Crossing the Atlantic, Just for Basketball
By Jiali Chen
At Hawkins Arena, during a women’s basketball game, a player scores at the three-point line. The entire arena is filled with cheers. A voice announces the name: “Mercer Number 11, Linnea Rosendal!”
Rosendal, who is from Sweden, has played guard for Mercer University since 2015 and is graduating this May.
Rosendal “shot the ball really really well. Has a great jump shot. Knows the game. Very very high basketball IQ. Great passer with right hand and left hand,” said Susie Gardner, the head coach of Mercer women’s basketball team.
Rosendal started playing basketball at the age of 9. At that time, a basketball club went to her school and invite the students to the tryout.
“I liked it already from the start. So that’s how I started playing,” Rosendal said.
She also said that, at the age of 11 or 12, she knew she wanted to play college basketball.
Her chance came five years ago, when the Angie Nelp, a previous Mercer women’s basketball coach assistant, went to Sweden to play professional games. Nelp and Rosendal happened to have the same coach for basketball, who connected Rosendal to Mercer.
Without knowing much about the university, Rosendal traveled 4,674 miles from Stockholm to Macon, just to play college basketball.
“When I came here, I really didn’t know what I was going to study,” she said. “I’ve always been more of the science field so I kind of knew I wanted to do something with that but in my freshman year I literally just did all my general eds.”
Freshman year was a difficult year for her having to do the readings and writings in her second language. Gardner said Rosendal sometimes had to translate the readings into her language before reading them again in English.
“She talked about that having to spend so much time studying as a freshman with general education classes,” Gardner said.
Language is a common challenge for international students not only in academic field, but also in social life. Rosendal said she was always a little bit off talking to people during her first semester.
“I remember I was sitting like with my friends in the (cafeteria) and when I actually had something to say, like input, they were already like two topics ahead of me so I was just like, ok well, maybe next time,” she said.
She said she has been able to overcome the language barrier throughout the years at Mercer. The challenge that sticks around with her is time management as both a student and an athlete.
The women’s basketball team spends about four to five hours a day for practice, weights, conditioning and scouts. Meanwhile, international students are required to have at least 14 credit hours every semester.
“Sometimes you don’t really have time to do anything else but study and practice in the day, and go to class and then sleep, eat. But you kind of manage it and learn how to manage it,” she said.
Another aspect of time management is concerned with balancing the time with basketball and family.
“I don’t get to go home on Christmas because we always like, we are on season by then,” she said. “But luckily my parents have been able to come here over Christmas break and watch me play some of my games.”
The team usually have four days off during winter break, during which time Rosendal would travel to Florida with her parents. However, she gets to go back to Sweden during summer.
“I go home after we get out of school in May and I’m usually home for like one and a half month,” she said.
She travels back to the U.S. for summer session of basketball training in July.
“And then I have been able to go home for two weeks in between that session and when school actually starts,” she said.
Rosendal said it was difficult for her parents to send her overseas.
“They thought it was a little empty when I left. I’m an only child, too, so it was definitely like got a little bit more quiet and stressful I guess,” she said.
Yet, she said her parents have always been supportive for her basketball career.
“They watch all the games. They bought the ESPN play so they try to watch every game from home, even with the time difference. I know that sometimes they are up till 2AM to watch the game,” she said.
Daniel Gibbons, former director of Mercer Athletic Video, said he received a phone call from Sweden one time during a broadcast of Mercer women’s basketball against University of Georgia. It was from Rosendal’s parents.
“They called me because for some reason they couldn’t watch the game in Sweden,” he said. “They wanted me to send them a copy of the game afterwards so they could watch.”
Yet, Rosendal’s basketball career has not been smooth. She was rewarded Southern Conference Freshman of the Year in 2016. Her career went downhill during her sophomore year.
Gardner said Rosendal had an injury on her shooting elbow during the game at Georgia Tech.
“So she kind of struggled the rest of her sophomore year. Didn’t play quite as much her junior year,” Gardner said. “And then, came back in her senior year as one of our leaders and one of our best players.”
Gardner said Rosendal has always stayed steady despite the ups and downs in her basketball career.
“She always worked on her game and she wants to be a profession. So that was kind of her motivation as well,” Gardner said.
After she graduates from Mercer, Rosendal said she wants to continue playing basketball in Europe. But she said she does not want to go straight back to Sweden.
“I probably would live there like later part of my life but right now, I just wanna kind of explore a little bit more, see a little bit more of the world,” she said.
