When most students decide to study abroad, they spend their time exploring the world and the country they are in. Others spend it doing research on a project or gathering ideas and philosophies from a different country. For Amanda Altes, it is about one thing: playing basketball.
“I’ve been playing basketball for eight years, and it’s a sport I really like and really enjoy,” said the study abroad student from Barcelona, Spain. “I saw there was a team here and I wanted to join.”
Head coach Sean Pinkerton’s first introduction to the forward from Europe was via email.
“[She] said she played over there, sent me some film and said she would like to be a part of the team,” Pinkerton said. “I told [her] when tryouts were and that we would be happy to have her tryout.”
Despite the vast differences in culture and setting, Altes has enjoyed her time in Oswego.
“It’s really different than what I’m used too,” Altes said. “My university is in the city, so it’s completely different, but I like it. I’ve always wanted to study abroad, and my college gave me this opportunity.
For some study abroad students, life can be difficult. Coming from Spain, Altes has to adjust to using english as a primary language. Another struggle can be finding friends, however, for Altes, she has developed a strong bond with her teammates.
“They are really nice and they have become my group of friends here,” Altes said. “Besides playing basketball with them, I hang out with them sometimes, and I go out with them sometimes.”
Although she was able to become close with her teammates, other struggles still arise. Coaching is different across cultures, so there is an adjustment that must be made from both sides.
“I like [Pinkerton],” Altes said. “I’m not used to his way of coaching or his way of teaching basketball, but I really like it because it’s not what I’m used to, and I like different things.”
For Pinkerton, he understands what the sport is like in different cultures. He spent five years coaching in Minnesota and had to adjust his basketball terminology and style of play.
“She’s used to a different style of play,” Pinkerton said. “They definitely play the game a little bit differently in Europe, in comparison to the way we play within the SUNYAC and here in the U.S. …The other thing we have to be conscious of with Amanda is terminology can be different. With the language barrier and coming from a different society where the game is taught, we just have to make sure that terminology is the same and there is understanding as we communicate back and forth.”
Despite the struggles, on the court they seem to dissipate for Altes.
“She brings great athleticism to floor, she’s really versatile on the defensive end,” Pinkerton said. “We can use her on perimeter players, we can use her on the interior. She rebounds the ball well… She’s done a nice job of playing to her strengths in those regards.”
Amanda did miss half the season with a broken thumb and has only played nine games. She has made a nice addition to the team averaging 4.1 points per game and 5.2 rebounds per game. She is also very efficient shooting the third-highest field goal percentage on the the team shooting 40.6 percent from the field. When freshmen Ramatoulaye Sy went down with an injury, Altes took her spot in the starting lineup.
“It’s been about where she belongs and what she can do to help us,” Pinkerton said.
Amanda is currently studying biomedicine at her university back in Spain and has picked up a job on campus at Lakeside dining hall. The team only has three games left on the season, and Amanda has that amount of time left to leave her mark as a Laker.
Photo bynMaria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian
