Nathan Brieau, a French point guard that has been living and playing in Switzerland most of his life, left on a tryout this week. The destination is a beautiful, picturesque Mediterranean coastal town with a castle that was used in the filming of “The Game of Thrones”.
We caught up with the 6’0″ Point Guard to ask him a little bit about his basketball background, where he expects to be years from now and how this opportunity came about.
“I started playing basketball at the age of 9 years old with my little brother.”
He grew up playing in Switzerland as that is where his parents relocated to when he was young. He has been playing with a regional team for the past two years called Sion Basket which is located in Valais, known for its Ski resorts and close proximity to Matterhorn.
He had a dream to play on another level in another country.
When asked what his intentions were for attending EuroProBasket he mentioned,”I really wanted to become a professional (basketball player) so I gave it a try (Euro Professional Program). I didn’t expect to sign with any team during my time at EuroProBasket. I actually wanted to improve my basketball skills, learn, and get better as a player. I feel like I did improve and I now also have a team!”
During his time in the EuroProBasket program Nathan improved tremendously and showed staff he was ready for an opportunity to start his career outside of his home country.
When asked about his new team and the town where he is playing he said,”People are really nice here, Peñíscola is a beautiful place, the beach, the hills, the streets… a paradise for tourists.”
He mentioned his goals for this season were,”to move up to the upper division for next season.” This happens when teams reach the top of the table in their competition. Currently they are ranked 2nd place so his goals are well within his reach. With a promotion to a higher division, better conditions are typically available as well as more exposure.
When asked about his experience during his time at EuroProBasket he said:
“My experience was amazing. The facilities are great, the coaching staff does an impressive job of adapting to each player that come here. The strength and conditioning coach does a very good job in showing players what to do, when to do it, how to do it, even though practices and games were hard, I feel like the stretching with coach helped a lot for the month I’ve been here. I’ve also had great teammates, that actually became friends… that whole process of EuroProBasket was, overall just a great experience! I had a good time!”
– Nathan Brieau –
He has a clear vision of where he sees himself 10 years from now, and it’s not sitting on the beach of Peniscola, even though I am sure he will spend some time there in the near future. “In 10 years, I see myself with experience. Lot more knowledge in basketball, a lot less mistakes made on the court. I hope I’ll be a professional and that I’ll be able to make a good living out of basketball”.
Nathan already took the first step in his career path and at the young age of 19 he has plenty of years to work towards it.
