Becky
Many recent Washington graduates have continued their careers abroad. One of them is Becky Perry who is currently playing for a team in Germany.
1) How many years have you played abroad?
This is my 3rd season.
2) How many teams have you played for?
Spring 2011: Lancheras de Cataño (Puerto Rico), Fall 2011: GS Caltex Seoul KIXX (South Korea), 2012: I had shoulder surgery, Spring 2013: Las Gigantes de Carolina (Puerto Rico), Fall 2013: Dresdner SC (Germany)
3) What team do you currently play for? What league are they in?
Dresdner SC; they are in the German Bundesliga (the top league in Germany) & the CEV Champions League (highest European league in which only the top 1-3 teams from each country is invited to participate).
4) What are some of your team’s best achievements?
Consistently 1st or 2nd in the Bundesliga in the past years, currently 1st in the Bundesliga; recently qualified for CEV European Cup semifinals (1st time in club history)
5) What are your personal best achievements as a pro?
Hold record in the Puerto Rican league for points in a match with 43. Currently leading German Bundesliga in match MVP awards, ranked 1st in scoring, 1st in kills, 2nd in hitting % at 50.00% (only non-middle blocker ranked in this category).
6) What is your team’s record and how is the league structured?
We are 1st in the league with 39 won sets and 18 lost sets for a total of 34 ranking points. There are 11 teams in the league and 8 teams make the playoffs. The top 6 ranked teams at the end of season are guaranteed a playoff spot, then numbers 7-10 play each other for the last 2 playoff spots. After this, the quarterfinals begin in best-of-3 format (1 home, 1 away). The semifinals are best-of-5 and the finals are best-of-7 with the same home/away format.
Rebecca
7) What has been your favorite country to live in and why?
Every country has been an amazing experience for different reasons.
-Puerto Rico was the easiest to adjust to because it’s an American territory so just about everyone speaks English, you can use the American dollar, cell phone numbers and plans remain the same, during the season the time zone is the same as the East Coast, most teams only practice once a day at night, and it’s absolute paradise! Beach, sand, sun.
-Korea was unique in that the volleyball league is similar to that of the NBA in America. Every game is televised, there’s a televised all-star game, walking down the street people recognize you. I had an enormous banner of myself outside the gym, people chanted “Perry” over and over during warm-ups and games every time I hit a ball or scored a point, and some of my teammates and I were even featured in Men’s Health magazine with Orlando Bloom on the cover. I bought like 8 copies! I definitely wish volleyball was as popular in America as it is there.
-Germany is also different than most leagues because there is no limit on the number of foreigners allowed per team. We have 6 foreigners (me, Canada, Belarus, Slovakia, Belgium, and The Netherlands) and 7 Germans on our team so naturally the common language is English. This is not always the case playing pro as I’ve played on teams before where I could only speak to 1-3 other girls in English. So here communication has been really easy for me and fun because this allows our team to get really close. I would definitely call us a family.
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