Leaders of Unites #105 – Sam Rook
IN ENKHUIZEN, EVERYONE STARTS WITH SOCCER
I am Sam Rook, 18 years old, and I live in Enkhuizen. I've lived here all my life with my parents and older brother. Enkhuizen is a small town in Noord-Holland. It's a beautiful, old town and a great place to grow up. It's also just an hour by train to Amsterdam.
Enkhuizen has about 18,000 inhabitants, so you know each other quite well. Soccer is the biggest sport here. Everyone goes to the local soccer club. My brother and I did as well. I used to be the goalkeeper in my team. At twelve years old, we got a second goalkeeper in the team, and I had to share my position. I didn't like that and chose a position in the field. I think that was one of my dumbest decisions ever. I turned out to be a hopeless soccer player.
Jaimee then invited me to try a training at his basketball club in Hoorn. At first, I thought, why would I do that? But soon that changed to, why not?! That was one of the best decisions ever. I was immediately sold and switched from soccer to basketball mid-season. My soccer team and coach were surprised, but I don't think they missed me much on the field.
What immediately grabbed me about basketball was the speed of the game. There are only five of you, which makes the game much more dynamic. For me, there is the feeling that you do it together. You really need each other. The whole culture around it was a warm bath as well. If you see someone with a basketball in their hand, you can easily start a chat. You quickly have a connection due to the common interest.
Unfortunately, my switch partly fell in the corona period, and games were soon canceled, and later the training sessions as well. Then I started training outside a lot with Jaimee and his uncle Andras. Andras really taught me the basics and fundamentals. Sun, rain, and even snow didn't stop us. I don't think I had any special talents for basketball; I was just tall. But by training a lot and the coaching from Andras, I improved a lot in no time.
During my second basketball season in Hoorn, or actually my first full season, I played in Under 16-1. A few weeks later, I was also asked for Under 18-1 premier league. Because of this, I trained four times a week and had two games during the weekends. You get better quickly by training a lot and learning from training with the older boys.
BASKETBALL FORMED THE COMMON THREAD IN MY CHOICES
At the end of my first season, my VMBO also finished. I had to choose between HAVO or MBO. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do later, but I wanted to continue with basketball. I made the selection at Apollo in Amsterdam. That's why I also chose an MBO course in Amsterdam. This allowed me to combine it with a student travel card to commute back and forth.
At ROC, I did the Entrepreneurship & Trade course in an accelerated two-year trajectory. It seemed like a useful basis for whatever I would do next. Meanwhile, I trained at Apollo with Ibrahim and Jeremy in my team. Jeremy sometimes talked about 3X3 Unites and the Leader Course. I found it interesting and asked him how I could join. After the Leader Course, I taught at three locations together with Ibrahim.
In the second year of my studies, I had to do an internship. I was just bold and asked Unites if I could improve their webshop. Unites was not yet certified for internships, but that was arranged quickly after. This allowed me to improve and renew the webshop and help with the move and setup of the warehouse during that period.
What did I learn most from the Leader Course? Showing initiative! The possibilities are endless, as long as you dare to seize the opportunities. I wouldn't have done the Leader Course and the internship if I hadn't just asked.
YOU LEARN DISCIPLINE QUICKLY WHEN YOU TRAIN AND STUDY IN ANOTHER CITY
Now, after two years, I have completed my studies. The past two years have taught me a lot of discipline. I was away from home six days a week from seven in the morning until half-past eleven at night. I took my study materials, basketball clothes, and food for the whole day with me and had to plan my days well. Because of the training on Friday evenings and the games on Saturday mornings, I didn’t see my friends often. It was tough, but it certainly gave me a lot. I am very grateful to all the people who trained and coached me over the past few years.
I have been going to festivals and sports events for many years. There is always someone who has taken the initiative to organize each of those events. I noticed that this interested me, so I started the HBO study Event Management last September. With this new study, I delve further into how everything is organized and what is needed.
I can't combine it with basketball in Amsterdam anymore, so I'm back in Hoorn. I hope to find an apartment in Amsterdam and live there for the third and fourth years of my studies. Then I will definitely start training in Amsterdam again.In the coming years, I hope to combine my studies and my connection with Unites and make the basketball scene in Hoorn bigger and better!
