How to Contact Overseas Basketball Teams: Best Way To Play Overseas Basketball Without Going to College (Germany Pro League Strategy)
Contacting overseas basketball teams can feel overwhelming.
Often times overseas basketball players don’t know:
Where to start
How to look
How to properly communicate (i.e. being professional)
So let me cut out the guesswork for you.
I’ll show you how literally ANYONE can get in touch with a professional basketball team.
Even those who don’t have college experience can do this method and obtain results.
So let’s begin.
How do I contact an overseas basketball team?
Unlike what you may have heard, typically it is actually quite easy to connect with lower-ranking overseas basketball teams.
This is especially true nowadays with many clubs having their Team President/GM handling their team’s social media accounts.
In fact:
In a previous post I shared my comprehensive guide on the matter.
It’s free and easy.
Literally anyone can do it.
But admittedly it doesn’t give the best results (3-5% success rate).
I am up front about that from the start.
After all, there’s a reason anyone can do it.
why contact overseas basketball teams in Germany?
Today I’ll show you a much better method.
It applies specifically to Germany.
As a reference:
Germany has 11 divisions in the country - making it a prime location for rookie/beginners
Many clubs have multiple teams in different levels
Players are able to play for two clubs - in two different divisions - simultaneously through a dual-player license
That makes promotions very likely/possible if you choose the right team
If your interest isn’t perked after reading that then I’d suggest looking elsewhere.
But if you’d love to hoop in the Deutschland then let’s get started!
Contacting Overseas Basketball teams in Germany can be done through a simple app and research.
How to contact overseas basketball teams in Germany (Picture guide)
STEP 1: Get your cell phone
STEP 2: Go to the app store and search “DBB”
STEP 3: Download the DBB app
Overseas basketball players interested in contacting German teams should download an app called DBB.
This app is a goldmine in Germany.
But no one outside of Germany even knows about it!
It has all the teams, their positioning and where they play (regions).
It even includes the lower-levels (what we want).
So download it ASAP!
STEP 4: Click on “Ergebnisse und Tabellen” on the home page (results and tables)
Contacting German Overseas Basketball Teams should be done by region.
STEP 5: Click on the league/region you are interested in (e.g. Regionalliga, Bundeslander section)
German Overseas Basketball teams are reachable in all 16 different states in the country.
Remember:
If you are a rookie/beginner or low-level pro you need to be selecting lower-level German leagues.
So if you try the higher-ranking German leagues - i.e. BBL, Pro A or Pro B - this method will not work.
Those leagues go through specific channels to get their players such as:
Agents
Mutual connections
Advanced scouting
Coaches’ recommendations
Instead:
Focus on the Regionalligas (Nord, Sudwest or Sudost) or the Bundeslander (Federal states) section.
Regionalligas are ideal landing spots but less likely to give you results (more competitive).
Bundeslander (State Leagues) are a surefire way for a fair opportunity/tryout.
If you are someone with:
No college experience
Minimal college experience (1-2 years)
Significant gap years (3+ years)
No pro experience
Click on one of the Bundeslander sections.
STEP 6: Select your desired league within that state
Contacting Overseas Basketball Teams in Germany requires targeting a specific league.
Now your screen will really depend on you.
What state you selected and where you want to play.
Results will vary.
In my particular instance, I selected Hesse.
So the above picture is how that tab would open up.
Nonetheless:
Wherever you choose, there will be a selection of leagues/options that will pop up on your screen.
Understand something:
When it comes to the German Basketball System, only the BBL, Pro A/B and Regionalliga 1/2 are nation-wide leagues (RL less so as it is split up into a North - South division).
Below these divisions, the competitions are centrally located in specific regions and states.
Hence, why they are called State Leagues (Bundeslander).
That means there is less travel but also a wide variation of what leagues are offered in certain regions.
Some regions will have less options than others and vice versa.
In any case:
Select the league you are interested in.
I am choosing Landesliga in this example.
STEP 7: Select “mannlich” (male), weilblich” (female) or “gemischt” (mixed) depending on your situation
When contacting overseas basketball teams in Germany you must specify whether it is for males, females or mixed.
STEP 8: Select your desired conference (Herren is men’s)
Contacting Overseas Basketball teams requires selecting the conference you want to play in.
Now you are selecting the conference within your league.
For instance:
In my example I am in the Landesliga tab.
But there are two conferences (North, South) within the men’s Landesliga.
Obviously if you have no background of German basketball you will have no idea which conference is “better” or where you should look.
Don’t worry.
That’s not important for now.
Just select any conference.
STEP 9: Click on the “Tabelle” (Table) tab at the top of the screen
Contacting Overseas Basketball teams in Germany requires looking at the league standings.
STEP 10: Make note which teams have a 1/2/3 beside their team name.
You want teams that have a 2/3 beside their name (e.g. MTV Kronberg 2)
Contacting Overseas Basketball teams requires looking at which teams have affiliated clubs to promote players.
Now this is where the magic begins.
When contacting overseas basketball teams in Germany the clubs you want to look for are the ones in the standings that have a 2 or 3 beside their team names.
This signifies that there is another (better) version of this club playing in a higher division, meaning there are player promotion opportunities available.
For instance:
In the Landesliga, there are two clubs I’d be interested in.
MTV Kronberg 2
TV Langen 3
Because Kronberg has the 2 beside its name, that means there is another Kronberg team (i.e. Kronberg 1) that must be playing in a higher division.
Kronberg is playing with its second team in the Landesliga.
Same with Langen, only it’s playing with its third-best Langen team in the Landesliga since they are called Langen 3.
Why is this important?
In Germany, pro players are able to be promoted for a maximum of five games to a higher division team within the same club through what is known as a dual license card.
