Leon Fertig completed the 3X3 Leader Course in Germany and now shines in the Gashouder
At first glance, nothing seems special about Leon Fertig. Yet the 23-year-old German from Team Düsseldorf has a special story. He completed the 3X3 Leader Course in Germany, recently became world champion with the German under-23 team, and played Saturday in a sold-out Gashouder. Literally: from the streets to the top!
'It's great that I'm standing here now,' he said a few minutes after the match against Ulaanbaatar. 'When I returned to the little square where I once started after winning the world title, I noticed that the kids looked up to me. In addition, parents came up to me to say that I am a role model for their children. That gave a great feeling.
Leon was introduced to the 3X3 Leader Course through the project “Empowered by 3X3!” in which 3X3 Unites sought to increase the social impact of 3x3 together with other local organizations in Düsseldorf and Copenhagen. 'The local partners were inspired by our vision of how to use 3x3 to make social impact,' says Maxi Sellering on behalf of 3X3 Unites.
The idea behind the project: 3X3 Unites wanted to empower local organizations themselves to train 3X3 Leaders. It forms the basis for building their own ecosystem. Maxi: “Our vision is that local parties should be in the lead. With us, young people take the lead in the squares in their neighborhoods. So we had to make that happen abroad as well. So our partners are the local experts and we are the experts on the method.'
Leon was one of the young people who attended the 3X3 Leader Course, taught by the German partner of 3X3 Unites itself, although he attended the course not in Düsseldorf but in Bielefeld. “I heard about the 3X3 Leader Course and was immediately excited,” he recalls.
During the course, Leon says he learned how to build a community. 'I improved my communication skills, learned to walk up to people and start a conversation. I noticed that I could bring people together by talking about our common passion: basketball.'
He has now completed the 3X3 Leader Course, but he still benefits from the lessons he learned there. 'In Germany we also play basketball a lot on squares, but before, the structure was lacking. We never really had a group. Now we've built a kind of community, so you're always a few people when you ask who's going to play basketball with you.'
He still does that regularly on the little square in his hometown of Langen. To his friends, he tells them to also approach people and invite them to play basketball with him. To the kids, he says that nothing is impossible as long as they have fun, work hard and are disciplined.
Leon: “Once I was that little kid who looked up to the older guys on the square in the neighborhood. Now I want to be that guy they look up to and who they can learn something from. I would really love that.'