St. Edward’s University senior Bobby Watkins traveled to Germany this past summer with basketball ministry group News Release Basketball.

While in Germany, Watkins coached at two sessions of a youth basketball camp and played point guard for News Release Team 1, a basketball team composed of college students from the ages of 20 to 27.

The camps were located in Lauf an der Pegnitz, a city outside of Nuremburg in southern Germany and Wolmirstedt, near Berlin. Camp participants included boys and girls, ages five to 22. At camp, Watkins was referred to as “Coach Bobby.”

“We got to teach [the students] about Christ and play on pro teams in hopes to get picked up by pro teams in Germany,” Watkins said.

Coach Bobby helped camp participants develop their basketball skills, and in return, they taught him a few German phrases to use on the court. “Schneller,” meaning faster, “auf geht’s,” meaning let’s go, and “nein,” meaning no, are a few words from Watkins’s German vocabulary.

Although Watkins learned some German, he spoke English with camp participants.

“Communication was good,” Watkins said. “They learn English at the beginning of sixth grade, and a lot of them have traveled to the U.S.”

In addition to coaching at youth basketball camps, Watkins and the News Release Basketball Team 1 competed against basketball teams from sport clubs in Germany. Competitors included TV 1877 Lauf from Lauf an der Pegnitz, a team from Nuremburg, and the Wolmirstadt Baskets from Wolmirstadt. News Release Team 1 went 6-0 against their German competitors. Team 1 won their games by 15 points or more on average, Watkins said.

“Basketball here in the states is more readily available,” Watkins said. “We have teams in middle school and high school. They don’t have teams like that, only club teams.”

Watkins’s own basketball experience includes playing for two years on the St. Edward’s NCAA Division II men’s basketball team and playing on teams in middle school through high school. In total, Watkins has been playing basketball for 10 years.

Watkins noticed some differences in the basketball rules used in Germany versus those used in the United States.

“If the ball is on top of the rim, you can swat the ball away,” Watkins said.

In addition, the lanes that run perpendicular to the free throw line are bigger than the lanes on American courts. The lanes are wider because European rules call for a trapezoid on the court in place of the rectangle traditionally seen on courts in the United States. Watkins said the wider lanes helped keep players on the court more spread out.

Watkins had opportunities to travel with News Release Basketball Team 1 to other parts of Germany in between camp sessions, games and practice. Watkins’s transportation included trains, walking on foot, and riding in a van.

“Imagine a van on the Autobahn full of people at 120 miles per hour,” Watkins said. “It was windy, so it was swaying a bit.”

Watkins visited cathedrals, churches and one beach in Munich, and thoroughly enjoyed the German cuisine.

“German food is really good,” Watkins said. “There was a lot of meat, potatoes and sausages.”

News Release Basketball invited Watkins to travel to Germany again next summer. Watkins hopes a German sports club will scout him to play on a basketball team. He works out every day in preparation.

“That’s my dream–to play pro ball,” Watkins said.