Casey Gets a Taste of Europe

Most students look forward to winter break as a time to go home and unwind after a long semester of school. However, Christen Casey had plans for vacation that were anything but relaxing. Instead of spending time at her home in Long Beach, IN, the senior Syracuse University volleyball player dashed around Europe, visiting five different countries in just ten days. Although Casey went skiing and snowboarding, saw a number of exotic sights and spent time with her sister who lives outside Frankfurt, Germany, the trip was dedicated to volleyball.

In an effort to clarify her plans for post-graduation, Casey decided to explore the option of professional volleyball abroad. She went on a tour with an agency called Bring It USA Promotions, a European-based professional volleyball agency that represents both American and European, men and women players. The tour began in Munich, Germany and continued to Innsbruck, Austria; Maribor, Slovenia; Zagrat, Croatia and Prague, Czech Republic. Casey learned about this opportunity from Alexis Dankulic, the SU assistant volleyball coach.

“I really didn’t consider it until our season was winding down. It just made sense to at least see what the tour was all about,” Casey said.

About 23 other women joined Casey on one of the largest tours the agency had organized. Some athletes hoped to sign contracts on the spot and join a team while others, like Casey, planned on returning to the United States to finish college.

“For me, at that time on the tour, I wanted the agents to see how and if I was capable of playing,” Casey said.

Casey had to familiarize herself with some unique European rules before showing off her skills on the court. She found other striking differences between playing overseas and playing at SU. For example, there are no line judges in Europe, jewelry is strictly forbidden and some of the teams are extremely poor and cannot afford uniforms.

“One of the weirdest things was that teams were compiled with both 14-year-old girls and 35-year-old women,” Casey said.

At the conclusion of the tour, Casey returned to her sister’s home in Germany where she had the chance to practice with the town’s team. Although the coach, an ex-Argentinean National player, only spoke Spanish and German, she made a connection with him. He asked Casey to return after she graduates from SU.

“The team is pretty good, but I’m not sure there is an opportunity to make enough money to be happy,” Casey said.

Volleyball players are paid a minimal salary in Europe. Casey is unsure whether it will be enough to cover the expenses of rent, food, a car, a phone and flights home to the United States.

Nevertheless, Casey plans on going back to Europe in August or September. She intends to practice with the German team while an agent works to schedule tryouts for her. European teams must pay a tax on each American player signed. The tax was recently increased, so it is getting harder and harder for Americans to get picked up.

“Therefore, you need to be better than the best, no mistakes, and even if you don’t understand what your coaches or teammates are saying, you don’t have room to mess up,” Casey explained.

Throughout her four years at SU, Casey has proven that she ranks among the top college volleyball players. Casey is third on the SU all-time digs list with 1,284 digs and 2.97 digs per game. For the 2003 season, she finished fifth in the BIG EAST in digs per game and recorded the fifth best single season digs-per-game average in SU history (3.72).

Syracuse University Athletics

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