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The experiences in life are what can make it so special, being able and willing to explore, to learn, to enjoy.
It provides balance and memories and moments, something Luis Scola has known and lived for a majority of his 35 years.
The Raptors power forward, Argentine basketball icon and a professional for half his life, enjoys a full and complete existence with his four children and wife.
He calls himself “a regular person” but one with a truly inquisitive nature, right down to weekly late spring weekend jaunts to discover new things.
“When the season is over — we’ll stay here because the kids are in school — we get a map, we get a compass and we draw a circle at a good driving distance. We pick up the kids at school on Friday and we drive and we come back Sunday night. The next weekend, we pick another one and we go. Sometimes it’s great places, sometimes not so great, but it’s a lot of fun.”
That’s the kind of wide-eyed wonderment with which Scola is living his Canadian life, seduced by a new country and culture.
He is not one to hide in his home, go from garage to arena to airport and back again because there is too much to see, to do.
He marvelled at the team’s training camp week in Vancouver (“It was amazing, what is this great city,” he exclaimed) and has tried to soak up what we are.
“It’s such a big country but the population is so concentrated in the south of it. So much to learn.”
And so much to share with his family.
“That is what I’m trying to tell them, when they’re thinking, ‘Oh, my God, I have to move. I have friends, I have this, I have that.’
“But we need to see the other things that are going to happen now and I try to pass that along. It’s not always easy, but I think they kind of get the idea that . . . it’s good to do all these things.
“You get to know different people, speak different languages, you get to know a new country, the history, the culture, a new city. You get to know a lot of new places, exciting places. It is a good thing, it has some challenge, some bad things in it, but it is a good thing.”
Aside from his Canadian wanderlust, Scola is also trying acclimate himself to a new team. He is by five years the oldest player on a roster crammed with 20-somethings, but his pedigree suggests he’ll be a key figure for the Raptors this season.
He’s won Olympic gold and bronze medals, a world championship silver, a handful of honours in the highly regarded Spanish league, he’s been the FIBA Americas Most Valuable Player four times and is the kind of savvy veteran contributor the Raptors have lacked for years.
So as much as he’s fitting into his new city, he’s being welcomed by teammates and coaches because of what he provides on the court.
“He’s a leader, he’s a smart player, he’s experienced, he plays multiple positions,” coach Dwane Casey said. “He’s an excellent teacher helping other players and working with them, telling them what to do on the court. His quiet leadership has been great for us.
“He’s gained the respect of the players because they know who he is, they know his track record, they know he’s been the MVP of the FIBA games numerous times, world championships.”
That worldly existence has given Scola a lifetime of memories already. After leaving Buenos Aires as a 17year-old, trying to make his basketball-loving-and-playing father proud, he’s carved a wonderful career full of unique experiences.
He said he’s had breakfast with Usain Bolt and lunch with Rafael Nadal in his three Olympic experiences and he’ll be in his fourth Games next summer in Rio.
All because he welcomes new challenges and lives off-court life to the full.
“It has been quite an experience and early in my life, you are worried about all the wrong things,” Scola said. “You’re young and really immature and it’s this and it’s that, Argentina is this and it’s that and Spain is different. Later on, after four or five years, you realize the things I was missing, I was trying to live in Argentina when I was in Spain.
“I didn’t enjoy it at first as much as I did after. Now everywhere I go to really, really live the experience.”