could help negotiate an internship with the club, if I didn’t speak Spanish, the coaches wouldn’t be able to pass much on to me anyway. At the same time, she offered another option, completing my internship directly with their organization. I thought to myself: Why not? After all, it’s an organization attended by players from all over the world, with connections that reach across the globe. She then introduced me to the founder of the project, Brad Kanis. Brad was very welcoming from the very beginning. He explained how everything worked and signed the documents I needed for the grant without any hesitation.

At that moment, I felt like I had won. However, after nearly a month in Valencia, when I finally submitted all the required documents to my university back in the Czech Republic, another setback came. The approval process was said to take up to two months, approximately until the beginning of December. That was significantly different from the originally communicated fourteen days. Spending two months in Valencia without any income simply didn’t make sense. So I decided to return to the Czech Republic and wait for the approval.

At the end of November, everything was finally approved, and I was able to return to Valencia to begin my journey with EuroProBasket on December 1st. From that moment on, everything has been running as it should. The internship has been going great, I am gaining experience in an environment with adult players, discovering a new approach to basketball, and experiencing a different mentality. Even though I am not directly part of the youth program of Valencia Basket, as I had originally hoped, I am certainly not disappointed. I still have insight into their program, meet their coaches daily, and have the opportunity to observe and ask about anything that interests me. I could never have imagined the personalities I would meet here or the places I would gain access to, and for that, I am incredibly grateful.

In conclusion, I can only say that I am truly happy with how everything turned out, including the “bad things.” I use quotation marks intentionally, because in hindsight I no longer see them as bad, but rather as situations that guided me, taught me something new, and pushed me forward. That is why I would advise everyone to stay persistent in any situation and follow this motto: “Keep knocking on the door, and eventually it will open.”