Rising sophomore Danielle Hamilton-Carter is in Europe this summer to represent Sweden in the 2010 European Championships. After sitting out her first year, Hamilton-Carter will finally get back on the court. She wanted to share her experiences throughout the summer with the Yellow Jacket fans.
June 30, 2010
Entry #1
Finally back on the court!
I touched down in my hometown of Stockholm on the June 22 after a ten hour flight from Atlanta, completing my first year at Georgia Tech. Spending less than 24 hours with my family, I took part in training camp for the Under 20 Swedish National Team, preparing for what I have been withheld from doing for almost a whole year.
The last game I played was on the July 19, 2009, against Lithuania in the Under 20 European Championships in Gdynia, Poland.
I started spending my summers playing for Sweden at the age of fourteen and since then, I have played in five European Championships and one World Championship. The experience from all of this is what enabled me to have the opportunity to come to America and play college basketball for Georgia Tech.
But the experience that I had playing for Georgia Tech during my first year did not turn out as I had first imagined. At first learning that I had to sit out the 2009-10 season, meaning I lost my freshman year, was nothing less than devastating. But changing this negative to a positive, this past year has given me tremendous strength and motivation and enabled me to grow and mature as both a player and person.
Now back on the European scene almost a year since my last game, I am finally getting back on the court preparing for my final appearance in the European Championship on the Youth National Team.
So after being in Stockholm for only two days, I am off to Italy, then Lithuania and after a short break, on to my final youth European Championship in Latvia. With all this ahead, in the back of my mind I know that when this is over, my first season with Georgia Tech is about to start.
I can’t even put in words how excited I am!
– Danielle
