South Lafourche boys want another district crown
October 2, 2012
Even in victory, LSU doesn’t earn high marks
October 2, 2012
Hello guys and gals,
My name is Sumar Leslie. I was born and raised in Houma. I am a professional women’s basketball player for the San German Atleticas in Puerto Rico.
I know, I know, I know. I’m supposed to be in Norway right now.
That’s a long story and I’ll explain it another day.
But for now, I’m just enjoying Puerto Rico and everything it has to offer to me.
I arrived in the Caribbean on Sept. 22 and have had just an absolute wild series of days since my arrival.
My initial flight out of New Orleans was at 6 a.m. on that day, which meant I had to wake up at about 2:30 a.m. in Houma to get ready.
Needless to say, that day was one of the longest in my life.
I went from Houma to Miami to San Juan.
Once in San Juan, I took a multi-hour bus ride to my new home in San German – a small municipality in southwest Puerto Rico.
I didn’t get settled until late that night – I was absolutely, positively exhausted.
Oh yeah, did I mention that I had to make my professional debut the next day on Sept. 23?
The team didn’t waste any time putting me to work!
But before I get into basketball, I want to describe what I see here in Puerto Rico.
The first thing I noticed about this place is that although it is a part of the United States, it is entirely a world of its own.
The buildings look different here.
The people speak differently here – I don’t know a lick of Spanish. It drives me bananas!
And the things that we take for granted at home are complete luxuries here.
On my first day in Puerto Rico, I witnessed several men and women riding horses in the streets – not because they were on a ranch or a farm, but because horses are their form of transportation.
To me, that is just an eye-opening experience and something that I struggled to grasp.
My first instinct was to laugh, but then I realized just how lucky I was to have the things in life that I’ve been blessed with.
Despite the differences in lifestyle, basketball is basketball anywhere around the world. The court is the one place where I am able to relax and feel at home.
We practice pretty much every day for a few hours.
Our playing schedule is a bit accelerated from college.
We play on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
My first game came after my travel day – an afternoon game against this team named Ponce.
I assume they are named after Ponce de Leon – don’t quote me.
My body was tired and my game was rusty and we played pretty poorly early in the game.
But I hit my stride late and we ended up winning by more than 20 points!
In my professional debut, I had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals – a true blessing.
Since my first game, we have played two other games.
Last Tuesday, we beat the first place team in the league at home.
After that, we stumbled and lost in my first road game last Thursday.
After three games in five days, I admit – my body was tired.
I played pretty well in each game, but I expect to get better as I get more comfortable here.
I want everyone back home to know I am thinking about you!
I really appreciate the words of support and the kind messages I’ve received since I’ve been here!
Until next time, Stay Blessed!
-SL7
Houma woman and former Nicholls State star Sumar Leslie defends the ball for her new team, the San German Atleticas. SportsNet will allow locals to keep in contact with Leslie throughout her stay in this weekly diary series.