In other words:
If I played on MTV Kronberg 2 in the Landesliga I would be able to get promoted to the Kronberg 1 team for a max of five games if the organization wanted to do it.
Same deal with Langen.
Why would teams do this?
Import players are injured on their First Team
Import players are underperforming on their First Team
First Team doesn’t have import players
First Team would like to experiment to see how you play at that level
This is an exceptional way for players to rapidly increase their:
Value (salaries)
Playing experience
Resume (higher up, the better)
…within a single season!
It’s an unbelievable hack.
Remember:
These lower-level state-league teams rarely pay their players.
So if you are able to get in front of them (i.e. flying yourself out or getting a “normal” job overseas and then trying out for your local club) then they are almost guaranteed to give you a fair tryout/shot.
They are always in desperate need for good players - especially foreigners if they come cheap.
But you don’t want to stay there.
There’s no money in these state leagues (few exceptions).
You want to move up the ranks to a more professionalized league.
So that’s why you need to find a club that has another team competing in a higher level.
STEP 11: Now go back (hit the back arrow) until you’re back on the league selection page (picture below)
All of Germany's overseas basketball teams can be found through a simple app.
STEP 12: Find out what leagues the club’s higher-ranking teams (i.e. 1/2) play in
This step will take some maneuvering.
It’s really trial and error.
To find the higher-ranking clubs of the team you will need to go through the different leagues and see where they are located.
Again:
If you are unfamiliar with Germany’s geography then you won’t know geographically which leagues/regions to look for.
So just search everywhere and find out.
But important note here:
Chances are if you are searching for the higher-ranking clubs from a State League team then the highest you’ll find them in is Regionalliga 1.
Otherwise they’re more likely to be in RL2 or below.
That should save you some time.
But this step will depend on what club you are searching.
Look at my example (photos above):
As you can see by the images, I found out that Kronberg’s and Langen’s A Teams both play in RL1.
Meanwhile, Langen 2 (or B Team) plays in RL2.
STEP 13: Find those teams on Eurobasket.com & contact them via social media, email
Overseas Basketball Players can contact German overseas basketball teams on EuroBasket.
Next:
You’ll need to find these teams on the popular overseas basketball website, EuroBasket.
If you don’t know how to use EuroBasket then click here.
I give a complete breakdown on how to operate this system.
Some teams won’t have contact information - no problem.
Don’t get discouraged and head to the next team.
But if they do have contact info then reach out via their social media handles, website or email.
Make sure to be brief, concise and specific in your messages:
Who are you?
What is your experience level?
What are you seeking?
What are you willing to do for it? Hint: Incentivize them (e.g. fly myself out, get a job there)
And most important:
Be formal and have no spelling errors!
STEP 15: Get a job in Germany or take a vacation trip to the country and tryout for clubs
Because we are dealing with such a low-level in German basketball (i.e. State Leagues), there will be very little publicity or contact information available.
So don’t get discouraged.
Initially you may not get too many results.
But the most important thing is that you know who you should be targeting/contacting.
That is over half the battle.
Currently I’m actually playing in the Landesliga.
I plan on putting together a comprehensive contact sheet.
In it, it will have all the important Landesliga:
Coaches
Agents
GMs
I’ll give it to you in one easy-to-read guide.
So consider subscribing to my newsletter if you want to skip the above steps and just get the end product.
Otherwise:
With the most pertinent teams in mind and after having completed Steps 1 - 14, the final step is for you to fly out to Germany.
Yes - fly on your own dime!
If you are someone who has a low basketball experience level then it’s highly unlikely (never) a club will cover your flight.
Even less likely (never) will it happen at one of these lower levels.
So for about 90 per cent of players that will mean making an investment on your part.
It really depends on how serious you are about your dream.
What lengths are you willing to go to achieve it?
If you do follow-through with this method however, it is almost a guaranteed result (tryout).
How do I know?
I’ve seen it first-hand.
Multiple clubs in the German Basketball system pick up foreigners (Americans) who are already living here.
And at no extra costs to the club - why wouldn’t they?
Contacting Overseas Basketball Teams in Germany can be done in many ways.
Remember:
Teams in these lower-levels are always in need of good players - especially those who are serious hoopers.
So if you are able to sustain yourself in the country with a job/visa then teams will have no reason to not have you on the club.
If you play well enough, it’s likely they may make a (small) financial investment in you.
As long as you aren’t costing them much to play with their team, clubs will take a serious look at you.
From there, it’s on you to perform.
You will have to kill the tryout.
Then you’ll have to do even more to be considered for a potential call-up to a higher division.
Last but definitely not least:
Don’t kill yourself financially trying to follow-through with this plan.
Save some money.
Think it through.
Take your time.
Don’t quit your day job on a whim.
Be calculated in how you can sustainably live in Germany while looking at your options.
Here’s some ways to get over to Germany without killing yourself financially:
Find a job in Germany (VISA required)
Visit family/friends in Germany (lodging will be covered)
Take a trip/vacation in Germany & tryout for a State Club during the visit (two birds, 1 stone)
Enroll in a German university/college (secured lodging while furthering education)
CONCLUSION
So there you have it.
If you were wondering How to Successfully Contact Overseas Basketball Teams with little basketball experience then you now have a concrete plan of attack in hand.
Of course:
The better your playing resume, the more likely you will see results.
But if you were at a dead-end and out of options to realize your overseas basketball dreams - here’s a great way to feel hope again.
This method will allow you to:
Get in front of eyeballs
Hack the German Basketball League System
Start your overseas basketball career
But it will take an investment and it could take some time.
Proceed wisely.
How do you contact overseas basketball teams?
What’s your basketball experience level?
Let me know in the comment section below!
Jose Colorado is a 6-year professional basketball player helping others achieve their dreams of pro basketball with a proven and tested approach to overseas basketball.
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