What It’s Like to Play Professional Volleyball in France!

Bonjour! I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday. This week I’m going to be showing you what it’s like to play pro in France. This was my 3rd year and I was proud of myself for working my way up to this level because it’s the highest level I’ve played at so far. It was also the earliest contract I signed- in the beginning of May- so it was nice to have the whole summer without having to stress for a contract. Right before I left though, we all had trouble getting our visas so it took us a while to leave. And of course, they booked me a weird flight where I flew into New Jersey and out of New York, so it took a lot longer to get there than necessary. But, I finally made it in the beginning of September and the season was on its way. 

Training Schedule 

This was my favorite training schedule so far, because it was a good balance for me. We practiced more volleyball than I had in previous years, but we lifted a little less than Switzerland so my body felt more fresh. We had 2 lifts and one volleyball skills training during the week in the mornings and had practice every night of the week in the evenings. We also had video sessions a couple times per week and always had scouting homework to do before the sessions.  

Living Situation

Our living situation was awesome this year. First, we were located in the French Riviera, so everywhere around us was stunning. We lived in a resort and each had a one bedroom apartment to ourselves. There was a pool that was open through October that I would lay out at sometimes before practice. There were also some nice walking trails by me near some lakes that eventually led to the beach in Saint- Aygulf. I was supposed to get a car to share with another teammate but that never happened, so that was the only downside to where I lived. It wasn’t really near anything besides a little grocery store and a bakery, so I always had to rely on other teammates to drive me places. Other than that, I enjoyed my apartment and being in the same building as most of my teammates. 

Game Schedule

We typically had one game per week, but sometimes had two. We were supposed to be in the CEV Cup, which would allow us to play other teams from other countries, but there was some issue with money so we didn’t get to play. Otherwise we would have had games during the week as well. France was big, so we would drive or fly to our far away games the day before and spend the night. This part was much better than Sweden where we traveled the day of our games. France has 14 teams in the league, and we stood at 8th place before the season ended early due to COVID-19. The level is high, so it was a fun challenge.

Living in France

The French Riviera is probably the most beautiful place I will ever live. All of the towns along the coast of the Mediterranean were so pretty and we did not have to drive far at all to find a great place to spend an off day. I’m definitely grateful for the experiences volleyball has given me and the places I’ve been able to live because of it. 

This season in France was the toughest season for me. I wasn’t playing very well, my shoulder hurt all the time, and it was an adjustment because the club treated it more like a business than my previous two clubs did. But, despite the challenges I still made some amazing friends and have a lot of fun memories from this year. Follow along on my Instagram to see more pictures of what this season was like!