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St. Henry native Ryan Mikesell is returning to the United States after leaving Israel.
A week ago, Ryan Mikesell was getting ready to play his first basketball game for his professional team in Israel.
Days later, he was trying to find a safe way out of the country.
The St. Henry and University of Dayton graduate's plans to play for Ironi Kiryat Ata in Israel's Premier League came to a halt when the nation was attacked by Hamas militants.
"It was a whirlwind to say the least," Mikesell said during a telephone conversation from Cyprus, where he was preparing for a long journey through Athens and London to Chicago and then Mercer County. "It felt so surreal. My fiancée (Quincy) and I were having a really good time. People were amazing and the organization was taking care of us."
The team, located in Kiryat Ata near Haifa in northern Israel, had been getting ready for the season opener on Sunday when Hamas launched an attack in parts of the country. Kiryat Ata was out of the danger zone at the time, but the events created a change of plans.
"We woke up and the coach calls me to say, 'There's some stuff going on down south,'" said Mikesell. "At the time, we didn't have much information, so we thought it was some small attacks. More information comes out and it turns out to be something big. In Israel, they're kind of used to having some conflicts. But as time went on (we realized) it was more serious. In two to three days, we decided it was best that we take off for a bit.
"One thing about living in the north, the missiles and rockets don't get up here. We weren't hiding in any bunkers. I have teammates that live in Tel Aviv (located south along the Mediterranean Sea) and they were in bunkers. It was just very scary knowing we had a lot of connections in south and central Israel. It was pretty nerve-wracking after a while."
With commercial airlines curtailing service to the region, the search to find a flight out of the country became a challenge.
"At the beginning, we were looking for flights for ourselves," he said. "We were getting to the point of 'Just wait and see' and continue to look for flights. Honestly, we had practiced on Sunday, just something to get the American players and some of the Israeli players together, but most were with their families at the time. We went and shot around for an hour and talking, not knowing what's going to happen. We said if we could get a flight, we'd like to go."
With leaving the country still in question, Mikesell looked to hunker down for an indefinite period.
"(Quincy) and I actually went to the grocery store to get supplies because we didn't know what to expect," he said. "We went back to my apartment and I get a call from (the team's) director of basketball operations saying we could get a flight in four hours if we could pack and get to the airport in Tel Aviv (roughly 90 minutes away). We had to pack pretty quick and ended up packing one big bag and a book bag, got a taxi to the airport and got out and made it to Cyprus that night (Monday morning)."
All the while, Mikesell has been keeping his family updated about his and Quincy's wereabouts. Family and friends have been messaging him with encouragement.
"I tried to keep them updated, but I also didn't have a lot of information to give them," he said. "It's been awesome to see the amount of people checking in on us. Really blessed to be from a community like that."
Mikesell arrived in Israel in August to get ready to play for his new team after playing the previous season in France. He and Quincy quickly adapted to his new home.
"Growing up in Mercer County, I wasn't exposed to that culture. I honestly didn't know what to expect," he said. "It's a beautiful country and the people are so nice. Many speak English so there wasn't much of a language barrier. The weather was beautiful. We lived five to ten minutes from the beach, so we were there three to four times a week. It was amazing."
St. Henry native Ryan Mikesell is returning to the United States after leaving Israel.
A number of Mikesell's friends and teammates in Israel have already experienced suffering from the attacks, with several teammates and friends serving in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in one way or another. National military service is mandatory for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, although there are some exceptions.
"I have a lot of sympathy for those friends and their families that are dealing with this. It's horrible," said Mikesell. "My teammates aren't on the front line, but are helping in the communities. Their siblings (are in the IDF) and our team physiotherapist went to the border and (is) serving. My teammates have family and friends in the south and are mourning losses of loved ones. I feel for the people there."
When Mikesell arrives back in the United States, he plans on spending time with the family of his fiancée before getting back to St. Henry. From there, plans are fluid.
"Who knows? It could be one week (or) two weeks. I don't know what the situation is right now," Mikesell said. "I'm going to play it day-by-day and enjoy time with my family and friends for the time being.
"I'm definitely going to keep tabs on my Israeli friends, teammates and the families that we got close with while we were there," he said. "I'll continue to work out and proceed forward like I am going to play basketball in the near future."
