Pete Strobl's Blog
Pete Strobl grew up in Los Angeles, California and went on to play college basketball at D1 Niagara University, New York. After graduating with his Master's Pete began playing professional basketball in Europe and has played in France, Austria, and Germany. This season Pete is Player/Assistant Coach for Merry Monk Ballina. He writes a weekly blog for Streetballireland.com on basketball, life and his experience in Ireland.
Blog #3 - First Days in Ballina
My first day in Ballina was somewhat hectic. After finally arriving to my "home" for the next basketball season, I promptly ate a quick breakfast and went to sleep. After waking up a few hours later in a daze, I staggered around and finally remembered where I was. The manager then came by to pick up myself and Puff (aka Lawrence Summers) and take us to watch the big rugby match. Ireland was playing so we soon found out that it was a pretty big deal. We went to the Merry Monk pub which also happens to be the team's main sponsor. Coming from the States, I didn't really have too much of an idea about rugby. I enjoy watching all sports and grew up trying my luck at just about everything available to us. Fortunately, rugby was NOT available or else I probably wouldn't be playing basketball right now.......I'd be sitting in a wheelchair! For those of you that don't know, rugby is an extremely violent sport where two teams of people run around and try to kill each other. There might even be a ball involved in there somewhere and I think there's a way to score as well, but I'm not sure. I do know that those dudes are tough!
We watched the first half or so of the game and then the coach came by the Merry Monk to take us to the gym for practice. There were only 4 players there (including Puff and I) so needless to say we didn't do a whole lot of 5 on 5 work. We shot for about an hour, showered, and were told to be ready for the following night's game against Team USA Select. What a way to get prepared right? "Hi guys, my name is Pete. Nice to meet you. Who am I guarding?" We only had about 7 guys in uniform that night, but each and every guy fought as if it was the championship. It was great to see, and even greater to be a part of. I knew from that very first night on the court with those guys that our team would play with heart. We ended up losing the game by a few points, but got our chance for revenge the following evening when we played them again out in Belmullet. We beat them the second time around and I had my first win under my belt as a "Monk".
The next few days were spent getting to know the team, the basketball committee, and the town. Ballina is located in Co Mayo and is situated right on the River Moy. The town center is roughly 30 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean, so you get an idea how far west we are. It really is a beautiful little town and I truly enjoy walking through the tiny shop-filled streets. All of our committee members have a shop somewhere around town and it's really an interesting family-type environment. One guy has a butcher shop, another a fish shop, another an electronics shop. It's interesting how they all came together as a group sharing one simple characteristic: the love of basketball. From what I'm told, all these guys are basically volunteers and donate timeless hours to keeping the team up and running. I think there's a lot to be said for that. How many nights have they sat together over the years contemplating their next import? ...How to attract even more fans? ...How to sponsor the next youth trip to America? ...Probably too many to count. Probably quite a few "Pints" put away during the years at these meetings as well, but that's a different story for a different day!
Pete Strobl
petestrobl@gmail.com