Following a four-year career as a student-athlete at Rice University, Rodney Foster’s education continued this past year on another continent. While many of his classmates from Rice went on to post-graduate studies, Foster’s classroom this past year was a city in the Rhineland area of Germany and basketball courts unlike any in the United States.
Foster’s agent worked out a contract just days before the former Rice point guard set out for the city of Leverkusen in the far western reaches of Germany. Just days after arriving in Leverkusen, Foster made his debut as a professional athlete playing for Bayer Giants Leverkusen (and yes, the team takes its name from the pharmaceutical manufacturer which is headquartered in the city).
“It was definitely a quick transition,” Foster said. “I got there, settled in and we practices two or three days before our first game.”
On the court, Foster had to become adjusted to a different kind of basketball. And outside the team’s home venue, Wilhelm Dopatka Halle, the suburban Houston native had to come accustom himself to a new culture.
“I was there to play basketball but I definitely wanted to experience everything I could,” he said. “Not too many people get the opportunity to go to another country and live their daily life in a different culture. I definitely got a lot out of the experience.”
Read more about Foster's experience at Rice University's athletic blog, The R.
