Typical Week

I get a lot of questions from back home about what I do during the day or what my week looks like. Our practice times are pretty much set in stone as far as times so my schedule doesn't change a whole lot. I figured my typical week schedule would make for a good blog. So here it goes.

Monday

I wake up at around 9 am on Mondays and prepare myself a nice breakfast of eggs and toast. Although we only hit the court once on Monday, it is pretty rough so I want to make sure I start the day off right. We have to go to to the weight room at 10:30 and lift for an hour. Coach didn't give us a specific program to work off of, so we can do what we want. I like this because I get to work on what I want to and what I feel like I need.

After weights, we head over to the gym for an hour and a half practice. This is a tough practice that includes a lot of running. We have Sundays off so I guess coach wants us to run off the rust. Practice always ends with sprints. Last Monday ended with 12 minutes of sprints. It is not very fun.

Mondays are also our shopping days. Liz and I head on over to Leclerc (the French Meijer or Wal Mart) and get what we need for the week ahead. While I love going to Meijer, I hate going to this store. Too many people! It is pretty terrible but the prices and quality are good.

Tuesday

We hit the court twice on Tuesdays. I wake up around 9 am again for breakfast and head on over to the weight room at 10:30. The team lifts on our own for an hour and then we head over to the gym for practice at 12. This practice isn't a team practice but like an individual. Coach breaks us up into guards and big men. We do a half hour of shooting and then play 1 on 1 for a half hour. The shooting isn't just getting shots up. We do drills and they are done with intensity. The games of one on one are intense as well. It is a great workout.

I relax in the afternoon before practice at 7 pm again. This is a team practice and we work on things that we need to get better at. If our fast break was poor in our last game then we would do fast break drills or work on specific plays.

Tuesday night is pizza night for Liz and I. The local Dominos offers every pizza for 8 euros on Tuesdays. It is a great deal and something we had to take advantage of. I love pizza night.

Wednesday

We just have 1 mid day practice on Wednesdays. I get to sleep in and usually wake up around 10 am. This practice is a lot like Tuesdays practice but more up and down. Coach likes to work us because it is the only practice we have that day. We go for around an hour and a half and end with 15 minutes of shooting.

Since I am so tired after practice on Wednesday, I relax for a few hours and head back to the weight room in the afternoon. I don't go there to lift weights though. I go there to relax in the sauna and the jacuzzi. I need to take advantage of the facilities and to take the proper care of myself.

Thursday

The team meets up at the gym at 11 am to watch film on ourselves and the other team. Our coaches do an excellent job of scouting our opponents. They have a breakdown on everybody on the opposing team as well as all of their plays. We watch these clips and then some game action. Sometimes we watch ourselves too.

After film we head to the court for an hour of partner shooting.

I relax on Thursday afternoons because for practice on Thursday night we play a game to 100. Coach splits the team up evenly and we go at it. The game is broken up into quarters, so we end the quarter when a team reaches 25, 50, 75 and 100. Each quarter is also a different situation. Coach doesn't say a whole lot and lets us play. I love Thursday because I feel like it gets us ready to play and we just play basketball.

Friday

Friday is the day before the game so we only have 1 practice at 7 pm. We do have the opportunity to shoot at noon though. I always shoot at noon. I work on post moves and then shoot 100 jumpers. It isn't too heavy but not too light either.

Practice is always the same on Friday. It isn't too light or too heavy. We get loose and work on us as well as the other team. We shoot at the end of practice as well.

Saturday

Saturday is game day and the day we prepare for all week. The day is usually spent just relaxing around the apartment. I do my pre game ritual of showering and having coffee and then I head to the gym at 6:40 for an 8 pm game.

I always say I get paid to practice and play the games for free. I love game day even though I get extremely nervous before tip off.

Hopefully Saturdays end with a win.

Sunday

This is our off day and I just take it off. Nothing is open in France on Sundays so Liz and I might go for a walk downtown or just sit around the apartment. Lately we have been watching football on Sunday nights.

So, that is it. That's my week. Nothing very exciting but it's my life at the moment and I love it.