I recently had the opportunity to speak directly with a customer who was the parent of a fastpitch softball player at an American High School overseas.  Our conversation quickly made me realize that dependents of our military personnel overseas are faced with a unique situation for team sports.  I contacted the coach and expressed my interest in conducting an interview so our readers can learn more about what high school players face to play team sports overseas.

There are dozens of DODDS (Department Of Defense Dependents Schools) overseas.  Just like stateside schools students are offered the opportunity to participate in team sports.   I contacted John Gilmore, Fastpitch Softball coach at Lakenheath High School, Suffolk, England, below is the interview.

QUESTION: Can you give us a quick overview of your background in the military and sports?  How did you first get involved in coaching high school sports abroad?

ANSWER:  I was never in the military but had a friend in the DODDS program that got me interested. I was working in Washington State at the time coaching and teaching when I was offered a job overseas (England). I took the job and was at my first station for 6 years when they closed the base so I moved to the Middle East where I worked for 3 and ½ years. I was then offered another job back in England which I took and am still here today. I have worked overseas for 22 years.

QUESTION: Do you conform to the same National Federation Of High School rules that American High Schools at home do?

ANSWER: YES

QUESTION: Do you have a lot of students interested in playing?  Are there enough players for a Junior Varsity team and a Varsity team like there are in most US high schools?

ANSWER: There are more than enough students who show interest in playing to build a Junior Varsity team and a Varsity team as high schools in the US.

QUESTION: How are the teams organized and how many teams are in your “League” or “Division”?

ANSWER: Teams are organized according to the school’s student population.  For the Division I league there are relatively nine teams.

QUESTION: Is there an equivalent to playing division (playing teams on your level), sectional and state games?

ANSWER: We have regional play but with few teams in the region(6). We do a round robin type of set up during the regular season which gives us our seeding for the European tournament. This year the tournament will be the 21-23 of May.

QUESTION: How often do your players get to practice?

ANSWER: Players get to practice five days every week for three months with games occurring on Saturdays.

QUESTION: In the states coaches use all kinds of warm ups before playing, stretches, jogging and throwing the ball around to name a few.  Do you use any unique warm up routines that are based on military type exercises?

ANSWER: No. Although these are military dependents they are not treated like military students.

QUESTION: Does the softball program allow for pre-season scrimmages or are you limited to games scheduled only for the season?

ANSWER: We are limited to only seasonal play.

QUESTION: What is the furthest distance you have to travel to play?

ANSWER: The farthest that the team has to travel is to Germany (about 12-14 hour bus ride). We also travel to Holland and Belgium. European tournament is held in Ramstein Germany where we have teams come in from all over (Turkey, Spain, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Holland…..

QUESTION: Do you normally travel by air or ground?

ANSWER: Ground. There are time we will travel by air (when it is less expensive?

QUESTION: Does your funding cover all expenses or do you depend on Boosters and donations?

ANSWER: The team creates different opportunities to fundraise before, during, or after the season?

QUESTION: Does traveling long distances for games interfere with school work?

ANSWER: No, because the students know that in order to play they must keep up with their school work first.  The team has a tutoring program.

QUESTION: Do you think traveling long distances to play a game affects your player’s performance? 

ANSWER: There are some instances. We don’t allow our players to use that as an excuse. We travel so much that we know when and how to sleep….even if it is on the bus

QUESTION: How do players stay fresh during the travel time?  Do you stop often so they can stretch their legs?

ANSWER: There is a mandatory curfew when the team is traveling, especially overnight by bus and when they are sleeping in the gyms.  We take a couple of breaks at rest stops to allow the players to stretch their legs, use the restroom, and grab something to eat.

QUESTION: Describe a typical game situation.  Do you start traveling the night before or early in the morning?  When you get to an opposing teams location do you rest first or just head out to the field?

ANSWER: We play games every Friday and Saturday.  If we are traveling to Germany, then we will leave Thursday night at 2200.  The players sleep on the bus.   Arrival time is usually between 0800 and 1000 Friday morning.  The players will get around two to three hours of rest in which they eat, do school work, or sleep. 

QUESTION: Given the distance you have to travel from your base to play, what kind of accommodations do you get at the opposing teams base?

ANSWER: At every base the team travels to, we sleep in the high school gym of the opposing team.  Players bring sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows to make their sleeping arrangements more comfortable.

QUESTION: Are there special security measures you have to run your program by and if so how does that affect game play and travel?

ANSWER: There are some bases that we have to use extra security for but all of our students have military ID cards

QUESTION: Do any of your players ever get the opportunity to go to college on softball scholarships?  Do they get scouted like players here in the states?

ANSWER: Its very hard for our players to get scouted.  My job as a coach is to make sure that if a player is interested in a college than I contact that college and fill them in on the players statistics and at some time try to arrange a meeting with them and the coach. In my 10 years of coaching fastpitch here I have had 6 players receive scholarships.

QUESTION: What do you think is the biggest benefit that playing softball offers your players?

ANSWER: I think it offers them the same benefits as it would in the states such as being part of a team, learning to deal with other people, learning to deal with situations (game and life), the chance to work at being a leader, discipline, responsibility, organizing your time, getting your schoolwork done and many other things but the one big advantage that we have over the stateside players is that our players will gain the knowledge and experience of different cultures while being involved in a sport. You can’t put a price on that kind of high school experience.

QUESTION: What do your players think is the biggest benefit they get from playing softball?

ANSWER: Teamwork.  A softball team cannot function if everybody is doing their own thing.  Being a part of a team teachers the girls discipline and responsibility. 

While players overseas may have to endure some hardships to play it is clear that the effect of team sports is such a positive one that it not only overcomes those unique hardships but that may even be a more valuable experience because of them.

Whether your stateside or abroad, team sports benefit everyone involved.  To all of those players and coaches overseas I say gran trabajo, le grand travail, すばらしい仕事, großer Job, lavoro grande, 훌륭한 일, great job!

I would also like to thank John Gilmore and his team for taking the time to indulge me with this interview that I am sure our readers will enjoy.  Thank you.

*If you have a unique story about playing team sports abroad that you feel our readers would enjoy send it to us via email for review and we may post it on the blog.  ken@morleyathletic.com