Feb. 25, 2016
By Samantha DelRosso, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Men's tennis freshman Constant De La Bassetiere arrived to America from France just 51 days ago. Since then, he has become a teammate and friend, has improved his English and has impressed on the court with a 7-0 record.
De La Bassetiere visited Penn State in September, but it wasn't until he became a student that he saw the real differences between living in America and France.
"The sense of humor, how you talk to people, the relationships between people, it's different," De La Bassetiere said.
And although the game of tennis can be taught in any language, De La Bassetiere said there are differences between playing tennis here and in France.
"The cheering and the spirit [is not the same in France]. The relationship between the players is not the same either, because in France, we don't train everyday together. We just train the day before the match. Here, we are together a lot," De La Bassetiere said. "In France, we don't have coaches. We have a captain who acts like a coach. It's really professional here."
De La Bassetiere picked up a tennis racket for the first time when he was three years old. His father, a rugby player, and mother, a horseback rider, took him to a tennis club where the instructors thought he was four or five because of his tall height. He began to play, and the rest was history.
His mother and father still live in France with his two younger sisters and younger brother. Being almost 4,000 miles away from home isn't easy, but De La Bassetiere said he is able to talk to his family very often.
"I talk to my family everyday on Facetime before going to class. It is a perfect time [to talk to them all] with the time difference," De La Bassetiere said.
But the distance from home isn't the hardest thing for him; it's the language. Throughout his life, he has learned English, but is much more proficient in reading and writing than speaking and listening.
"The language has been the hardest. Getting used to class in English and exams in English [has been very hard]," De La Bassetiere said. "But everybody is nice, tries to repeat [what they've said] and tries to make me improve my English. Now it's getting better everyday."
Although he's only been on campus for less than two months, he said he already feels included in the tight-knit atmosphere at Penn State.
"It's like a family here. You can talk to everybody. Everybody will say, 'hello, how are you?' Everyone is very nice to me," De La Bassetiere said.
De La Bassetiere and the Nittany Lions are off to an 8-0 start and ranked 21st in the nation this season. They hope to continue their success on the road this weekend against No. 3 Ohio State in their first Big Ten match.
"I'm really excited. I have heard that Ohio State is a really good team to play. There is going to be a big crowd, so that's really fun," De La Bassetiere said.