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My Try-Out in Linz, Austria
By Summer Jenkins
Stefani Eddins and I got the opportunity to possibly get picked up by a team in Linz, Austria. We left the group from Prague and drove to the city in a small car with our luggage and the coach, Eva, who speaks pretty good English. We weren’t sure what to expect. Our only information about the team was that they needed a middle and the city was not near the Alps.
Once we arrived, we dropped our bags off in the “house” that we would be living in. It was an apartment like place under a bigger house: three bedrooms, a bathroom with a very small laundry machine, and a petite kitchen. The coach, the other middle, and the new player are to share the house until the season is through.
Practice was interesting. We conditioned at the beginning of practice, but it wasn’t the hard conditioning we are used to in the U.S., just a couple box jumps, followed by some run-throughs and approach jumps. The practices lasted an hour and a half to two hours, filled with lots of hitting and wash type drills. We found it amazing that the coach translated the practice into 3 different languages. At times she forgot to translate or we couldn’t understand, so we followed the other girls.
They do not have a specific locker room; the one we were in happened to be open for use at that time. Also, they do not have a specific weight room, it was located in the middle of the town and in an atrium-mall type building in a very nice gym that was open to the public. We found it interesting that even as a professional team, finding gym time was a common. The Linz team has three different locations to work out and have practice in.
All in all, we had a wonderful time seeing the city, trying new food, and practicing with a team with a minor language barrier. They made me an offer, but I am still in the decision process. Happy travels!
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