I started playing basketball when I was 12 years old. Like a lot of kids in Germany I grew up playing football, but after some time I started looking at other options. I saw videos of people playing basketball, and started to notice people around me playing more and more, and I wanted to do that too. The more I played, the more I wanted to keep doing it.

MY FRIENDS AND I RE-STARTED THE TREND OF PLAYING PICK-UP GAMES

Before I started to play at a club, I had a teacher of some sorts: Emanuel, he plays at Dynamic Squad. We played every day, and he helped me to get better and taught me some moves. So, when I finally decided to join a club at 15, I already had more skills than some team members. I started in a U16 team and played in that team for one season. After that I had to change clubs, because they didn’t have an U18 team. I looked at a couple other clubs like Dynamic Squad, TUSA or ART Giants, but I didn’t make it on the high-playing teams because of my size and  because they didn’t see a talent in me. I decided to play for a lower team, but eventually I quit because I didn’t like the team and how they communicated with each other.

When I just started playing, the pick-up games culture kind of faded out in the city. There used to be more people on the courts back in the day, so me and my friends wanted to bring it back. We started to meet up at a court that, back then, wasn’t very good, but it was the most central for everyone to travel to. Slowly more and more people would join. I personally don’t really go to the court any more because I’ve become a bit of a gym rat, but I heard it’s now grown into a group of about thirty people meeting there.

I LEARNED TO BE MORE VOCAL ABOUT WHAT I WANT

One of the guys that I always would meet to play with, his name is Marvin, introduced me to 3X3 Unites. One day he asked me if I wanted to come with him to this small job “and you could maybe even work there, too!” And that’s how it happened. At first, I was a bit nervous about the 3X3 Leader Course because I didn’t know what to expect, but as soon as we started, I saw that I had nothing to worry about. Petra is the coordinator for 3X3 Unites in Düsseldorf, and she taught the course, she’s very chill and nice.

I expected it to be tougher and harder than it was. We met up outside at a court, we played basketball and even got some children to join. It was a good experience, so I invited a lot of kids from the gym I work out at, to join me and Marvin at Unites. We asked some Leaders to be, who are now doing their Leader Course, including some more friends of mine.

I feel like 3X3 Unites, and basketball in general, has taught me a lot about myself. By playing a team sports, I’ve learned to have my own voice, to speak up, be louder and be confident. When I was younger, I had a hard time making decisions for a group, I mostly went along with what someone else wanted. But because I played Point Guard, I had to be the person that decides what we do and where we go on the court. And as time went on, I started fulfilling that role for myself in my own life. I’m not the best at it yet, but I’m getting better at choosing what I want to do instead of going along with someone else’s choices.