Leaders of Unites #112 - Milo Blijd

18 April, 2025

"At the Nike Court in Hilversum, I improved my skills and made new friends"

I spent most of my childhood in the United States

My name is Milo Blijd, I’m 15 years old and I live in Hilversum. But I spent most of my childhood in the United States. I was even born there – in Boston, to be exact. That was because of my dad’s work. He worked for Philips and sometimes had to go to the U.S. for his job. When I was two years old, we moved to Den Bosch in the Netherlands. But three years later, we moved back to the United States. I lived there until I was thirteen.

My dad is from Curaçao and my mom is from the Netherlands. They had always planned to return to the Netherlands one day, and they felt it was a good time when my sister and I were about to start high school. That plan was delayed by a year because of the pandemic.

I started playing football (soccer) as a kid, and I first got into basketball when I was seven. My dad was a huge fan of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls when he was young. Later, he became a fan of the Boston Celtics since we lived in Boston. He used to watch a lot of games on TV, and sometimes I’d watch with him. We also had an old basketball hoop in the shed.

It had wheels, so my dad eventually put it in front of our house. I was still a little kid, and the hoop’s height couldn’t be adjusted. I remember spending hours just trying to make one basket.

At the Nike Court in Hilversum, I improved my skills and made new friends

I also played with ASA Hoops in the United States for a while, but I only got serious about basketball when I moved to Hilversum at thirteen. I didn’t know anyone here, so I went to the Nike Court every day to play basketball. There were always people there, which helped me make friends really fast.

Sometimes we played 5-on-5, other times 3x3. It just depended on how many people were there. I was often one of the youngest, so I improved quickly by playing with older players. We played for hours. Most of the time, I’d stay until my parents told me to come home.

I still go to the court often, though I have to divide my time more now. I play for De Dunckers in Hilversum, but I’m looking for another club for next season. De Dunckers doesn’t have an under-19 team, and I want to keep playing at the national level in the first division.

I’ve made a plan for myself. I’m now in my fourth year of VWO, and I want to have played in the Dutch Eredivisie before I graduate. After high school, I hope to go back to the U.S. to study and play college basketball. One day, I hope to play in the NBA. It’s a long shot, but I’m doing everything I can to make it happen.

I make sure I get enough sleep, eat healthy, and train as much as possible. I train six times a week with different teams at De Dunckers. On top of that, I practice on my own for an hour and a half every day. I’ve arranged with the school janitor that I can get into the gym early. I mostly work on my shooting. As a point guard who’s not super tall (1.77 meters), it’s important that I can shoot well.

At first, I didn’t feel like doing the 3X3 Leader Course – but I’m really glad I did

When my family moved to Hilversum three years ago, I quickly came into contact with 3X3 Unites. 3X3 Leader Olivier Hofman was at De Dunckers and asked who wanted to join the 3X3 Leader Course. I wasn’t really interested at first, but I decided to give it a try.

And I’m really glad I did. Once the course started, I loved it. In the beginning, we learned about what 3X3 Unites is and what they stand for. Later on, we learned how to build a community. I thought that was super interesting. At the end of the course, I helped organize a 3x3 event in Hilversum.

These days, I help organize a weekly pick-up game in Hilversum with other 3X3 Leaders. I think it’s really cool to see that many of the same people come every week. I enjoy encouraging the younger players, making teams, and making sure everything runs smoothly.

In May, I’ll be working at the World Tour Amsterdam Masters. I’m really looking forward to helping out at such a big event and watching the best 3x3 players in the world up close. You learn so much from that – and I’ll bring that experience back with me to the court.