The transition from being a professional athlete to a student, from all aspects it can be described as either a travel from heaven to hell, or a travel to education and new experiences. My trip was something of both…
I graduated from the Aristoteleio College of Thessaloniki, Greece. It is a school with a tradition of player development in youth basketball, always with respect to education. At the moment, many graduates compete at the highest European level (Euroleague/Greek/Italian/Spanish leagues). Kostas Papanikolaou – a close friend – proudly represents our generation while playing for Houston Rockets this season in NBA.
I signed my first professional contact with P.A.O.K Thessaloniki B.C. immediately after I turned 18 years old. I was also selected to play for the (U-18) National teams, took part in great tournaments and had the chance to work with great coaches, trainers and physiotherapists. However, a double ACL-meniscus knee injury completely destroyed any dreams I had for a career in basketball and did not allow me to accept a scholarship with the University of Florida. Despite some bad memories, these days gave me virtues such as self-discipline and hardworking motivation.
Sports and basketball were my life so I wanted to study something that would include them. I decided to join the School of Sport and Exercise Sciences of the University of Kent as it is a leading institution in this area. Moreover, my mother’s (who is also a graduate of the University of Kent) advice, helped my final choice. When I arrived, I immediately joined the University’s basketball team as a coach and through that I had the opportunity to work with great colleagues and especially the team’s coach at that point, Benjamin Pageaux. Through him, I started working as the Strength and Conditioning (S&C) coach with Kent Crusaders U-16, and that’s how everything begun. Also, Organic Training‘s certificate got me more involved with personal training and S&C ideas.
This Christmas break, I was invited to lead the S&C program of Kent Crusaders/Canterbury academy during a 14-day experience in Spain. It was the first time as an S&C trainer that all the knowledge and ideas I have gained, could be applied in real life. The trip started in Leon region, where we won the second place in the local tournament. After that, in Madrid, we played friendly games with elite-local teams and trained alongside Spanish basketball experts. My responsibilities included injury prevention, pre/post games and training exercise programs and nutritional advice. The amazing experience would not have been the same if I didn’t have the support of the coaching team, and especially the physio specialist, Mark Dayson. Special thanks have to be given to Jesse Sazant and Ivan Cuesta for providing me this opportunity.
I returned to my studies full of energy and excitement for further knowledge and practice. This trip was one-in a lifetime chance for me to work with specialists and acquire much-needed field experience. This trip helped me to broaden my horizons in terms of seeing other training cultures and meet interesting sport-related people. Finally, interesting career-opportunities came up, giving me extra motivation for harder work.
I am open to any questions or queries at : AK563@gmail.com or teammedwaybasketball@gmail.com.