Spray Ice

Greek people are extremely dramatic. Someone gets hurt in our practice like every ten minutes. And we all stop and eight people run to their side. I stay away and let the trainer rush out to them with a can of spray ice to aerosol the injured area. Sometimes they are really in pain, sometimes it’s a hang nail. I’m like tape a freaking aspirin to it and let’s go. Say, “spray ice” to any American over here and you will get uncontrolled laughter and when they can breathe again, an explanation of how extremely stupid it is. Basically its some chemical that feels really cold on your skin bottled in an aerosol can. Probably good for numbing an area for stitches or something but certainly not something that is going to prevent inflammation. But its more the drama of the situation. Someone hurts themselves and its this huge ordeal for like 5 minutes and then they play. Its along the same lines of why they flop every time you touch them and try to get the referee to call a foul. This year they actually made it a technical foul if you flop trying to get an offensive foul. Not that they will ever call it, but they can. That’s how bad it is. Its drama all the time…



So I've had to adjust my thinking. When I ask a teammate how their ankle, knee, hip is and they say. “oh it is really sore, I can hardly walk” I translate that to “it’s a little sore. I could practice but I am not going to”. When they say, “Ah, its pains me some” I translate that to “I can hardly feel it anymore.” Unlike America where we suck it up, Greeks exaggerate every little thing. So when my physical therapist asks me how my foot is, I tell him it’s a little sore. “If I shoot in the morning, it hurts during practice at night. Lateral movement and stopping is still difficult.” He replies, “oh good” because he thinks that means “my foot hardly hurts at all.”

So basically you can never tell whether someone is hurt or not. Let me put it to you this way... On the whole, it is acceptable to sit out of practice when you are menstruating. Not everyone does it, but enough do it to where is a running joke between the American players. And it is a perfectly acceptable excuse to which no one argues. If anyone in America tried to sit out of practice because they were on their period it would be because they were doubled over in pain unable to move out of the fetal position. Very few women, after a few midols perhaps, are in that much pain and can’t practice. Plus, exercise is the best thing you can do yet the Greek girls sit on the sidelines, comfortably watching practice. Its not that some women don’t have extremely bad cramps but they sit there like they don’t have a care in the world. It such old fashioned thinking. Its like the same argument that men used to use to keep women out of sports. They are delicate and fragile, their reproductive capabilities might be damaged if they run. Like we need to be in isolated bed rest or some shit. My great aunt, in the 1930’s wasn’t allowed to go to AAU basketball nationals because she was menstruating. But that was the 1930’s…


So despite the spray ice, the trainers over here are different. I really like my trainer this year but I’m easy to please these days. He speaks English well and he rubs my foot. That’s about all I’ve come to expect. Actually the English part is a bonus. So basically all I use trainers for over here is massage. I absolutely will not let him tape my ankles. What is a basic and rudimentary task for trainers in America is somehow complicated and elusive for the trainers here. They absolutely cannot tape. Its painful to watch. Not only does he take about 7 minutes per foot (its supposed to be like a minutes and a half) but when he is done it looks like a oversized, wrinkled, wet sock, crumpled up around the ankle. I literally have to occupy myself with something else less I run over there and take the tape out of his hands and finish the job. I can't even look. Why any of my teammates let him by their ankles I don’t know. Probably for the same reason they think spray ice works.