Preseason Over, Footy Match, and Checking Out Łagow - Blog #37 (Sep. 22 - 28)

Basketball Update:

We had our final preseason game of the season at Szczecin on Friday. They are a really good team and have had a great preseason, beating a couple of really good German and Polish teams already. It was a fairly back-and-forth game. They had some very talented Americans on their team. I got clocked in the face on Thursday night twice, and then, caught a nasty elbow in the lip in the first few minutes of this game. I toughed it out, and we played pretty well for most of the game. I played alright, and we closed them out to win by about ten. Everyone contributed, and it was one of those good team wins. It was nice to have good vibes going into the season. I also think that it was good for us to lose a couple of games in the preseason to face some adversity and see how you deal with it. We have our league opener on Friday at home. Can't wait!

The link to watch our games is below. There might be a couple of pop-ups, but I think this is the only way to watch outside of Poland. Hopefully, it works. The game on Friday and a bunch more of our games will be on the league YouTube for free. I will put that link below too.

https://strumyk.net

https://www.youtube.com/@basketliga

Here are a couple of pictures from the photoshoot a few of my teammates and me did last week.

Leadership Lesson:

I want to talk about something that I am not very good at. I want to improve at taking pauses. I want to do this in basketball and in everyday conversations. I have been working on controlling my breathing especially when I may not be playing well or the game or situation is in a stressful moment. It slows your heart rate and helps with decision-making which is huge in the intense late-game scenarios. I struggle with this in conversations too. This ties in with listening, but sometimes I want to rush in to put my thought out there or make a comment that is unnecessary. Instead, I want to try being a better listener and pausing to let the person get their point across. Better conversations make for better connection. Better connection makes for a better team. Taking pauses for clarity and to help you stay in the moment are important for many aspects of life in and out of sport.

Top 5 of the Week:

Favorite Things About Fall

1. Football - Football season is the best. An American tradition unlike any other. Pigskin + gridiron = perfection.

2. Soup Season - Nikki and I got a crockpot, and I still have yet to invest in one here. Having a hot bowl of soup or chili on a crisp day with the windows cracked open is tough to beat.

3. Apple/Pumpkin Flavored Things - Pumpkin spice lattes, apple crisp, scented candles, the list goes on. Fall has its own flavors, and I love all of them. A great thing about this season.

4. Sweater Weather - My favorite weather is like mid-60s with a soft breeze. Cold enough to wear a sweatshirt but not so cold you need a bunch of layers.

5. Leaves Changing Colors - You do not get this as much in Europe for some reason. Some trees turn yellow, but it is nothing like in the US. It is such a beautiful thing about fall.

What Else Did I Do This Week?

On Thursday, my teammate, Miłosz, and I went to a kindergarten to interact with some young Zastal fans. I ran them through a little warm-up, and then they took turns shooting on a mini hoop that we brought. The kids had great energy, and I hope we do more stuff like that this year. Last year, we did a ton of clinics with middle and high school kids, so hopefully, I will be able to do more stuff like that this year.

On Saturday morning, I went into the ZG center to grab some coffee and read. It was nice weather and a good, chill morning. The Polish Supercup semifinals were going on in the afternoon. It is a mini preseason tournament based on the standings from the year before. I went to my teammate, Andy's, apartment, who lives one building over from me, to watch the games. My other teammate, Phil, came too. We also played some Mario Kart and Uno. Then, we had a team event on Saturday night to watch the ZG soccer team play. I have grown to appreciate soccer a bit more in the last few years. A lot of Americans think it is the most boring sport to watch, and I am not saying I would turn it on over a football or basketball game. However, I think it is a fun watch and can see some of the strategy that goes into it. I also love the passion of the fans. The game ended 0 - 0, go figure. Good day.

Sunday, I went to check out the lake town, Łagow, which is roughly an hour away. I stumbled upon a ranch with a bunch of horses and also went to check out the big lake and did a mini hike. It also had a cool center with a small castle and nice restaurants. I had coffee and an amazing slice of apple pie at Cafe Warsztat. The cafe was a former autoshop from the 1800s. It was nice to spend some time by a lake. It really reminded me of Wisconsin that way. I came back, watched some football, and started writing my blog. It was a nice weekend.

Top Meal of the Week:

Not a meal, but the apple pie and vanilla latte I had in Łagow just hit the spot. It was an amazing vibe too and worth giving another shoutout too. Shoutout Cafe Warsztat!

One Difference in Poland to the States:

The mascot for our basketball team is a boar. Pretty strange. I guess wild boars are much more prevalent in Poland. There is a lot of woods and foresty areas like I have talked about, so it is a bit of an issue. Hopefully, I don't encounter one this year, but it is an interesting tidbit about Poland. Thanks for reading!