We always like to share stories that inspire! Here’s one of them…
Originally posted at EliteAthletes.be
by Brian Lynch
I would like to share a story with you. I was 25 years old, about to turn 26, finishing up my 4th season overseas professional basketball when I decided to make a choice that would ultimately change my life.
My first 4 seasons had been a whirlwind. I had just graduated from Villanova University and we as basketball players were spoiled there. We played in amazing arenas throughout the Big East with fans of over 25,000 people at times. All locker rooms were first class and every hotel we stayed at had a bunch of stars tagged to its name.
We were “the shit” there and we mattered!
I started in Poland, where I played very well on the court but struggled terribly off the court. Going to a place were we had no lockers in our locker room but only a hook for all your clothes, playing in gyms that were over 50 years old which are shared by most of the community, and playing with only one other American in a country where nobody spoke English took its toll on me. But I loved hoops, had an encouraging dad who told me to stay with it, and pressed on.
My second season started in Israel, where during that time 9/11 happened. I still remember watching the planes hit the buildings and thinking, I am sitting right now in the middle east! I recall the phone calls I had with my mother during this time, needless to say she wanted me home. So my game struggled for the first time in my career. I started playing poorly and eventually at the end of the pre-season before I had even played 1 game, the coach asked if I would like to leave. I left!
Later that season I got picked up by a team in Portugal. It was difficult coming on to a team where they had already played half their games and were doing well. So I accepted a role of coming off the bench and embraced it. That season I ended up getting 6th man of the year. But still, I felt far from where I was supposed to be.
Season 3 began very interesting. I got a good contract in Greece which was one of the best leagues in Europe. There I enjoyed the sites and craziness of Greece in general, but basketball struggled. My game wasn’t fitting in to the coach’s system. I couldn’t find a way to be effective and started to second guess myself. Eventually me and the other American at that time had stopped getting paid as well. After 3 months of this, I settled 10 cents on a dollar and left. I ended that season in Germany where I played much better and had a better experience off the court. Only problem was, I was back to square one. My contract offers were all the same as before, and I was not being recruited by any Eurocup or Euroleague teams. I was not moving forward, I was moving backwards.
Season 4 was supposed to be my year. I had an Italian passport at the time and decided to try Italy. Contract was ok, team was A1. Maybe I could finally break out! Well, this was the beginning of the end for me. I was lent out to another team in A2 Italy after 6 weeks, and even there, I wasn’t even getting burn. Sitting and watching. I practiced so hard to get the coaches attention for the next month but to no avail, I continued riding the pine. Was I not good enough? Most of the Americans in the league were guys I competed against in college. I even had better stats than them in college yet they were flourishing while I was sitting. I left Italy to take a one-month job in Pro A France to replace an injured player. I was able to get my rhythm back and played ok, but when the player was healed, I had to go find another team. I finished that season on the same team I was on in Germany the year before but with a different coach, Chris Finch. His team was struggling at that time. I came in, and after only 4 games, he had been fired. My play was not good and our team ended up dead last! 3 teams in 1 season…..
That plane ride home in early May of 2004 was when I made “the choice” to rededicate myself. I had thought: why haven’t I moved forward and so many guys I competed against and outplayed in college were flourishing in Europe? I thought back on my last 4 summers and started to see a trend of non commitment and laziness. I started to wonder maybe the lack of passion to get better during the summer was what was holding me back. So I gave myself 1 last chance.
Here is the deal I made with the mirror: You give everything you got to yourself, your body, your game this summer for 12 weeks, and if I still fail, I can move on and get a real job back in the New Jersey/New York area. Ball will be finished and the dream will be over. So I did just that. In my first visit to the gym in mid-May to start my off-season promise, I bumped into an old friend. He was a guy I knew growing up who used to live around the corner from my house. His name is Mike Dolce. He was training to be an ultimate fighter and wanted to become a champ in his weight class. We spoke, I told him about what was going on in my life and this guy inspired me beyond belief. He wanted to train me. I would become his summer project. He told me to do everything he said as hard as I could, to follow his diet, and to believe in myself. By doing these 3 things, he would make me “BULLETPROOF”!
So it began. We made a schedule to meet 4 days a week. I mixed in a strength program during the week, along with drill and basketball workouts alone in a gym on my own. And to top it off, I had summer league basketball.
I remember all my friends and brothers calling me “Rededicated B”! They would help me with my dieting. While some nights those guys would get pizza and beer, I was drinking water and eating chicken, brown rice, and broccoli. Or a salad with brown rice and tuna fish, and so on! They were real friends, real brothers!!! They encouraged me to stay the course and give my dream of playing hoops at the highest level another chance. They weren’t the kind of friend or brother that called me soft for not taking a shot or having a beer.
I had the support, I had the mentor in Dolce, I just needed to keep the drive. As summer progressed, I started to see immediate results in my body, in my mind, and in my game. I tore up the summer league basketball that summer taking a team that shouldn’t have won many games to the finals. And my mentality was completely different. I had so much confidence because of the work that I had put it in that I became “bullet proof” both physically and mentally like Dolce said.
So after that summer, I went to Belgium possessed. I was going to play for the coach that I played for in Germany for only a few games before the team let him go. Coach Chris Finch had the perfect system that matched my game and he gave me freedom to make mistakes. My preseason was not great, but I was still playing harder and in better shape then anybody over the 6 weeks pre-season. Eventually I found my rhythm and when we started the 2004-2005 season, I was on top of my game. I averaged over 15 points, over 6 boards, and around 3 assists that season.
From a personal standpoint, I was the most consistent I had ever been in my life. I always had big games in other seasons, but I lacked consistency.
These 12 weeks with Dolce gave me the consistency. And most importantly, our team won a championship. NOBODY was expecting our small budgeted team from Bree to ever compete with the big boys in Belgium but we did.
We sort of shocked the Belgian Basketball Community and I never felt better about my game. I had no injuries, played in all games and never missed a practice. The following season, I finally got a better contract and our team was going to compete in the Eurocup. I was moving forward at last. And to top it all off, I met the woman I would eventually marry and have a family with. The rest is history!!
When I look back, if I decided to quit after that plane ride coming from Germany after finishing in last place and not playing well, I don’t know where or what I would be right now. Real talk! It was a choice to “rededicate” myself to this beautiful game that I love for 1 summer, 12 weeks!!!
Now I am still involved in the game as a Coach and hopefully will be able to reach the highest level as a coach. This choice has not only become a lesson learned, but more so a lifestyle. Whatever I do, I do it 1000 percent and give my full commitment. And it’s not always perfect.
I wanted to get drafted in the lottery and play in the NBA. That never happened but I still followed the dream of playing ball at the highest level that I could personally. I know that with passion and dedication to what I want, I may not get it (as I didn’t make the NBA) but something good will come from the hard work and you can never regret giving everything you got towards your goals and dreams. Not making the NBA actually ended up being the best thing that ever happened to me because I wouldn’t trade the journey that I experienced for anything. And it goes without saying, I wouldn’t trade what I have in my life now for anything. I am what I am, nobody will change that. My turning point in life started by the choice to get after it for 1 summer! Thats all it took. Anybody can do the same if they go for it with everything they got. There is no secret, its just work and belief.
My advice, if you want something really bad, then give every off-season your dedication!
Give yourself 12 weeks to change your life!
Brian Lynch
Twitter: @blynch8
