Chelsea Small has been saving for this moment in her life since middle school.
The Sycamore alum (2012-15) admits she's been putting away money with younger sister Sydney since fifth grade in hopes one day she could travel across the globe. That dream came to fruition when she signed her first professional basketball contract last September to play for the Rhein-Main Baskets in Langen, Germany.
She became the fifth player in school history to sign an overseas contract and is one of two current Sycamores playing in Europe (Deja Maddox (2009-12) also plays in Lithuania). Currently in the offseason, Small is taking advantage of living overseas to the max.
The Denver, Colo., native quickly packed up her life quickly when she inked her contract, heading to Germany in less than a week. She joined Rhein-Main's season, which was already in progress, as one of just two American players on the team, and averaged a double-double with 16.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Small helped her team to a fifth-place finish in the Damen-Basketball-Bundesliga League (DBBL) and narrowly missing the playoffs, as the top four teams earn postseason spots.
She averaged 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds and started in every game during her senior season (2014-15) when she led ISU to its best non-conference season in nearly 10 years. She credited Sycamore head coach Joey Wells' commitment to defense as one of the things that prepared her most for playing overseas.
“The skill level in the states is a bit better than this but the number one thing that helped me is learning Coach Wells' defense,” Small said. “Defense wasn't stressed at my junior college and being there with Coach Wells, who was hard on defense prepared me the most. You have to score and play defense over here.”
Currently, Small is preparing to sign a new contract with a new team, possibly in Germany but still has much to be decided in the next few months. She's working with her agent to play at a higher level and hopes to get something solidified in late July or early August.
When she spoke to GoSycamores.com, Small was returning from a trip to Portugal and back in Germany for a few days before picking up her sister and heading to Spain for more exploration.
It's just a few stops on her list since she's been overseas, making trips to France, Netherland, Czech Republic and Austria plus summer trips already set to Greece, Hungary and Italy. A travel junkie who's visited numerous countries across the Caribbean before moving to Europe, Small double majored in criminology and Spanish while at Indiana State and said being bilingual has helped her adjust to the European lifestyle.
“I took some German since I've been over here and the Spanish has definitely helped,” Small said. “But when people can't speak English I just start speaking Spanish to them and that has helped out a lot.”
Small said she's enjoying living in a new country and experiencing a new culture, all thanks to the game of basketball. But, of course, there are a few things she misses about America.
“I was home for 10 days at Christmas time but that's been it,” Small said. “When I first arrived I absolutely loved it, and I still do. I first said 'I love it here and I never want to go back (to the USA).' I'm really a homebody and I miss my family and my dog but I have no complaints so far.”
