After playing basketball for twelve years in Germany, and now playing on the school’s basketball as an American exchange student, this is my opinion on the two.
I have noticed that Germany and the US have different ways of organizing basketball teams. In Germany, you have two options as a teenager to play basketball, you can either join a club outside of school to go to competitions or you can join a school where you just play for fun after school. Even though we are talking about the same sport, I noticed that there are a few differences in how to play it in these two countries. Let’s start off with the fact that both school systems differ enormously since it’s not common to go to a college after school in Germany. That’s one of the most important facts because college basketball is a pretty big thing in America. Many colleges offer students scholarships based on their skills in high school. This leads many high schoolers to view basketball as a way to go to college instead of just playing for fun. In Germany, you are either planning to become a professional basketball player or just playing for fun.
Even though most schools in Germany offer students who are interested in basketball to play it in a school club, it’s not common to have it as an actual class. There aren’t classes for different sports, you just have one sports class that is completely managed by your teacher, similar to US physical education. Those classes are usually designed so that the teacher can only test and grade you on your general motor skills, for example jumping, running, throwing or swimming. Whereas in the US, athletes have selected periods during school specifically for practice.
Most German teenagers prefer playing in a club that has nothing in common with the school. Most of the time they prefer the practice outside of school because you don’t get a grade for it, therefore the practice is better, and the coaches are more professional, since they are not also focused on teaching. School coaches in Germany will only teach you the very basics and your team will not go to competitions at all. Most players who are serious opt for an outside of school club for this reason.
When I think about the game itself I noticed that as soon as it comes to real competitions there are many small things that are different such as play time, shot clock, and timeouts. As for play time, teenagers ages 10 and older play four quarters each ten minutes, so the game is 40 minutes in total. After the first two quarters there is a 5-10 minute halftime, it alway depends and most of the time the referees can vary it. For timeouts, the coach is just allowed to call a timeout when the game is interrupted and the ball is not on the court. They have three one-minute timeouts for each half. The last aspect is the shot clock. Same as the professionals, in Germany we play with a 24 second shot clock, and if your team is on offence you have just eight seconds to bring the ball over the half court line (which are included in the 24 seconds).
Now let’s get to the small differences compared to American high school basketball. The game consists of two halves which are often 20 minutes long, instead of four quarters, with a total game-time of 40 minutes. After the first half there is a quick 5-7 minute halftime. The coaches can call a timeout anytime, even when the ball is in the game, as long as the coaches team is on offense. They can decide between a short timeout or a full timeout, and each team has two timeouts per half so 4 in total. High school teams play with a 35 second shot clock and there is a ten second rule to get the ball over the half court line (which are included in the 35 seconds).
In conclusion, I would like to point out that there are a lot of small differences in the game, but it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of big differences as soon as you start playing. Going from one to another, it changed a few things in my routine at first and I had to get used to it.
